The EA-18G Growler passed an important flight test Tuesday, moving the airplane one step closer to its destiny of becoming a fixture at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.

Flying over St. Louis, Mo., the airplane was taken on its sixth flight and first with its full mission load of jamming pods.

“It was a huge milestone for the program,” said Mike Gibbons, program manager for Boeing’s EA-18G program.

The EA-18G, a variant of the Navy’s F/A-18F Super Hornet, will replace the venerable EA-6B Prowler in providing the nation’s electronic warfare muscle.

Tuesday’s two-hour flight was the first time the Growler was equipped with its pods and external fuel tanks. Boeing’s F/A-18 chief test pilot, Ricardo Traven, was at the controls. Also on board the two-seat aircraft was Dana Perkins, weapons system operator.

It was the final test for the aircraft in St. Louis. It is now on its way to NAS Patuxent River to begin a two-year flight test program.

“The aircraft flies fine with those pods,” Gibbons said. “Instrumentation’s installed, it’s ready for delivery.”

The Growler flies much faster than the Prowler and carries a crew of two rather than three or four. Gibbons said electronics have been upgraded to accommodate a two-person crew, and the Growler will carry more armaments than the Prowler.

The Growler can go supersonic without its electronic warfare pods. For added power it has afterburners to use if it takes off with a heavy load or needs a burst of speed.

Don’t expect more noise when the Growlers arrive at Whidbey. “In general, it’s quieter,” Gibbons said. “Super Hornet engines are quieter even under afterburners.”

The Growler is on a tight timeline as it is scheduled to enter service in late 2008. Boeing will send someone to Whidbey Island Naval Air Station early next year to help make preparations for the Growler’s arrival.

“Bob Papadokolus will move to Whidbey to act as Boeing’s representative as we stand up the Whidbey base,” Gibbons said. Papadokulus, a recently retired Navy captain, knows Whidbey and Oak Harbor well.

The Navy plans to station 57 EA-18G Growlers at NAS Whidbey. They are scheduled to be fully deployed by 2012 if Congress provides the necessary funding.

Gibbons said that to date Congress has approved only four planes to get the program rolling. Discussions are now under way to fund another eight to 12 next year.