EA-18G confirmed as the ‘Growler’

The Navy’s next generation airborne electronic attack aircraft, designated the EA-18G, has officially received the popular name “Growler.”
The Navy sent a request to the Air Force to officially confirm the name in October, 2003. Air Force Headquarters Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, sent a memorandum confirming the name Oct. 12 of this year. The EA-18G has been informally referred to as the Growler for some time.
An aircraft or vessel’s popular name aids in communication and media references, according to joint service instructions.

The official confirmation of a common name for an aircraft follows a process governed by the Defense Department and managed by Air Force Headquarters. Following a request from the F/A-18 and EA-18G program office (PMA-265) at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., fleet officers selected possible names. In this case the EA-6B Commodore queried squadron officers who chose Growler as their first choice out of a list of over thirty candidates. The name seems to be a composite of the Growler’s electronic attack predecessor, the EA-6B popularly known as the Prowler, and the “G” designation in EA-18G.

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