via Chicago Tribune.
He said the Navy and the Pentagon's Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office were "very seriously" studying the need for more electronic attack capability, and Boeing could eventually land 50 to 100 more Growler orders.&
But others say the Navy remains skeptical about the carrier variant of the F-35, which is due to start sea trials this summer. The Navy plans to defer orders for four F-35s in fiscal 2015, and a total of 33 jets over the five-year planning period that runs through fiscal 2019, said one source familiar with the plans.Yep.
This issue is starting to crystallize. How does the Navy convince the US Congress that it needs to maintain F-18 production?
You go after the holy grail. You talk electronic warfare!
That bugaboo that is only discussed in closed sessions...that expertise that the USAF long abandoned but has been proven necessary in every air campaign...
And the fact that electronic warfare has evolved into electronic attack is sauce for the goose.
The Navy is looking to bail and the EA-18G is the plane that will give them the soft landing they're looking for.
