After weathering Congressional backlash and industry protests, the U.S. Air Force has awarded a contract for new jamming aircraft based on the Gulfstream G550 business jet. The decision puts the service on a road to finally replacing the aging, but important EC-130H Compass Call fleet and could prompt an increasing use of similar aircraft for specialized missions throughout the U.S. military. On Sept. 7, 2017, the Air Force confirmed it had signed the long awaited deal with L3 to migrate the Compass Call equipment onto a new plane. As part of the plan, the defense contractor had the authority to choose the final platform, in this case the G550.

“After their analysis and sharing that with the program office, L3 has decided to use the Gulfstream 550 Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft as the new platform,” Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek said, according to DOD Buzz. “This new Compass Call platform is being referred to as EC-X.” The total value of the project remains unclear, as the contract is a so-called “undefinitized” arrangement that puts L3 to work immediately while it negotiates the final price tag with the Air Force. At present, there is not apparent intention to make significant modifications to the Compass Call capabilities, with the primary goal simply being to move the systems onto a newer aircraft.

Gulfstream The basic layout of the G550 Airborne Early Warning aircraft, also known as the Conformal Airborne Early Warning aircraft.

The Air Force received the first EC-130H aircraft, based on the C-130H Hercules cargo aircraft, in 1982. Since then, the service has put the 14-aircraft fleet through two major modernization cycles, as well as adding a host of minor improvements. The aircraft’s exact capabilities and nature of the modifications are classified, but Compass Call’s mission is to disrupt enemy communications, radars, and other electronic emitters, both in support of air and ground operations. Most recently, the EC-130Hs have been flying over Iraq scrambling ISIS’ radios and cell phones and possibly preventing improvised explosive devices from going off and knocking down small drones. Since they have the ability to spot and track various signals in order to jam them, the Compass Call system also has the ability to provide limited intelligence on enemy positions and movements. Even before the U.S. military began its campaign against ISIS started in 2014, EC-130Hs had already flown more than 60,000 flight hours in both Iraq and Afghanistan in the preceding decade.

USAF A pair of EC-130Hs, along with an EC-130J Commando Solo propaganda plane, at left, at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait in June 2017.

Unfortunately, as important as they’ve been, the aircraft are getting older and more difficult to maintain. At one point, the Air Force even considered scrapping half the Compass Call fleet without any immediate plans for a replacement. It then faced opposition from members of Congress over subsequent plans to award a sole-source deal straight to Gulfstream for a new platform, which it referred to in 2016 as the EC-37B. The U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard operate a number of earlier Gulfstream Vs and G550s as VIP transports under the designations C-37A and C-37B respectively. The legislators, especially those from states that are home to other aircraft manufacturers, pressed for a competitive process, instead. The Air Force countered with a unique plan to hire L3 to come up with a modernization solution and pick the aircraft itself. The service was already paying the company to maintain the existing EC-130Hs.

USAF An EC-130H Compass Call aircraft.