Last month, L3Harris delivered the third U.S. Air Force EA-37B “Compass Call Cross Deck” aircraft integrated with sophisticated electromagnetic attack (EA) mission system capabilities produced by BAE Systems. The EA-37B Banshee (formerly EC-37B) is an Electronic Attack aircraft based on the Gulfstream G550 entering service with the United States Air Force with the first example delivered on 23 August 2024 to Davis–Monthan Air Force Base for crew training. While every aircraft delivery is significant, the third aircraft marked a key milestone as the first EA-37B delivered to Air Combat Command (ACC). Air Force Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, Commander, Air Combat Command, visited the L3Harris Waco, Texas, aircraft missionization facility to personally receive the aircraft and pilot the ferry flight to Davis Monthan Air Force Base. He was joined by Lt. Gen. Thomas Hensley, 16th Air Force commander, and Col. Mark Howard, 55th Wing commander.
“For a pilot, there is nothing better than picking up a brand new aircraft from the factory and delivering it to the warfighters. For those of you who are going to get to fly it, it’s going to be amazing. We are on the cusp of delivering advanced capability, especially in electronic combat, and today is an exciting day for Air Combat Command,” said Gen. Ken Wilsbach, Air Combat Command commander.
“It was an incredible task migrating the complex Compass Call mission system from the EC-130H into the streamlined G550 to extend the heritage of the Air Force’s premier jamming fleet. We are proud to equip the Air Force with capabilities so it can endure in electromagnetic spectrum dominance against our adversaries,” said Jason Lambert, President, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, L3Harris.
The Compass Call mission has provided U.S. and allied forces with disruption of enemy communications, radars and navigation systems for more than 40 years. The system suppresses enemy air defenses by preventing the transmission of essential information between adversaries, weapon systems and command-and-control networks. The original Compass Call fleet was comprised of C-130 aircraft, designated the EC-130H when integrated with the EA mission system. The heavily deployed EC-130H served in every major U.S. contingency operation since the mid-1980s, and until recently, was continuously deployed to support U.S. Central Command operations in the Middle East. L3Harris’ Waco facility has provided integration and depot-level maintenance services to the legacy Compass Call fleet since 2003 and now with the migration of the mission system to the modified special missions, Gulfstream G550 business jet.
L3Harris is the air vehicle integration prime for the Compass Call fleet. The Compass Call program is part of L3Harris’ growing portfolio of multi-mission business jet solutions hosted on a variety of commercial platforms supporting critical global security missions. Other efforts include the Royal Australian Air Force’s Peregrine program; the U.S. Army’s Airborne Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare and Theater Level High-Altitude Expeditionary Next Airborne ISR Radar programs hosted on Bombardier Global series aircraft; and a variety of international maritime ISR programs hosted on the Dassault Falcon 2000. L3Harris has integrated systems info aircraft for more than 70 years and missionized aircraft from more than 10 original equipment manufacturers, consisting of over 125 aircraft types with more than 15,000 deliveries. The company has more than 77 multi-mission business jet aircraft on contract or delivered.
