U.S. Sending Electronic Warfare Aircraft to Germany

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby announced, yesterday, the deployment of a half-dozen U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, to Spagdahlem, Germany, yesterday. Their radar-jamming capabilities will be “greatly aiding in the ability to conduct suppression of enemy air defense operations,” Kirby said. But he claimed that the aircraft will not be used against Russian forces in Ukraine and are “not being sent because of some sort of acute threat that was perceived or some specific incident that happened.” Rather, they will fly missions to “reinforce deterrence capabilities of the alliance on the eastern flank. They are not there to engage Russian assets, that is not the goal,” Kirby said.