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| More than 80 EA-18 Growler jets are based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. They're the centerpiece of the Navy's electronic warfare program. Each jet is armed with equipment to detect, disable or destroy radars and other enemy communications. MC2 John Hetherington - U.S. Navy. |
by Adam Ashton, Staff writer, thenewstribune.com, 18 October 2014
Olympic Peninsula residents and heavy users of the Olympic National Forest are raising concerns about a Navy plan to expand a close-to-home training range for a growing fleet of jets equipped to detect and jam enemy communications.
The Navy’s latest effort to stay on the cutting edge of military technology is colliding with fears that it could harm endangered species or disrupt the solitude of the forest’s remote places.
If approved, the Navy would use 15 sites in the Olympic National Forest for electronic warfare training that involves communications gear on the ground and EA-18 Growler jets searching for signals in the air. The equipment would emit low levels of electromagnetic radiation, similar to cellphone towers or TV news trucks.
Eight more sites could be used in the Roosevelt and Okanogon National Forests east of the Cascades. Training could take place up to 260 days a year for about 12 hours a day.
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