MANNED RECONNAISSANCE AND SUPPRESSION OF ENEMY AIR DEFENSE (SEAD) SHOULD BE DONE BY DRONES
Remember when Hollywood came out with a movie in 1991 called “Flight of the Intruder”? The A-6 Intruder was a medium bomber flown only by the US Navy during the Vietnam war. One version of the Intruder was designed to carry the AGM-45 Shrike, which was the first-generation ARM (Anti-Radiation Missile) against SAM (Surface to Air Missile). The Intruder was a two-seater aircraft, seating the pilot and the navigator/shooter/ECM operator. Many of our Intruders were shot down by the Russian SA-2 Guideline before the Intruder’s Shrike missile could hit its target. Today, the Intruder is replaced by the EA -18G Growler. Will the EA-18G Growler be able to defeat the Russian S-400 SAM (Triumf)?
During the 2015 Fleet Experiment, the US Navy validated the concept of using multiple EA-18G to generate a weapon quality track against enemy emitters. After this 2015 Fleet Experiment’s successful demonstration, the US Navy decided to upgrade its Boeing EA-18G Growler fleet of SEAD aircrafts with the new Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT) datalink with other hardware.
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usn-upgrades-ea-18g-with-long-range-targeting-system-419677/
Will this be enough to counter the Russian S-400 SAM?
Simulation, testing, training, and tactics can only do so much. The US Navy and USAF had never gone up against the S400 in real life before. The EA-18G still carries two aircrews. The aircrews are still at risk no matter how good our hardware, tactics, and training are.
With our advance in networking, technology, hardware, and AI, why should the Navy or the Air Force be risking the expensive EA-18G with two aircrews on board? We have so many drone programs. Drones are much cheaper even if they are shot down. Plus, the drones can be used as decoys against the S-400 missile systems. Boeing has a new program called the “Loyal Wingman” drone which can be controlled by a mother aircraft for SEAD and Recon purposes.
https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/avalon/2019/02/27/boeing-unveils-loyal-wingman-drone/
In another program demonstration, two FA-18 deployed over 100 Perdix drones in a test over China Lake. These 100 drones swarmed like a cloud of locusts over a target area. These cheap drones can be deployed as kamikaze to overwhelm multiple S-400 SAMs systems in a real war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjUdVxJH6yI
Forget about putting our pilots and aircrews in risky environments as SEAD and Recon missions over enemy territories.
Clearly, the Pentagon should NOT be wasting billions of dollars on risky programs on manned aircraft systems (EA-18G) for SEAD and Recon missions. These programs only benefit Boeing, the manufacturer of the EA-18G. This is another way to save money from our national debt.