On August 23rd, the Air Combat Command of the US Air Force officially received its first EA-37B Compass Call aircraft, serial number 19-5591, for pilot training at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. A second aircraft is expected to be delivered to Davis-Monthan AFB for crew training by the end of 2024.
The EA-37B Compass Call, a long-range airborne electronic attack and warfare weapon system using a heavily modified version of the well-known Gulfstream G550 bizjet airframe, was delivered by General Ken Wilsbach, Commander of Air Combat Command, along with Lieutenant General Thomas Hensley, Commander of the 16th Air Force, and Colonel Mark Howard, Commander of the 55th Wing.
“For a pilot, there’s nothing better than picking up a brand-new aircraft from the factory and delivering it to the military. For those of you who will fly it, it’s going to be fantastic”, said Wilsbach. “We are on the verge of providing advanced capabilities, especially in electronic warfare, and today is an exciting day for Air Combat Command.”
Aircraft 19-5591, now assigned to the 55th Electronic Combat Group, will be flown by the 43rd Electronic Combat Squadron and maintained by the Contractor Logistics Support Aircraft Maintenance team at Davis-Monthan AFB. The aircraft will offer Air Combat Command crews their first opportunity to begin mission planning and training with the new aircraft. Although located at Davis-Monthan AFB, the 55th ECG reports to the 55th Wing at Offutt AFB, Nebraska.
“The EC-130 served its purpose for years, but this new airframe and its delivery mean that we have a credible new combat capability”, said Howard. “The EA-37B, with its extended range, speed, and agility, will allow the airmen onboard to make real-time decisions for the Air Force.”
The aircraft maintains military advantage in the electromagnetic battlespace and constitutes a more lethal force because it modernizes electromagnetic attack capabilities to target enemy forces’ tactical networks and information ecosystems. Moreover, the aircraft can deny, degrade, and disrupt adversary communications, information processing, navigation, radar systems, and electronic threats. It also uses offensive counter-information and electromagnetic attack capabilities in support of tactical air, surface forces, and special operations of the US and its allies.
The new EA-37B Compass Call will offer greater speed and range compared to the original EC-130H airframe and increase battlefield survivability. Additionally, the new platform will provide better stand-off jamming capabilities and flexibility to counter sophisticated communications and radar threats. Its ability to fly at higher altitudes will also enable its electronic warfare and intelligence systems to reach much farther, allowing it to enter and leave the operational area more quickly.
The first five aircraft will be equipped with “baseline 3” mission equipment, integrating systems from the EC-130H with new technologies. The sixth EC-37B Compass Call aircraft will receive the “baseline 4” equipment, which will introduce an open systems architecture, allowing for new electronic warfare payloads and reducing the overall cost of future upgrades.
Currently, the program envisions a total of 14 operational EA-37Bs and one training aircraft. An increase in the budget allocated to this specific aircraft has raised the original 10-aircraft plan to 14, allowing a one-to-one replacement between the EC-130 and EA-37.
“The EA-37B is the right choice at this time because as we continue to shift toward great power competition, we have adversaries developing long-range kill-chain ecosystems and anti-access/area-denial capabilities”, said Hensley. “The Compass Call will allow us to do things in the non-kinetic and electromagnetic spectrum to gain a military advantage.”
As the US Air Force’s newest electromagnetic attack platform, the EA-37B will replace the old EC-130H as a more modern and cost-effective aircraft derived from a commercial platform. Nine of the 14 EC-130H aircraft have already been retired to date.
“The EC-130 has been a cornerstone of Davis-Monthan since the early 1980s, and the arrival of the EA-37B along with the formation of the 11th Air Task Force marks a new era for this airbase”, said Colonel Scott Mills, Commander of the 355th Wing. “As we look to address the growing threat, the airmen of Davis-Monthan and the 55th Electronic Combat Group are ready to meet that challenge today”.
The 43rd Electronic Combat Squadron conducted its final flight on the EC-130H Compass Call aircraft last February 15th at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
Images: U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Paige Weldon