{"id":36589,"date":"2023-09-12T22:18:34","date_gmt":"2023-09-12T22:18:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2023\/09\/12\/us-air-force-receives-first-new-compass-call-electronic-warfare-plane\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:56:08","slug":"us-air-force-receives-first-new-compass-call-electronic-warfare-plane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/electronic-warfare\/2023\/09\/12\/us-air-force-receives-first-new-compass-call-electronic-warfare-plane\/","title":{"rendered":"US Air Force receives first new Compass Call electronic warfare plane"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. \u2014 The U.S. Air Force has received its first EC-37B Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft<\/a> from contractors BAE Systems and L3Harris Technolgies, industry officials announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BAE Systems said in a release that the Air Force will next start combined developmental and operational testing for this Compass Call, the first of 10 aircraft planned for the Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new EC-37B fleet will replace Air Combat Command\u2019s decades-old EC-130 aircraft<\/a>, which the service is now retiring. BAE builds the electronic attack components of the new Compass Call in Hudson, New Hampshire, and L3Harris integrates that mission-specific hardware into a Gulfstream G550 business jet at its facility in Waco, Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Compass Call will conduct a variety of electronic warfare missions to jam enemy signals, including communications, radar and navigation systems. BAE said this will include suppressing enemy air defenses by blocking their ability to transmit information between weapon systems and command-and-control networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a roundtable at the Air and Space Forces Association\u2019s Air Space and Cyber conference here, ACC Commander Gen. Mark Kelly said the EC-37B\u2019s jamming capabilities will protect friendly ships and aircraft from enemy attack, and allow them to get closer to their targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EC-37B\u2019s mission and capabilities won\u2019t be wildly different from the EC-130, Kelly said, especially since the Air Force updated the older Compass Call\u2019s capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the altitude and speed improvements that will come with the EC-37B will make it a considerable step up from its predecessor, Kelly said. The EC-130 has a ceiling of 25,000 feet and can fly at up to 300 miles per hour. G550s can fly past 40,000 feet and nearly twice that speed, which an L3Harris executive in 2021 said would allow the EC-37B to be able to target a greater range of enemy activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EC-130 also is worn out, Kelly said, and the Air Force needs the EC-37 \u201cyesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere comes a point of every piece of equipment\u2019s lifespan, we\u2019ve squeezed every last drop of combat capability out of it,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n