‘Development test aircrews have the
knowledge to test the systems out very
thoroughly and strictly in their ight
pro les, work out all the bugs, and
ensure it works as advertised’, explains
LT Sean ‘Thorny’ Noronha, who is an
EA-18G Growler pilot with VX-9. ‘Once
they believe it is good enough for the
eet, they sign o and give it to us.
‘We are the eet representatives here
at VX-9. We employ weapon systems
as the eet and the war ghter would
employ them, asking if the eet can
actually use the system and ful ll
the mission.’
Aircrew who join VX-9 must be at
least level-3 quali ed. ‘A level-3 aviator
is a mission commander who can lead
a section,’ explains LT Jason ‘Fuego’
Hirzel, a VX-9 Growler electronic warfare
o cer (EWO). ‘When aircrews check in
at VX-9, the expectation is that they are
operationally pro cient, know how to
do the job safely and can focus on the
project at hand.’Growler gains
VX-9 is responsible for recommending
tactics or pro les for a new piece of
equipment or software block. This
feeds straight into the Naval Aviation
War ghting Development Center
(NAWDC) at NAS Fallon, Nevada, or the
East and West Coast Weapons Schools,where the manuals and tactics are
formally written up.
VX-9 is packed with weapons and tactics
instructors (WTIs) and graduates from the
weapons schools. Their role is to ensure
that the operational test pro les are in line
with what is being taught to eet crews.
The Airborne Electronic Attack Weapons
School (HAVOC) was formed in 2011 as
a center of excellence for the EA-18G’s
airborne electronic attack (AEA) mission.
VX-9 has also been a pivotal element in
maximizing Growler lethality. As well as
the AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation
Missile (HARM), the EA-18G features
spectrum-wide non-kinetic capabilities
that can create a tactically advantageoushttp://www.combataircraft.net // October 2018 77