The U.S. Air Force has begun transitioning from the aging EC-130H Compass Call to the new EA-37B Compass Call, according to a report by The War Zone.
According to Dave Harrold, head of the Countermeasure and Electromagnetic Attack Solutions (CEMA) business area at BAE Systems, the aircraft is the Department of Defense’s only long-range electromagnetic spectrum platform.
Previously designated EC-37B, the aircraft was renamed EA-37B, underscoring its specialization in electronic attack missions.
“When I say electronic attack, what we’re really talking about is degrading, denying, and disrupting the adversary’s communications. It’s about wreaking havoc on their command and control system so opposing leaders are unable to make clear decisions,” Harrold told TWZ.
“This is truly a dedicated [combat] C5ISRT platform [command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting].”
Jason Lambert, president of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) at L3Harris Technologies, emphasized that the EA-37B delivers electromagnetic spectrum dominance, enabling forces to focus on other aspects of their own communications, command, and control centers.
“One of the strengths of the EA-37B is simultaneity. What that means is we have the power and the capacity. We’re not […] using a point solution: here’s a threat [and] here’s a technique,” Harrold added.
“And it’s all software-defined, which is a very important aspect. Threats are evolving, and we have the capability […] to determine what those potential threats may look like and how they evolve over time,” Lambert explained.
“It’s not a one-off solution that’s going to become obsolete. It’s a solution for today that’s built for tomorrow and beyond, because it can continue to evolve based on emerging threats.”
Because the EA-37B systems are software-defined, Lambert noted that potential customers can acquire new upgrades as needed to better align with specific mission requirements.
“The expandability of the mission packages is truly designed to evolve based on what the threat package looks like. Threat identification is increasingly centered on the adversary, so we can engage the system through software integration on the platform. It’s almost as if it was designed to be self-expanding.”
The U.S. Air Force will begin deploying the EA-37B Compass Call to replace the aging EC-130H Compass Call, but the aircraft has already attracted international interest, including from Italy, which has acquired two jets.
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Photo: US Air Force. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
