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| The New EC-37B Electronic Warfare Jet Belongs to the US Air Force Ready to First Flying |
International Military - The US Air Force's (USAF) next-generation Electronic Warfare (EW) jet, the EC-37B Compass Call, is preparing for its maiden flight. The Compass Call Cross Deck team (L3Harris Technologies, BAE Systems, and Gulfstream) is focused on delivering a fleet of EC-37Bs to replace the retired EC-130H EW platform.
“Upcoming milestones include flight and mission system testing for the aircraft,” according to a press release from L3Harris.
The EC-37B is based on the commercially available Gulfstream G550 business jet, not a military-specific airframe. The G550 platform has greater speed, endurance and stand-off range than the older EC-130H aircraft and provides significantly improved survivability. The new platform will provide combatant commanders with greater stand-off jamming capabilities and flexibility to counter sophisticated adversary communications and radar threats.
The Compass Call mission system disrupts enemy command and control communications and restricts enemy coordination which is essential for enemy troop management. The Compass Call system uses counteroffensive information and EW capabilities to support US and coalition tactical air, surface, and special operations forces. It forms part of the suppression of the enemy air defense triad, and the programmatic upgrade extends its mission by providing a secondary EA capability against early warning and acquisition radars.
The G550's superior reliability and sustainability make 10 EC-37B aircraft equivalent to a fleet of 14 legacy EC-130H aircraft.