As in the story of Polyphemus, the giant Cyclops blinded by the hero Odysseus in Greek legend, all the strength in the world means nothing in modern warfare if you can't see your enemy.

The RAAF's new equivalent to Odysseus' fire-hardened stake is the Growler, the most potent weapon in electronic warfare, which made its Australian debut at the Avalon Airshow on Tuesday.

The nation's combat pilots have only ever trained to blow things up or shoot them down.

"This brings us the opportunity to operate in an electronic space," said Chief of Air Force Leo Davies. "That could be because we want to have a particular electronic effect, like stopping somebody using a particular device, or we might just want to disguise where we are and what we're doing."