Air Force retires original Compass Call after more than 40 years of operations

An EC-130H Compass Call aircraft, left, and an EA-37B Compass Call aircraft fly over Southern Arizona on Sept. 3, 2026. The EC-130H is being retired as the Air Force transitions the Compass Call mission to the newer EA-37B. (Devlin Bishop/U.S. Air Force) By JENNIFER H. SVAN  STARS AND STRIPES Published 10 hours ago

The Air Force has officially retired its seasoned fleet of electronic warfare planes that jammed enemy signals and networks for decades in the Middle East, including in the initial stages of Operation Epic Fury earlier this year against Iran. The service bid a formal farewell to the EC-130H Compass Call at a ceremony last week at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, the Tucson, Ariz., installation home to the 55th Electronic Combat Group.  On Sept. 2, the rugged, low-flying aircraft made its final sortie, capping off a service life that started in 1981. Although that particular model is headed for the boneyard at Davis-Monthan, its mission will continue. “We are retiring the EC-130. We are not retiring Compass Call,” said Col. Aaron Gray, commander of the 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, at the retirement ceremony. “The mission continues with the EA-37B.”  The Air Force says the EA-37B “represents a generational leap in electromagnetic warfare.” The EA-37B Compass Call is a Gulfstream G550 business jet modified with classified electronic attack equipment. It replaces the EC-130H, which was based on the propeller-driven C-130 cargo plane. It can fly at 51,000 feet, more than double the ceiling of its predecessor, and can travel twice as fast, reaching speeds of up to 600 mph. The EA-37B carries a combat crew of up to nine people, about a third fewer than the old Compass Call. It can jam enemy communications as well as radar and navigation systems during tactical air and ground operations. The first EA-37B was delivered in August 2024. It made its first trans-Atlantic voyage from Arizona in January, landing at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. It was among the aircraft deployed during the ongoing war in Iran, U.S. Central Command said in April. The EA-18G Growler, the Navy’s dedicated electronic warfare aircraft, has also been used in combat operations in Iran, according to CENTCOM. AIR FORCE Jennifer H. Svan reports on the U.S. military from Kaiserslautern, Germany, where she writes about the Air Force, Army and DODEA schools. She’s had previous assignments for Stars and Stripes in Japan, reporting from Yokota and Misawa air bases. Before Stripes, she worked for daily newspapers in Wyoming and Colorado. She’s a graduate of the College of William and Mary in Virginia. 

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Source – Stars and Stripes