U.S. Navy Stations EA-18G Electronic Warfare Jets in Puerto Rico to Bolster Caribbean Readiness
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U.S. Navy EA-18G Growlers were photographed this week at the newly reactivated Roosevelt Roads base in Puerto Rico as tensions with Venezuela escalate. Their forward deployment signals how Washington is positioning advanced electronic warfare assets for potential operations near Venezuelan air defenses.
On Thursday, 11th December 2025, images of multiple U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft lined up on the apron of the reactivated Roosevelt Roads naval base in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, as photographed by Ricardo Arduengo for Reuters, added a new layer to the growing U.S.–Venezuelan standoff. Shot on 10 December, the photos show at least half a dozen Growlers forward-deployed to a facility that has only recently been rebuilt as a major U.S. staging point in the Caribbean, a region that now hosts the largest American naval and air presence since the 1989 invasion of Panama. Their arrival comes just as Washington publicly confirmed the seizure of a large sanctioned oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast, a move that Caracas condemned as “international piracy” and which further underlines how quickly the crisis is hardening. The Growlers’ appearance in Puerto Rico is not just a striking image; it is a concrete indicator of how the United States is configuring high-end electronic warfare assets for potential operations against one of the densest Russian-supplied air defence networks in the Western Hemisphere.
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U.S. Navy EA-18G Growlers spotted at Puerto Rico’s reactivated Roosevelt Roads base this week offer a vivid snapshot of how Washington is quietly positioning high-end electronic warfare aircraft as the Venezuela crisis intensifies (Picture Source: Ricardo Arduengo / U.S. Navy)
The aircraft seen at Roosevelt Roads are EA-18G Growlers, the U.S. Navy’s dedicated airborne electronic attack platform derived from the two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet. Sharing more than 90% of its airframe, engines and systems with the Super Hornet, the Growler replaces the four-seat EA-6B Prowler and combines comparable kinematic performance with a modern two-crew cockpit optimised for complex electromagnetic operations. Its electronic warfare suite is built around AN/ALQ-218 wideband receivers on the wingtips and external jamming pods, historically the AN/ALQ-99, allowing the aircraft to detect, classify and geolocate hostile emitters and then saturate or deceive radars and communications networks across a broad frequency range. Nine external stations remain available to carry a mix of jamming pods, AGM-88 HARM or AARGM anti-radiation missiles and AIM-120 air-to-air missiles, enabling the Growler to conduct stand-off jamming, escort jamming and suppression or destruction of enemy air defences in support of strike and ISR aircraft.
According to open-source imagery, the Growlers now in Puerto Rico are likely drawn from Electromagnetic Attack Squadron 132 (VAQ-132 “Scorpions”), based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington State, and are reported to have transited across the continental United States before arriving at Roosevelt Roads on the night of 10 December. Spanish-language OSINT channels highlight that Ricardo Arduengo’s photo shows at least six EA-18G airframes aligned on the former Cold War-era tarmac, underlining that this is not a single transiting aircraft but a coherent electronic attack detachment. Additional Reuters imagery from the same location shows U.S. personnel establishing tented facilities at the far end of the runway, suggesting the base is being configured to sustain operations rather than host a short-term stopover.
What makes this deployment particularly noteworthy is the apparent presence, on at least some aircraft, of a mixed loadout combining legacy AN/ALQ-99 pods with the new AN/ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB). Army Recognition previously reported on this configuration when EA-18Gs aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) were photographed carrying both systems, in what we described as a visible step in the U.S. Navy’s transition to a new era of carrier-based electronic warfare. In January 2025, NAVAIR confirmed that NGJ-MB had reached initial operational capability (IOC) in December 2024 following its first combat deployment with VAQ-133 “Wizards”, bringing significantly higher jamming power, greater spectral agility and more advanced waveform techniques than the ALQ-99. The forward deployment of Growlers believed to be NGJ-MB-capable at Roosevelt Roads therefore indicates that this new system is now moving beyond carrier air wings and into land-based posture options tied directly to the Caribbean theatre.
From an operational standpoint, the EA-18G gives U.S. commanders a flexible toolset for any future action against Venezuelan military targets. The aircraft’s core missions, stand-off and escort jamming, suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD) and command-and-control disruption, map directly onto the challenge posed by Venezuela’s layered Russian-supplied air defence architecture. Caracas has invested for more than a decade in systems such as the S-300VM (Antey-2500), Buk-M2E and, more recently, Pantsir-S1, creating a multi-tiered Integrated Air Defence System (IADS) capable on paper of engaging aircraft and some ballistic threats out to ranges of 200–250 km. In joint Venezuelan exercises like “Sovereign Caribbean 200” on La Orchila Island, these systems have been showcased together with electronic warfare drills, signalling Caracas’ intent to deny U.S. forces uncontested access to its airspace and coastal approaches.
Against that backdrop, the Growler’s combination of precision emitter geolocation and high-power, directionally-steered jamming is designed to create corridors through such an IADS by blinding acquisition and engagement radars, forcing adversary operators to radiate predictably or shut down, and supporting follow-on HARMs, cruise missiles or stealth aircraft. Compared with its predecessor, the EA-6B Prowler, the EA-18G offers similar or better jamming capacity with a smaller crew, higher sortie generation, the ability to operate organically from carriers and land bases, and kinematic performance that allows it to escort fast jets like F/A-18E/F and F-35 during high-threat penetration missions rather than remaining at stand-off ranges. Where the Prowler represented an era of analogue jamming and large, specialised airframes, the Growler is emblematic of a networked, multi-mission electronic attack platform integrated into the broader strike package.
In this context, the Growlers on Arduengo’s photo represent another piece of a rapidly expanding puzzle. The U.S. has already positioned F-35 fighter jets, an AC-130 gunship and other assets in Puerto Rico, while multiple warships, including the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group and amphibious forces, patrol the wider region under Operation Southern Spear. Simultaneously, U.S. forces have carried out more than 20 lethal strikes against suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific and, most dramatically, have just seized the very large crude carrier Skipper off Venezuela’s coast, an operation that Washington frames as sanctions enforcement but which Venezuelan authorities denounce as an attack on national sovereignty and resources. On the U.S. side, senior officials openly acknowledge that military options against Venezuela are under active consideration, with Reuters reporting repeated White House meetings on potential operations and visual investigations documenting the upgrading of former Cold War facilities like Roosevelt Roads as potential staging grounds.
From a capability perspective, the presence of NGJ-MB-equipped Growlers in Puerto Rico strengthens the U.S. posture in several ways. First, it shortens reaction times: operating from Roosevelt Roads rather than from a carrier alone allows higher sortie rates, easier maintenance and more predictable logistics chains for electronic warfare missions focused on the Venezuelan approaches and eastern Caribbean. Second, it widens the spectrum of possible missions, from continuous electronic surveillance of regional emitters and rehearsal of jamming profiles against simulated Venezuelan radar networks, to support for uncrewed systems and space-based ISR platforms that would play a crucial role in any future campaign. Third, by combining land-based EA-18Gs with embarked Growlers on carriers such as USS Gerald R. Ford or USS Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. can design multi-axis electronic attacks aimed at saturating and confusing an IADS that relies heavily on fixed radar nodes and Russian technical support.
At the same time, the deployment underscores how the electromagnetic spectrum has become central to deterrence signalling. Where previous crises in Latin America were dominated by visible surface combatants and marine landings, the current build-up highlights less visible tools: EW aircraft like the EA-18G, stealth fighters, uncrewed ISR and a dense web of communications surveillance, underpinned by new systems such as NGJ-MB that can be reprogrammed rapidly as the situation evolves. For U.S. planners, basing these assets at a reactivated Cold War base in Puerto Rico offers a politically acceptable middle ground between doing nothing and launching strikes on Venezuelan territory: a forward-leaning posture that can be scaled up or down, that complicates any Venezuelan attempt to threaten U.S. or allied forces, and that signals readiness without yet crossing the threshold into open conflict.
The sight of EA-18G Growlers lined up at Roosevelt Roads, thus condenses several parallel dynamics: the U.S. Navy’s steady migration from legacy ALQ-99 pods to the AN/ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer, the transformation of a shuttered Puerto Rican base into a modern staging ground, and the rapid militarisation of a sanctions crisis that now includes tanker seizures, lethal maritime strikes and duelling air defence drills. This deployment is more than a photographic curiosity; it is a concrete indicator that any future U.S. operation against Venezuela would begin not only with Tomahawk salvos and stealth sorties, but with carefully orchestrated electronic warfare campaigns flown from places like Roosevelt Roads by aircraft exactly like the Growlers now parked on its tarmac.
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U.S. Navy EA-18G Growlers were photographed this week at the newly reactivated Roosevelt Roads base in Puerto Rico as tensions with Venezuela escalate. Their forward deployment signals how Washington is positioning advanced electronic warfare assets for potential operations near Venezuelan air defenses.
On Thursday, 11th December 2025, images of multiple U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft lined up on the apron of the reactivated Roosevelt Roads naval base in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, as photographed by Ricardo Arduengo for Reuters, added a new layer to the growing U.S.–Venezuelan standoff. Shot on 10 December, the photos show at least half a dozen Growlers forward-deployed to a facility that has only recently been rebuilt as a major U.S. staging point in the Caribbean, a region that now hosts the largest American naval and air presence since the 1989 invasion of Panama. Their arrival comes just as Washington publicly confirmed the seizure of a large sanctioned oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast, a move that Caracas condemned as “international piracy” and which further underlines how quickly the crisis is hardening. The Growlers’ appearance in Puerto Rico is not just a striking image; it is a concrete indicator of how the United States is configuring high-end electronic warfare assets for potential operations against one of the densest Russian-supplied air defence networks in the Western Hemisphere.
U.S. Navy EA-18G Growlers spotted at Puerto Rico’s reactivated Roosevelt Roads base this week offer a vivid snapshot of how Washington is quietly positioning high-end electronic warfare aircraft as the Venezuela crisis intensifies (Picture Source: Ricardo Arduengo / U.S. Navy)
The aircraft seen at Roosevelt Roads are EA-18G Growlers, the U.S. Navy’s dedicated airborne electronic attack platform derived from the two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet. Sharing more than 90% of its airframe, engines and systems with the Super Hornet, the Growler replaces the four-seat EA-6B Prowler and combines comparable kinematic performance with a modern two-crew cockpit optimised for complex electromagnetic operations. Its electronic warfare suite is built around AN/ALQ-218 wideband receivers on the wingtips and external jamming pods, historically the AN/ALQ-99, allowing the aircraft to detect, classify and geolocate hostile emitters and then saturate or deceive radars and communications networks across a broad frequency range. Nine external stations remain available to carry a mix of jamming pods, AGM-88 HARM or AARGM anti-radiation missiles and AIM-120 air-to-air missiles, enabling the Growler to conduct stand-off jamming, escort jamming and suppression or destruction of enemy air defences in support of strike and ISR aircraft.
According to open-source imagery, the Growlers now in Puerto Rico are likely drawn from Electromagnetic Attack Squadron 132 (VAQ-132 “Scorpions”), based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington State, and are reported to have transited across the continental United States before arriving at Roosevelt Roads on the night of 10 December. Spanish-language OSINT channels highlight that Ricardo Arduengo’s photo shows at least six EA-18G airframes aligned on the former Cold War-era tarmac, underlining that this is not a single transiting aircraft but a coherent electronic attack detachment. Additional Reuters imagery from the same location shows U.S. personnel establishing tented facilities at the far end of the runway, suggesting the base is being configured to sustain operations rather than host a short-term stopover.
What makes this deployment particularly noteworthy is the apparent presence, on at least some aircraft, of a mixed loadout combining legacy AN/ALQ-99 pods with the new AN/ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB). Army Recognition previously reported on this configuration when EA-18Gs aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) were photographed carrying both systems, in what we described as a visible step in the U.S. Navy’s transition to a new era of carrier-based electronic warfare. In January 2025, NAVAIR confirmed that NGJ-MB had reached initial operational capability (IOC) in December 2024 following its first combat deployment with VAQ-133 “Wizards”, bringing significantly higher jamming power, greater spectral agility and more advanced waveform techniques than the ALQ-99. The forward deployment of Growlers believed to be NGJ-MB-capable at Roosevelt Roads therefore indicates that this new system is now moving beyond carrier air wings and into land-based posture options tied directly to the Caribbean theatre.
From an operational standpoint, the EA-18G gives U.S. commanders a flexible toolset for any future action against Venezuelan military targets. The aircraft’s core missions, stand-off and escort jamming, suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD) and command-and-control disruption, map directly onto the challenge posed by Venezuela’s layered Russian-supplied air defence architecture. Caracas has invested for more than a decade in systems such as the S-300VM (Antey-2500), Buk-M2E and, more recently, Pantsir-S1, creating a multi-tiered Integrated Air Defence System (IADS) capable on paper of engaging aircraft and some ballistic threats out to ranges of 200–250 km. In joint Venezuelan exercises like “Sovereign Caribbean 200” on La Orchila Island, these systems have been showcased together with electronic warfare drills, signalling Caracas’ intent to deny U.S. forces uncontested access to its airspace and coastal approaches.
Against that backdrop, the Growler’s combination of precision emitter geolocation and high-power, directionally-steered jamming is designed to create corridors through such an IADS by blinding acquisition and engagement radars, forcing adversary operators to radiate predictably or shut down, and supporting follow-on HARMs, cruise missiles or stealth aircraft. Compared with its predecessor, the EA-6B Prowler, the EA-18G offers similar or better jamming capacity with a smaller crew, higher sortie generation, the ability to operate organically from carriers and land bases, and kinematic performance that allows it to escort fast jets like F/A-18E/F and F-35 during high-threat penetration missions rather than remaining at stand-off ranges. Where the Prowler represented an era of analogue jamming and large, specialised airframes, the Growler is emblematic of a networked, multi-mission electronic attack platform integrated into the broader strike package.
In this context, the Growlers on Arduengo’s photo represent another piece of a rapidly expanding puzzle. The U.S. has already positioned F-35 fighter jets, an AC-130 gunship and other assets in Puerto Rico, while multiple warships, including the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group and amphibious forces, patrol the wider region under Operation Southern Spear. Simultaneously, U.S. forces have carried out more than 20 lethal strikes against suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific and, most dramatically, have just seized the very large crude carrier Skipper off Venezuela’s coast, an operation that Washington frames as sanctions enforcement but which Venezuelan authorities denounce as an attack on national sovereignty and resources. On the U.S. side, senior officials openly acknowledge that military options against Venezuela are under active consideration, with Reuters reporting repeated White House meetings on potential operations and visual investigations documenting the upgrading of former Cold War facilities like Roosevelt Roads as potential staging grounds.
From a capability perspective, the presence of NGJ-MB-equipped Growlers in Puerto Rico strengthens the U.S. posture in several ways. First, it shortens reaction times: operating from Roosevelt Roads rather than from a carrier alone allows higher sortie rates, easier maintenance and more predictable logistics chains for electronic warfare missions focused on the Venezuelan approaches and eastern Caribbean. Second, it widens the spectrum of possible missions, from continuous electronic surveillance of regional emitters and rehearsal of jamming profiles against simulated Venezuelan radar networks, to support for uncrewed systems and space-based ISR platforms that would play a crucial role in any future campaign. Third, by combining land-based EA-18Gs with embarked Growlers on carriers such as USS Gerald R. Ford or USS Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. can design multi-axis electronic attacks aimed at saturating and confusing an IADS that relies heavily on fixed radar nodes and Russian technical support.
At the same time, the deployment underscores how the electromagnetic spectrum has become central to deterrence signalling. Where previous crises in Latin America were dominated by visible surface combatants and marine landings, the current build-up highlights less visible tools: EW aircraft like the EA-18G, stealth fighters, uncrewed ISR and a dense web of communications surveillance, underpinned by new systems such as NGJ-MB that can be reprogrammed rapidly as the situation evolves. For U.S. planners, basing these assets at a reactivated Cold War base in Puerto Rico offers a politically acceptable middle ground between doing nothing and launching strikes on Venezuelan territory: a forward-leaning posture that can be scaled up or down, that complicates any Venezuelan attempt to threaten U.S. or allied forces, and that signals readiness without yet crossing the threshold into open conflict.
The sight of EA-18G Growlers lined up at Roosevelt Roads, thus condenses several parallel dynamics: the U.S. Navy’s steady migration from legacy ALQ-99 pods to the AN/ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer, the transformation of a shuttered Puerto Rican base into a modern staging ground, and the rapid militarisation of a sanctions crisis that now includes tanker seizures, lethal maritime strikes and duelling air defence drills. This deployment is more than a photographic curiosity; it is a concrete indicator that any future U.S. operation against Venezuela would begin not only with Tomahawk salvos and stealth sorties, but with carefully orchestrated electronic warfare campaigns flown from places like Roosevelt Roads by aircraft exactly like the Growlers now parked on its tarmac.
