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EA-18G Growlers Appear to Be Flying Over Iran with Four Anti-Radiation Missiles

Published on: March 17, 2026 at 5:59 PM
Stefano D'Urso Stefano D'Urso
Epic Fury SEAD
A U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler aircraft takes off for a mission during Operation Epic Fury, March 14, 2026. (U.S. Air Force photo)

SEAD missions appear to be still a big focus of Operation Epic Fury, with EA-18Gs shown flying with four AGM-88s and F-16s flying with mixed AGM-88/JDAM loads.

New photos released by the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) show U.S. fighter jets being launched for new missions over Iran during Operation Epic Fury. Notably, in the latest batch, assets involved in the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) are the focus.

The new photos

Among the aircraft shown, the most interesting is the EA-18G Growler. In fact, the jet is sporting a rarely seen loadout with four AGM-88 anti-radiation missiles, together with an AN/ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System (TJS), two AIM-120C/D Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) and two external fuel tanks (EFT).

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Notably, the AGM-88s are mixed, as two are the older AGM-88C High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) variant and two are the newer AGM-88E Advanced Antiradiation Guided Missile (AARGM) variant. The AARGM can be identified by green stripes on the mid-body fins and a different color on the nose cone.

A similar configuration was seen in 2025 when the Growlers were employed in the U.S. strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. A more usual payload for the EA-18G would see only two AGM-88s and three AN/ALQ-99s, together with two EFTs and two AIM-120s.

The other SEAD asset shown is the F-16CM Fighting Falcon, which is equipped with a mixed load including an AGM-88C HARM and a GBU-31(V)3 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), the bunker busting variant of the 2,000 lb guided bomb. This marks a change compared to the initial days when the F-16s were flying with a HARM-only loadout.

A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft takes off for a mission during Operation Epic Fury, March 14, 2026. (U.S. Air Force photo)

The specialized loadout is completed by an Angry Kitten electronic warfare pod, together with the usual AN/ASQ-213 HARM targeting system (HTS) pod, a Litening targeting pod, three AIM-120s and one AIM-9X Sidewinder. The Angry Kitten, initially born as a training pod, has evolved as a modular DFRM-based electronic warfare pod and is now at its first combat employment.

Compared to the Growler, the Wild Weasel F-16s appears to be a more multirole loadout, compared to a standard SEAD mission. Previously, the F-16s were also shown with a mixed loadout which included an AGM-88C and a GBU-54 Laser JDAM, a loadout already used in the past for of Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (DEAD) missions.

An F-35A Lightning II is also shown in this latest post by CENTCOM, although it can’t immediately be linked to SEAD missions. In fact, while SEAD is one of the F-35’s primary missions, it is not the only and does not use specialized equipment carried externally.

A picture from last week also shows another interesting loadout of the Growler. In fact, an EA-18G is shown launching from the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) aircraft carrier equipped with an AN/ALQ-99 TJS and a newer AN/ALQ-249 NGJ-MB (Next-Generation Jammer-Mid Band), together with three EFTs and two AIM-120s.

An EA-18G Growler, attached to Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 133, launches from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury, March 7, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo)

Is SEAD still needed?

Operation Epic Fury is now in its third week since the opening attack on Feb. 28, 2026. One could wonder why SEAD is still needed, especially after the U.S. officials claimed multiple times that the military has completely destroyed Iran’s defenses and achieved air superiority.

It must be noted however, that strikes are hitting Iranian targets progressively farther from the coast, allowing assets to more safely move inland. Thus, there could be areas were threats are still present and need to be treated accordingly.

This would be also in line with a more specific “localized air superiority” mention by CENTCOM, which would indeed imply that some areas are still not fully under control. In turn, this would also possibly explain why B-52H Stratofortress bombers continue to employ the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM). With this weapon, which has also been used in the opening phases by the B-1B Lancer, the bombers can conduct their strikes while remaining out of the threat’s range.

Anyway, what can be considered for certain is that the surface-to-air threat is not yet fully eliminated. For instance, video released by CENTCOM on Mar. 15 and 16 show MIM-23 Hawk surface-to-air missile launchers being destroyed, as well as a ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft autocannon.

It should not be forgotten that Iran possessed a highly dense and layered air defense networks, whose threat was not underestimated by the U.S. military. While the country has been historically reliant on Soviet-era systems, it started increasingly integrating indigenous systems which apparently emphasized mobility and electronic warfare capabilities.

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By Stefano D'Urso
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Stefano D'Urso is the Deputy Editor at The Aviationist, based in Lecce, Italy. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering. His areas of expertise include emerging aerospace and defense technologies, electronic warfare, unmanned and autonomous systems, loitering munitions, and the application of OSINT techniques to the analysis of military operations and contemporary conflicts.
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