Diagram courtesy of bring_it_on's post [of 28th April 2014, 13:17] at Aviation Forum.
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COMMENT
Like SeaWeb there is what I call a Western "AirWeb" in which jamming aircraft, F-35s and new production line F-22s (available, from the mid 2020s, to those Western allies who bought the F-35) will play principal roles.
The F-35 (and Western fighter-attack aircraft for the last 50 years) have been part of a war winning sensor platform network. The F-35's can surprise enemy aircraft opponents and ground targets even more thoroughly with Growler and other jamming platforms (above) including use of jet powered UAVs which blind enemy sensors. Satellites, X-37 spacecraft, submarines and UUVs might also form part of the F-35's support network.
Aerial conditions are no longer WWII "dogfighting" which prized such technical qualities as tight turning and raw speed as well as a pilot's superior hand-eye coordination. From the Arab-Israeli wars (including this 2007 raid) through Vietnam and the Gulf Wars Western jamming networks have been crucial in the reduction of Western losses while winning air campaigns.
Submarine Matters (originally) in 2007 at http://gentleseas.blogspot.com.au/2007/10/suter-jamming-our-good-guys.html described the Israeli "Suter" jet based jamming which made possible Operation Orchard, an Israeli airstrike against a suspected weapons reactor site in Syria. This Operation played a part in the thinking behind combining aerial jamming with the F-35.
To work with jammers Australia is buying a total of 72 F-35As. F-35s constitute an improved way to utilise the jamming and broader Western "AirWeb" electronic networks now available.
As described below Australia has bought 12 EA-18G Growler electronic warfare (jamming) aircraft to be based at Amberley, Queensland (map below) from mid 2017.
DEFENCETALK ARTICLE
The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) reported March 1, 2017 via defencetalk.com:
[at the Avalon, Victoria Airshow Australian Defence] Minister Payne said...“The Growler can disrupt military electronic systems, such as radars, to protect personnel and improve situational awareness,”
[at the Avalon, Victoria Airshow Australian Defence] Minister Payne said...“The Growler can disrupt military electronic systems, such as radars, to protect personnel and improve situational awareness,”
...“Australia is the only country outside the United States flying the EA-18G Growler...”
The Chief of [the Australian] Air Force, Air Marshal Leo Davies, said the Growler was a vital part of Air Force’s evolution to a future fifth-generation Air Force.
“The EA-18G Growler will operate as part of our networked and integrated force, capable of sharing electronic intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data with other aircraft, as well as with the Army and Navy.
“The Growler is powerful and flexible. It can undertake a range of non-kinetic tasks, ranging from jamming, to blocking radar displays, and suppressing an adversary’s air defence system,” Air Marshal Davies said...” See whole defencetalk.comarticle.
F-35 basing in Australia. See map larger. (Courtesy Australian DoD via Defense Industry Daily.
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Pete