Milestones
Nov. 15, 2001 -- First Flight Test Demonstration with F/A-18F1; on this and all subsequent flight test demonstrations, the aircraft carried three ALQ-99 jamming pods and two fuel tanks and tested to .9 Mach, 30,000 feet and 3 Gs
Dec. 11, 2001 -- Second Flight Test Demonstration with F/A-18F1
April 5, 2002 -- Third Flight Test Demonstration with F/A-18F1
Aug. 22, 2002 -- Fourth Flight Test Demonstration with F/A-18F1
Aug. 24, 2002 -- Fifth Flight Test Demonstration with F/A-18F1
During flight tests F1 carried three ALQ-99 jamming pods and two fuel tanks and tested to .9 Mach, 30,000 feet and 3 Gs
Dec. 29, 2003 -- U.S. Navy and Boeing sign $1B System Development and Demonstration Contract for Fiscal Years 2004-2009
June 23, 2004 -- GKN conducts the first "chip cutting" for an EA-18G part, when the company begins milling the first "G" Y204 bulkhead from a 3-3/4 inch thick, 44 x 52-inch plate of aluminum.
July 1, 2004 -- Mechanics at Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector begin assembling the center/aft fuselage for the first of two System Development and Demonstration test EA-18Gs by loading the aircraft's first bulkhead components into place on the company's F/A-18E/F production line in El Segundo, Calif.
Oct. 22, 2004 -- Members of the Boeing EA-18G assembly team begin assembling the first of two System Development and Demonstration test EA-18Gs by loading the aircraft's first bulkhead into tooling on the company's F/A-18E/F production line in St. Louis, Mo.
Dec. 28, 2004 -- First production APG-79 AESA radar is shipped from Raytheon facilities in El Segundo, Calif. Radar arrives in St. Louis on Jan. 5, 2005.
Jan. 25, 2005 -- Flight testing begins for Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System in the aft cockpit of an F/A-18. The flight marked the first time both the pilot and weapon systems officer used the helmet during flight. The helmet will be used in both cockpits on the EA-18G as well.
Jan. 27, 2005 -- Boeing engineers complete all required wind tunnel testing for the under the EA-18G System Development and Demonstration (SDD) program.
March 22, 2005 -- Series of Integrated Baseline Reviews (IBR) completed for SDD contract
April 25, 2005 -- Weapon System Critical Design Review (CDR)
April 27, 2005 -- Aircraft F-134 moved to the Experimental Production (XP) shop to begin its modification to become EA-1.
April 28, 2005 -- The first flight test aircraft, EA-1, moves into modification two weeks ahead of schedule. The second flight test aircraft follows on May 13.
May 17, 2005 -- Air data Source Error Correction (SEC) flights begin on F-35 as part of the aeromechanical flight test program.
June 14, 2005 -- The first formal Mission Planning Design Advisory Group (DAG) is conducted, with the Crew Vehicle Interface (CVI) and Mission Planning requirements reviewed with fleet and operational test users.
Nov. 8, 2005 -- EA-18G team completes the initial laboratory verification of the EA-18G tactical aircraft's Interference Cancellation (INCANS) system, and demonstrated the system's capabilities during aircraft ground testing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
Jan. 5, 2006 -- Initial integration test commences in Boeing's Electronic Systems Integration Laboratoy (ESIL) in St. Louis for software configuration set Build 1.0.
February 2006 -- The U.S. Navy approves Boeing's test plans and processes for integrating several key subsystems into the EA-18G weapons system. Successful completion of its first two test readiness reviews (TRR) allows Boeing to begin developing and integrating the systems at Boeing labs in St. Louis.
March 30, 2006 -- The U.S. Navy flies F/A-18F-35 with ALQ-218 wingtip pods in an aeromechanical flight, marking the first time the wingtip pods have been flown.
May 1, 2006 -- The ALQ-218 system is delivered to EA-1 for installation in the first Growler aircraft
May 26, 2006 -- Installation and Operational Checkout (IOC) phase begins for EA-1 aircraft in the Experimental shop
May 30, 2006 -- The U.S. Navy flies F/A-18F-35 with ALQ-218 wingtip pods and ALQ-99 jamming pods, marking the first time the wingtip pods and jamming pods have been flown together.
June 19, 2006 -- First Flight Readiness Review (FFRR)
June 2006 -- Boeing receives two contract modifications, worth approximately $101 million, to build the first four production EA-18G aircraft, G1 through G4. The aircraft will be used in the flight test program.
June 13, 2006 -- Northrop Grumman begins assembly of the center-aft fuselage of G1, the first production EA-18G, at its plant in El Segundo, Calif.
June 19, 2006 -- EA-18G successfully completes its First Flight Readiness Review, a key part of approval for first flight.
Aug. 3, 2006 -- Boeing rolls out the first flight test EA-18G, EA-1, at ceremonies in St. Louis, Mo.
Aug. 15, 2006 -- The historic first flight of the first Growler, EA-1, is conducted in St. Louis.
Sept.19, 2006 -- EA-1 conducts its first flight with ALQ-99 jamming pods installed.
Sept. 22, 2006 -- EA-1 ferries to Patuxent River Naval Air Station to commence a period of anechoic chamber and flight tests.
Last updated 10/24/06