Imagery has emerged of a rarely seen EA-18G Growler electronic attack jet loadout involving four examples of the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM), or possibly the earlier older AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM), during ongoing operations against Houthi rebels’ targets in Yemen, according to a report published by The War Zone — also known by the shorthand TWZ – website.
The author of the report, Thomas Newdick, a Staff Writer with TWZ, suggested “While many details of the Houthi air defenses and their associated radars and sensors remain murky, the imagery underscores the continued threat that they present”, adding “We have a deep dive into the Houthi’s air defenses coming soon. However, it’s also worth noting that the AARGM can be used against certain other targets, including ground targets not related to air defenses.”
Newdick noted that the imagery was published in the form of a video posted to X by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which shows an EA-18G Growler assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 144 (VAQ-144), “Main Battery,” launching from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).
As well as the four anti-radiation missiles, the aircraft is also carrying a pair of AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) and three 480-gallon external fuel tanks.
EA-18Gs on operations against the Houthis have appeared with some other interesting loadouts, with the Growlers getting expanded air-to-air missile capabilities via additional AIM-120 AMRAAM carriage options. These weapons are primarily intended to counter Houthi drones over and around the Red Sea.
Meanwhile, carrier-based F/A-18E/Fs have been seen carrying a notably wide array of air-to-ground ordnance during these operations. Such stores include the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) and the AGM-84H Standoff Land Attack Missile–Expanded Response, better known as SLAM-ER. More common are the Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) that have also been seen equipping Super Hornets striking Houthi targets in Yemen, specifically equipped with ‘bunker-buster’ bomb bodies.
The big question raised by this latest imagery is what kinds of targets are being prosecuted using these prized anti-radiation missiles.
Last month, Stars and Stripes reported that the Yemeni militants had downed 12 Reapers since October 2023, citing an anonymous U.S. defense official.
The U.S. military has been targeting radars that the group has, also including coastal sea surveillance radars used for targeting ships.
Meanwhile, the degree of threat that these air defenses continue to pose is also highlighted by the arrival of B-2 stealth bombers in the ongoing operations, as well as the continued use of expensive standoff munitions.
Most likely, the missiles are AARGMs, a direct evolution of the older HARM, designed primarily to suppress and destroy enemy air defenses.
This can happen defensively to protect other aerial assets or specifically for going after air defenses proactively.
The AARGM can reach targets more than 80 miles away and reach speeds of well over twice the speed of sound.
Different in a number of ways from HARM, AARGM offers a major advantage in that it can hit a threat radar with a high degree of precision even if it stops emitting radiation.
An adversary air defense operator may shut down their radar mid-attack, but the AARGM will still strike it and do so with extreme accuracy.
Even if the emitter is mobile and starts to move after having shut down, AARGM can still hit it, guided by its active millimeter-wave radar seeker.
Thanks to its standoff precision strike capability, AARGM has a secondary role as a rapid-response strike weapon against non-air defense-related targets.
In this scenario, the missile is programmed to hit selected coordinates rather than home in on emissions. The missile’s high speed and its range make it a very useful time-sensitive target effector for these kinds of engagements.
Via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, TWZ received confirmation of some of the types of targets depicted in ‘kill marks’ on specific EA-18Gs seen aboard the Dwight D. Eisenhower last year.
Of these, one referred to a helicopter kill (the aforementioned Hind), two to Houthi drones downed over the Red Sea, and the remaining six were unspecified Houthi radars.
The EA-18G in question’s unusually heavy anti-radiation missile configuration is the latest indication the Houthi’s air defenses are more advanced than most think and that after all these months, they remain a threat that the Navy is clearly focused on eliminating.