EAST CHINA SEA (Oct. 10, 2023) Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Launch/Recovery Equipment) Airman Lilly Phillips, center, from Indianapolis, prepares to launch an EA-18G Growler from the Shadowhawks of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 141, under the instruction of Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Launch/Recovery Equipment) Airman Derrez Thomas, from Phoenix, aboard the U.S. Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), in the East China Sea, Oct. 10, 2023. The primary role of EA-18G Growlers is to disrupt the ability to communicate between units in combat through the use of electronic warfare. Ronald Reagan, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, provides a combat-ready force that protects and defends the United States, and supports alliances, partnerships and collective maritime interests in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Providakes)