2023 Red Sea Crisis

AN/ALQ-249(V)1 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band in the 2023 Red Sea Crisis

U.S. Navy VAQ-133 EA-18G Growlers deployed AN/ALQ-249(V)1 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band pods aboard USS Abraham Lincoln during the Red Sea Crisis, where Navy reporting says the system was used in combat and specialist reporting ties the cruise to operations against Houthi forces.

Weapon profileAN/ALQ-249(V)1 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band
SideUnited States-led coalitionRoleElectronic Warfare
AN/ALQ-249(V)1 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band, Carrier-based airborne electronic attack jamming pod system, Electronic Warfare - 2023 Red Sea Crisis
Image source: Raytheon NGJ-MB Product Page

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
VAQ-133 became the first Navy squadron to deploy with the ALQ-249/NGJ-MB and tactically employed the system.

Sources: VAQ-133 First NGJ-MB Deployment

Navy/NAVAIR text states the Abraham Lincoln deployment was the first time NGJ-MB was used both deployed and in combat.

Sources: VAQ-133 First NGJ-MB Deployment

Specialist reporting places the NGJ-MB first cruise in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden campaign against Houthi forces.

Sources: Navy Growlers ALQ-249 Went To War

NGJ-MB is a two-pod EA-18G Growler airborne electronic attack system for disrupting and degrading air-defense and ground-communication systems.

Sources: Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band, Next Generation Jammer

Timeline

AN/ALQ-249(V)1 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band In 2023 Red Sea Crisis

  1. VAQ-133 departs with ALQ-249 pods

    VAQ-133 departed Naval Air Station North Island with seven EA-18G Growlers for the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group deployment; Navy reporting later identified the cruise as the first deployment of the ALQ-249/NGJ-MB system.

    Sources: VAQ-133 First NGJ-MB Deployment

  2. NGJ-MB used in Middle East combat operations

    During the deployment, the strike group was ordered into the CENTCOM area of responsibility and VAQ-133 flew combat missions supporting operations against Houthi capabilities; NAVAIR text in the Navy article states the deployment marked the first time NGJ-MB was used both deployed and in combat.

    Sources: VAQ-133 First NGJ-MB Deployment

  3. VAQ-133 returns from deployment

    VAQ-133 returned to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island after the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group's five-month Middle East and Eastern Pacific deployment.

    Sources: VAQ-133 First NGJ-MB Deployment

  4. First-cruise combat reporting published

    The War Zone reported that VAQ-133 took NGJ-MB pods to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with USS Abraham Lincoln and discussed their first combat-linked deployment against Houthi forces.

    Sources: Navy Growlers ALQ-249 Went To War

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

The AN/ALQ-249(V)1 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band is documented in the 2023 Red Sea Crisis through VAQ-133's deployment with the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group. Naval Aviation News reported that VAQ-133 became the first Navy squadron to deploy with the ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer, tactically employed the system, and later supported CENTCOM objectives in the Middle East, including combat missions and strikes tied to degrading Houthi weapons storage capabilities.

The same Navy article includes NAVAIR program-office text stating that the Abraham Lincoln deployment was the first time NGJ-MB was used both deployed and in combat. The War Zone separately reported that VAQ-133 took NGJ-MB pods to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with the Lincoln strike group and that the squadron commander declined to discuss the specific target sets the pods took on against the Houthis in Yemen.

Sources: VAQ-133 First NGJ-MB Deployment, Navy Growlers ALQ-249 Went To War

Timeline

VAQ-133 departed Naval Air Station North Island on July 13, 2024, with seven EA-18G Growlers as part of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group deployment. The Navy account says the strike group was later ordered to the CENTCOM area of responsibility to deter regional escalation, degrade Iranian-backed Houthi capabilities, and defend U.S. forces.

During the deployment, VAQ-133 used the ALQ-249/NGJ-MB in the Middle East combat environment before returning to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island on December 14, 2024. In February 2025, The War Zone published interviews and reporting on the first cruise, identifying the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden as the operational setting for the pods' first combat-linked deployment.

Sources: VAQ-133 First NGJ-MB Deployment, Navy Growlers ALQ-249 Went To War

Narrative

In Red Sea Crisis service, NGJ-MB was a U.S. Navy carrier-based electronic-attack system rather than a transferred weapon. The documented operator was VAQ-133, flying EA-18G Growlers from USS Abraham Lincoln as part of a carrier air wing that supported U.S. operations around the Middle East during the Houthi maritime campaign.

Public reporting supports the broad role but not the exact jamming techniques or target list. The U.S. Navy fact file describes NGJ-MB as a two-pod airborne electronic attack system for the EA-18G Growler that disrupts and degrades enemy air-defense and ground-communication systems. NAVAIR describes the system as an external carriage airborne-electronic-attack capability using digital software and electronically scanned array technologies to disrupt, deny, and degrade enemy air defense and ground communication systems.

The available public record therefore supports a bounded conflict-use claim: VAQ-133 deployed and tactically employed ALQ-249/NGJ-MB during the Abraham Lincoln strike group's Red Sea Crisis cruise; Navy reporting states the system was used in combat; and specialist reporting places that use in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden campaign against Houthi forces, while withholding specific effects, emissions, and target-set details.

Sources: VAQ-133 First NGJ-MB Deployment, Navy Growlers ALQ-249 Went To War, Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band, Next Generation Jammer

Related Weapons by Role

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EA-18G Growler, Carrier-capable airborne electronic attack aircraft, Electronic WarfareElectronic WarfareEA-18G GrowlerCarrier-capable airborne electronic attack aircraftThe EA-18G Growler is a Boeing-built electronic attack derivative of the two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet, fielded to jam, detect, and attack hostile radars, communications, and air-defense networks while retaining missile carriage for suppression missions. U.S. Navy and Australian Growlers provide carrier or land-based electronic warfare support, with early combat deployment in Iraq and Libya in 2010-2011 and later documented use in 2014 Operation Inherent Resolve, Red Sea operations against Houthi forces, and the U.S.-Iran strike context.
AN/ALQ-87 electronic countermeasures pod, Electronic countermeasures pod, Electronic WarfareElectronic WarfareAN/ALQ-87 electronic countermeasures podElectronic countermeasures podThe AN/ALQ-87 was a General Electric electronic countermeasures pod, originally designated QRC-160-8, that gave 1955 Vietnam War strike aircraft a podded radar-jamming option against radar-guided air defenses. U.S. Air Force history ties the pod to late-1967 combat introduction, broad 1968 strike-aircraft use, and F-111A Linebacker operations, while the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force displays an F-4C 1967 loadout with one ALQ-87 on the right inboard pylon.
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Sources