The first EC-37B Compass Call aircraft, a new generation of electronic warfare aircraft, arrived in Tucson today.
It is one of ten EC-37Bs that will be stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, replacing the EC-130H, according to a news release from the office of Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, who serves as the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Airland Subcommittee.
The Compass Call program is designed to disrupt enemy communications and operations through airborne electronic warfare and intelligence, the news release said. The EC-37B can be used for jamming support and other forms of electronic attacks.
The new aircraft uses the business jet frame of a modified Gulfstream G550, with a Compass Call mission system integrated by L3Harris Technologies. BAE Systems produced the mission system at its Hudson, New Hampshire facility, according to its website.
The system, “disrupts enemy communications, radars and navigation systems, and suppresses enemy air defenses by preventing the transmission of essential information between adversaries, weapon systems and command-and-control networks,” the website said.
Boosting the Air Forces electronic warfare capabilities is critical to ensuring we maintain our competitive edge over adversaries like China, and the next generation of Compass Call is central to that mission,” Sen. Kelly said in the news release. “With the Compass Call fleet based entirely at Davis-Monthan, Arizona will remain at the forefront of our national defense strategy for years to come.”