As primary contractor, Boeing was to construct the forward fuselage and wings, and perform the final assembly.

The GAO felt the electronic warfare systems on the EA-18G were not fully mature so there is a risk of "future cost growth and schedule delays".

The report recommended that the DoD consider purchasing additional ICAP III upgrades for EA-6Bs to fill any current and near-term capability gaps and restructure the initial EA-18G production plans so that procurement takes place after the aircraft has "demonstrated full functionality".

[14] The U.S. Navy has ordered a total of 57 aircraft to replace its in-service EA-6B Prowlers, most of which are based at NAS Whidbey Island.

[19] On 9 July 2009, General James Cartwright told the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services that the choice had been to continue the F/A-18 production line because the warfighting commanders needed more aerial electronic warfare capability that only the EA-18G could provide.

[20] The Navy's submission for the 2011 defense budget put forth by the Obama administration calls for four EA-18G Growler squadrons to be added to the fleet.

It will also purchase an additional 15 Growlers, funded by a spending bill that will go to President Obama for signature in late December 2014.

Most of the dedicated airborne electronic attack equipment is mounted on a plate in the space that used to house the internal 20 mm cannon and on the wingtips.

[28] The added electronics include AN/ALQ-218 wideband receivers on the wingtips and ALQ-99 high and low-band tactical jamming pods.

The ALQ-218 combined with the ALQ-99 form a full spectrum electronic warfare suite that is able to provide detection and jamming against all known surface-to-air threats.

[28] The poor reliability of the ALQ-99 jammer pod and frequent failures of the Built-In Test (BIT) have caused the crew to fly missions with undetected faults.

The ALQ-99 has also interfered with the aircraft's AESA radar and has imposed a high workload on the two-man crew, along with reducing the Growler's top speed.

The Growler is the initial platform for the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) which uses active electronically scanned array (AESA) technology to focus jamming power exactly where needed.

[33] Three Growlers networked together can generate targeting tracks for hostile radio-frequency sources in real time, but this is difficult to arrange with the current minimum strength US Navy squadrons.

[37] Following U.S. Navy missions in Operation Odyssey Dawn during the 2011 Libyan Revolution, the Royal Australian Air Force decided to add the Raytheon ATFLIR (forward looking infrared) pod to their order of 12 Growler aircraft.

[44] U.S. Air Force personnel of 390th Electronic Combat Squadron stationed at NAS Whidbey Island have been supporting and flying the Growler.

[48] The Growler was deployed as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian, where one destroyed a Houthi Mil Mi-24 "Hind" on the ground with an AGM-88E Advanced Antiradiation Guided Missile (AARGM).

[52] On 12 February, 2025, an EA-18G crashed into San Diego Bay, due to poor visibility while trying to land at Naval Base Coronado.

[55] On 27 February 2009, Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon announced that 12 of the 24 Super Hornets on order would be wired on the production line for future fit-out as EA-18Gs.

[59] On 3 May 2013, the Australian Government announced that it will buy 12 new-build Growlers to supplement the existing Super Hornet fleet.

[61] Uniquely, Australian Growlers will be equipped with the AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR targeting pod and will also have additional air-to-air weapons in the form of the AIM-9X missile.

[65] On 29 January, an Australian EA-18G caught fire after an aborted takeoff at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada while participating in Exercise Red Flag 2018.

[65] On 9 December 2020, the Royal Australian Air Force had announced that the 11 EA-18G Growlers and 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets had been grounded after an incident occurred where the crew of a RAAF F/A-18F had to eject on takeoff which is under investigation.

[73] On 1 January 2018, it was reported that the Japanese Government is considering purchasing an electronic warfare attack aircraft and the EA-18G is a candidate for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.