U.S. Navy planning for Air War Over Korea
The U.S. Navy has deployed special, radar-hunting warplanes to South Korea to train for a possible air war against North Korea. The five EA-18G Growlers have joined more than 200 American and South Korean planes and tens of thousands of military personnel for a five-day annual war game known as Vigilant Ace. The two-person crews of the twin-engine EA-18Gs are responsible for arguably the most dangerous mission in all of aerial warfare. Officially called "suppression of enemy air defenses," the mission involves clearing a path through sophisticated air defenses so that other planes can safely strike their targets. The EA-18Gs carry sensors for detecting radars' emissions, jammers for interfering with the sensors' functions and radar-homing missiles to destroy them. But to take out enemy air defenses, the Growler crews have to get close and that puts them directly in harm's way. In North Korea, the crews would face a growing arsenal of radars ...