# EA-18 Squadrons — Program Element 0604269N

**Program element:** 0604269N  
**Component:** U.S. Navy  
**Appropriation:** 1319 — RDT&E, Navy  
**Budget Activity:** 5 — System Development & Demonstration  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604269N

## Summary

U.S. Navy funding falls 29% to a $131.7M request in FY2027 (down from a FY2026 peak), sustained across the five-year plan. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House funded it in full; the Senate funded it in full; House appropriators funded it in full. Boeing leads the industry work.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 164.1 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 184.9 |
| FY2027 | Request | 131.7 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 112.4 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 112.9 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 137.1 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 139.7 |

> Estimate types are not summed — the profile mixes actuals, enacted law, the request, and outyear projections.

## Congressional marks (FY2027)

| Stage | Marked ($M) | Change ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| Request | 131.7 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 131.7 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 131.7 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 131.7 | +0.0 |

> FY2027 NDAA authorization marks, as of 2026-07-27. Not appropriations or final law.

## Projects (1)

| Project | Title | FY2025 actual | FY2026 enacted | FY2027 request | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3063 | EA-18G Development | 164.1 | 184.9 | 131.7 | −29% |

> Projects are the summable leaves: the program element total is their sum, never added to it.

### Project 3063 — EA-18G Development

The EA-18G development program upgrades the Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) capability to detect, identify, locate and suppress hostile emitters; provides enhanced connectivity to National, Theater and Strike assets; and provides passive organic precision emitter targeting for employment of precision strike weapons and onboard suppression weapons (High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile family) to fulfill operational requirements. The EA-18G is the only tactical AEA platform for the joint force and is continually called upon to provide effects for USN, USMC, and USAF assets. There is no planned replacement for the EA-18G and improvements will fill capability gaps for the Air Wing of the Future North Star effort.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** Boeing (88.3, 67%), NAWCWD (20.8, 16%), NAWCAD (16.2, 12%), Tekla (0.3, 0.2%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| EA-18G AEA System Enhancements (ASE) and Integrated Capability Package (ICP-3) | 7.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| EA-18G System Configuration Set (SCS) Development & Integration | 3.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| EA-18G Flight Plan Engineering | 45.0 | 14.4 | 5.6 |
| EA-18G Growler Block II | 108.3 | 170.5 | 126.0 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

## Where the FY2027 request goes

| Category | Share | $M |
|---|---|---|
| Industry primes | 95% | 125.6 |
| Government labs & warfare centers | 3.5% | 4.6 |
| Other / unspecified | 1.2% | 1.5 |

**Top named industry performers:** Boeing ($88.3M, 67%), NAWCWD ($20.8M, 16%), NAWCAD ($16.2M, 12%).

> R-3 exhibit contract funding, not USAspending obligations.

## Mission & acquisition strategy

The EA-18G Growler is the primary Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) platform supporting the Joint Force and the sole tactical AEA aircraft in the DoW inventory. The Growler is an asymmetric force multiplier that increases the survivability and lethality of the Joint Force within a non-permissive environment, while enabling all-domain superiority for the Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS). The centrality of EMS dominance to the CNO's Maritime Strategy further necessitates EA-18G modernization as a strategic pursuit to secure EMS superiority for the Navy's Carrier Strike and Joint Expeditionary operations.

The program achieved Full Rate Production in November 2009. Development, integration, and test planning are underway for Growler Block II, a generational capability upgrade, which will be integrated into the overall EA-18G plan/roadmap. EA-18G software upgrades are incrementally developed, integrated and fielded. Software development and integration are coordinated efforts between government activities and industry partners to field capability upgrades to the EA-18G fleet.

## Related program elements

- [0604014N — F/A-18 Infrared Search and Track (IRST)](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604014N) (Navy)
- [0207136F — F-16 HARM Targeting Sys](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0207136F) (Air Force)
- [0604850N — Ssn(x)](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604850N) (Navy)
- [0203728A — Joint Automated Deep Operation Coordination System (JADOCS)](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0203728A) (Army)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Navy RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0604269N (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0604269N")`.

*HitchAI is an independent intelligence service, not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense. Budget figures are requests/estimates, not obligations.*