EA-18G Growler squadrons from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island appear to be taking part in a U.S. military Caribbean buildup amidst the Trump Administration’s escalation action against Venezuela dictator Nicolas Maduro, according to multiple news sources.
On Wednesday, the BBC reported that a lone Growler jet flew just north of Venezuela’s north coast, followed shortly afterward by two F/A-18 Super Hornets. The movement data was from the tracking site FlightRadar24.
That same day, Reuters reported that a squadron of EA-18G Growlers were forward deployed at former Naval Station Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico. Reuters published a photo of the aircraft at the Puerto Rican airfield. The War Zone, the defense news and analysis website, reported that the paint job on the jets suggested they are from VAQ-132 and that they are carrying new AN/ALQ-249(V)1 Next Generation Jammer-Mid Band electronic warfare pods under their wings.
Also on Wednesday, U.S. forces seized a crude oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, which the Trump Administration said was part of efforts to stop drug trafficking.
The BBC reported that satellite images show that the Puerto Rican airbase, which was closed in 2004 by the Pentagon, has been re-activated.
In addition, The War Zone reported that another squadron, VAQ-142, were already in the Caribbean aboard the Navy’s carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, which arrived in November.
Joseph Trevithick, a writer for The War Zone, wrote that deployment of the military’s preeminent electronic warfare aircraft is not a standard show of force and could indicate more military action to come.
“Growlers could provide electronic warfare support for platforms launching standoff attacks or penetrating through enemy air defenses to get closer to their objectives. The jets could also help ensure the survivability of standoff munitions themselves,” he wrote. “Other mission sets, including the insertion and/or extraction of special operations forces or other ground units, as well as combat search and rescue, would benefit from Growler support. In the context of Venezuela … the elements that currently make up that country’s air defense network do present varying degrees of threats that U.S. mission planners would have to take into account in any such operations.”
Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress have expressed unease over the escalating military posture in the Caribbean as well as the campaign of bombing alleged drug boats, which has killed more than 80 people so far. President Donald Trump accused Venezuela, and specifically Maduro, of facilitating drug trafficking.
In an interview with Politico this week, Trump said Maduro’s days in power were “numbered.”
