The PLA has been equipped with the J-16D Growler Wolf electronic warfare aircraft, at the 2021 Zhuhai Air Show, the PLA publicly displayed the J-16D Roaring Wolf electronic warfare aircraft, judging from the public information, the J-16D is improved on the basis of the J-16 fighter, after the cancellation of the cannon, an electronic search pod is installed on the wingtips, in addition to the electronic jamming pod equipment installed under the wing and engine compartment. J-16D can also carry anti-radiation missiles, so as to have the combat capability of "hard kill" for the target, before the appearance of the J-16D electronic warfare aircraft, only in the J-10B/C and J-7A equipped with electronic warfare pods and anti-radiation missiles, engaged in electronic warfare operations, compared with the J-16D electronic warfare comprehensive combat capability is more powerful.
The U.S. Navy is equipped with a large number of EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft, the EA-18G is an improved version of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter, but the EA-18G is a continuation of the EA-6B by transplanting the EA-6B's electronic equipment. At present, in addition to deploying EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft on aircraft carriers, the US Navy also has a squadron of EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft deployed for a long time in the first island chain, and has recently been deployed at the Kadena base in the Ryukyus, so that it can carry out missions in the airspace of the East China Sea.
According to the announcement issued by the US Navy's Seventh Fleet on December 22, the US Navy has dismissed Lieutenant Colonel William Coulter, commander of the 136th Electronic Warfare Squadron, from his post. Since Lieutenant Commander William Coulter's 136th Electronic Warfare Squadron is deployed on the USS CVN70 aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, the dismissal of Lieutenant Colonel William Kurt immediately raised concerns, and the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier is being deployed in combat in the South China Sea. According to publicly available information, the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson left Singapore's Changi Military Port on December 21 and was deployed again in the South China Sea, but the next day Lieutenant Colonel William Coulter was dismissed.
The U.S. Navy's EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft is deployed in aircraft carrier combat and is bound to perform electromagnetic suppression tasks, so it is very likely that it has encountered the PLA J-16D electronic warfare aircraft, so it is not excluded that the EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft is defeated by the PLA J-16D Growler Wolf electronic warfare aircraft. Kurt's loss of confidence in his command ability is likely to come from the electromagnetic suppression of the PLA J-16D fighter jet, for which he needs to be responsible, which led to the scene of dismissal, but the US Navy did not confirm the relevant speculation.
The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier CVN70 of the US Navy broke into the South China Sea to demonstrate when the New Year of 2024 was approaching, which was aimed at China, and the PLA not only has J-16D fighters to suppress the carrier-based aircraft forces of the US Navy, but also the Y-8 high-tech series can also suppress the US Navy. In the face of the US Navy's aggressive posture, the PLA will not sit idly by, and the PLA dares to confront tough situations, and this is a situation that the US Pentagon should understand.