The U.S. Central Command has printed photographs and operational particulars displaying EA-18G Growler air defence suppression plane from Digital Assault Squadron 133, and F-35C fifth technology fighters from Marine Fighter Assault Squadron 314 working from the Nimitz class supercarrier USS Abraham Lincoln whereas on ahead deployment close to Iran. The U.S. Naval Forces Central Command stories that the service and its air wing are conducting steady flight operations in assist of regional safety aims. The service and its strike group have been redeployed from the Pacific to the Center East in January, in response to rising tensions with Iran, representing a small a part of a a lot bigger navy buildup which seems supposed to arrange for top depth battle with Iranian forces.
The F-35C and the EA-18G are thought-about extremely complementary property which might be each closely optimised for tacking superior ground-based air defence networks like that deployed to defend Iranian airspace. Each plane combine sizeable arrays of passive sensors that can be utilized to collect priceless intelligence on enemy radars, and deploy highly effective digital warfare suites to disrupt radar concentrating on and detection efforts. The EA-18G has a extra formidable digital warfare functionality, and deploys a variety of specialist jamming pods as its major armament, which might present safety to accompanying plane towards radars in a broad vary of radar frequencies, whereas the F-35 advantages from superior radar evading stealth capabilities that considerably improve its personal survivability.
Iran’s lengthy vary air defence community is primarily constructed across the Bavar 373 air defence system, with the most recent variant of the system unveiled in 2024 reportedly in a position to detect as much as 300 targets concurrently whereas monitoring as much as 60. it has a 300 kilometre engagement vary. The system’s capabilities have been reportedly a major issue within the Iranian Defence Ministry’s choice to not procure Russian S-400 programs, which have been beforehand into consideration. The programs’ capabilities stay extremely unsure, with the bulk reportedly having been disabled on the bottom by Western and Israeli backed paramilitary teams in June 2025, which used drones and Spike missiles to take out key radars, command posts, and launchers. It thus stays extremely unsure how U.S. plane will honest towards Iranian air defences ought to the latter be absolutely functioning.Unconfirmed stories of deliveries of Chinese language air defence programs to Iran in mid-late 2025 have additional elevated this uncertainty.
Pairing the F-35 with the EA-18G is taken into account an optimum resolution to countering superior air defences, with the digital warfare ‘shielding’ of the latter complementing the stealth options of the previous. With the F-35 persevering with to lack Block 4 software program, nonetheless, and thus being unable to make use of AGM-88 anti-radiation missiles to dwelling in on adversary air defence programs’ radar emissions, the EA-18G shall be significantly closely relied on to launch kinetic assaults. The U.S. Navy on the finish of January made a uncommon deployment of six EA-18Gs to a base on land, particularly to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, which seems supposed to additional strengthen its place to interrupt down Iranian air defences.The EA-18G fleet deployed close to Iran is predicted to develop significantly, with the Navy’s sole operational Gerald Ford class subsequent technology supercarrier scheduled to redeploy to the Center East, with its air wing missing any F-35s on account of points integrating them with the service’s electromagnetic catapult system, and thus relying much more closely on the Growler.
