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ExoticPearTreetoday at 5:56 AM2 repliesview on HN

I do not know the specifics, but I think most of the EW gear sits on pods attached to the pilons, not inside the actual plane. The only difference that I know of compared to a regular F18 is that it requires two crew members to operate.


Replies

jimohalloranautoday at 6:59 AM

Most of the Growler "magic" is in pods carried on external hardpoints, but you couldn't just upload the EW pods onto a FA-18F Super Hornet and have a Growler.

The cannon in the nose of a regular Hornet is replaced with computer hardware in the Growler. There are also aerodynamic changes to make it a little more stable so it's a better EW platform. There's probably a million other small differences too, enough that you wouldn't try to convert a -19F Super Hornet into a Growler (although the RAAF did think they'd try at one point).

jandrewrogerstoday at 6:12 AM

Yes, the EW gear is attached to the hardpoints. You can see in the video that it has not been installed for the airshow.