Last US Air Force EC-130H Compass Call completes final flight ahead of September retirement ceremony
Why It MattersThe transition from the four-engine EC-130H to the Gulfstream G550-based EA-37B signals a broader military shift toward business-jet platforms for electronic warfare missions.
Aircraft 73-1590, the last active US Air Force EC-130H Compass Call, completed its final flight under the callsign VOLT01, departing Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona on a mission lasting approximately six hours. The flight included formation flying with an EA-37B Compass Call, the Gulfstream G550-based aircraft replacing the EC-130H, and the 55th Wing confirmed it was the type's last flight. A formal retirement ceremony is scheduled for September 18 at Davis-Monthan, where the EC-130H fleet has been operated by the 55th Electronic Combat Group.
The EC-130H Compass Call entered operational service in 1983 to disrupt enemy communications, radar, and command-and-control systems. The fleet grew to 14 aircraft and was deployed across more than four decades of US military operations, including missions in the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan, with mission equipment giving the C-130H airframe its distinctive external fairings and antennas.
The retirement of the EC-130H does not end the Compass Call mission, which is transferring to the EA-37B, a smaller aircraft based on the Gulfstream G550 business jet that can operate at higher altitudes and speeds while requiring fewer personnel than the four-engine turboprop EC-130H. L3Harris integrates the mission systems while BAE Systems supplies the electronic warfare equipment. The Air Force received its first EA-37B in 2023 for testing, and the type has since participated in deployments outside the continental United States.
