By Chuck Wagner
PEO for Tactical Aircraft
Public Affairs

Members of the EA-18G Growler program and EA-6B Prowler’s Improved Capabilities III (ICAP III) project jointly received the 2006 David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award during a ceremony Nov. 8.

The Packard award is the Department of Defense’s highest recognition for civilian or military teams and organizations that have demonstrated exemplary innovation and best acquisition, technology or logistics practices. The award was presented by the honorable Kenneth Krieg, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, during a ceremony held at the Army’s Fort Belvoir, Va.

The shared recognition reflects successes on closely related Navy efforts. The EA-6B ICAP III’s electronic warfare (EW) systems will transfer from the aging Prowler fleet to the EA-18G, a Super Hornet variant that will be the Navy and Defense Department’s next-generation tactical electronic warfare asset. Both teams are part of NAVAIR’s Program Executive Office for Tactical Aircraft, which is overseen by Rear Adm. David J. Venlet.

“The ICAP III team developed new EW technologies greatly improving target detection, identification, and geo-location, as well as enhancing emitter processing speeds, multi-source emitter correlation and the human-machine interface,” said Venlet, who commended the team’s successful use of open architecture processes which will reduce risk with the systems transfer to the Growler.

ICAP III systems were recently featured in an article called “Upgraded Prowlers transforming warfare.” The article cited fleet feedback that the systems had broadened EW efforts beyond traditional search-and-destroy missions against enemy air defenses. The ICAP III Prowler demonstrated it can serve as a command-and-control node in the Navy's quickly expanding universe of network-centric warfare. Perhaps most transformational is the Prowler's new power to directly support troops on the ground by dominating the electronic airwaves.

The ICAP III team’s successes have garnered several recognitions: the team was an Aviation Week & Space Technology laureate nominee; the ICAP III Integrated Product Team received an Association of Old Crows (AOC) international award and deputy program manager Tony Manich received an AOC program manager of the year award for his efforts leading the EA-6B program office, including ICAP III development.

The EA-18G program team was given the Packard award for a series of acquisition accomplishments from completion of the critical design review to first aircraft flight.

The first Growler development test aircraft, named EA-1, was delivered to the Navy Sept. 22, within budget and a month ahead of schedule. EA-2 is scheduled for early arrival this month.
During a rollout ceremony for the EA-1 Aug. 3, Admiral Mike Mullen, chief of naval operations said, “This rollout comes none too soon. As we speak, the Growler's predecessor, the EA-6B Prowlers, are themselves flying vital missions over Iraq and Afghanistan and they need to be replaced as soon as possible.“
Mullen said the Growler will save U.S. taxpayers several billion dollars because its design is based on an existing airframe. The Growler shares more than 90 percent commonality with the Super Hornet.

“The EA-18G is planning for fleet introduction like no other aircraft in history,” stated the Growler program’s nomination letter.

Both teams were judged against other service organizations under several categories: making the acquisition system more efficient, responsive and timely; reducing the life-cycle costs; and integrating defense with the commercial base and practices.

“This success is part of our team’s continuing contribution to the Navy-wide goal of delivering the right force, with the right readiness, and at the right cost,” said Venlet. “You’ll see much more of this as the Naval Aviation Enterprise continues to streamline development and procurement of the systems we send forward to our fleet warfighters.”

The Naval Aviation Enterprise is a partnership among Naval leadership to optimize processes that maintain current readiness while investing in future readiness.
The enterprise concept focuses Naval aviation on the single fleet-driven metric of producing aircraft ready for tasking at reduced cost.

Cmdr. Paul Overstreet and Greg Drohat currently co-lead the Growler program, which falls under the F/A-18 program and Capt. Donald Gaddis. Overstreet replaces Capt. Steve Kochman, who co-led the Growler program through part of 2006. The Prowler program is headed by Capt. Ken Smolana and Tony Manich. Several dozen members on each team received the award.
The award is named in honor of the late David Packard, founder and chairman of the Hewlett-Packard Company, former deputy secretary of defense under President Nixon, and chairman of a blue ribbon defense commission (the “Packard Commission”) under President Reagan.