The AN/ALQ-218 is an American airborne

electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...

system, found on

Grumman EA-6B Prowler The Northrop Grumman (formerly Grumman) EA-6B Prowler is a twin-engine, four-seat, mid-wing electronic-warfare aircraft derived from the A-6 Intruder airframe. The EA-6A was the initial electronic warfare version of the A-6 used by the United ...

and

Boeing EA-18G Growler The Boeing EA-18G Growler is an American carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft, a specialized version of the two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet. The EA-18G replaced the Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowlers in service with the United States Navy. The ...

military aircraft.

Description

The AN/ALQ-218 is an airborne passive

Radar Warning Receiver Radar warning receiver (RWR) systems detect the radio emissions of radar systems. Their primary purpose is to issue a warning when a radar signal that might be a threat is detected, like a fighter aircraft's fire control radar. The warning can th ...

Electronic Support Measures In military telecommunications, electronic support (ES) or electronic support measures (ESM) gather intelligence through passive "listening" to electromagnetic radiations of military interest. They are an aspect of electronic warfare involving ac ...

Electronic Intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...

(RWR/ESM/ELINT) sensor system designed for airborne situational awareness and signal intelligence gathering. The AN/ALQ-218 detects, identifies, locates and analyzes sources of radio frequency emission. The current version AN/ALQ-218(V)2 is manufactured by

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...

Platforms

The ALQ-218 is the featured system aboard the U.S. Navy's

EA-18 Growler The Boeing EA-18G Growler is an American aircraft carrier, carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft, a specialized version of the two-seat Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, F/A-18F Super Hornet. The EA-18G replaced the Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prow ...

aircraft, which has replaced the EA-6B Prowler in the U.S. Navy. Electronics from the EA-6B were modified to fit into the gun bay and wing tip pods of the Growler. The EA-18G may carry an additional five jamming pods on under wing pylons. The system is being considered for modification to serve on

unmanned aerial vehicles An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

. The Growler is part of the same family of aircraft as the

F/A-18 Super Hornet The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18E single-seat and F/A-18F tandem-seat variants are larger and more adv ...

References

External links

{{commonscat Electronic warfare equipment