US Air Force retires EC-130H Compass Call

The US Air Force conducted the final flight of the EC-130H Compass Call on September 2, 2026, at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. This sortie concluded more than four decades of front-line service for the electronic attack aircraft, which had been operated by the 55th Electronic Combat Group. Imagery from the 355th Wing showed the EC-130H flying alongside an EA-37B Compass Call, the Gulfstream G550-based jet designated to replace it. According to the 355th Wing, this was the first time the two aircraft types flew together in formation. The wing also noted that EC-130H crews had accumulated over 76,000 combat hours in the past 20 years supporting named operations.

More than four decades of electronic warfare operations

The EC-130H entered service in the early 1980s as a heavily modified C-130 Hercules platform designed to jam enemy communications, radar, and navigation signals, while also supporting suppression of enemy air defenses. It saw its combat debut during Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989 and was deployed almost continuously from 2001 onward. A total of fourteen airframes were converted for the EC-130H role. The first aircraft was withdrawn in 2020, and the drawdown proceeded in parallel with the transition to the EA-37B. The 55th ECG began receiving the EA-37B in August 2024, when Air Combat Command took delivery of its first replacement jet. The 43rd Electronic Combat Squadron flew the EA-37B’s first mission training sortie on May 2, 2025.

EA-37B takes over the Compass Call mission

The EA-37B operates with a crew of nine, compared to the thirteen crew members required aboard the EC-130H. Under the Compass Call Rehost program, approximately 70% of the EC-130H’s mission equipment is being transferred to the EA-37B airframe rather than redesigned, helping preserve capability during the transition. As of April 2026, five EA-37Bs had been delivered, which was half the number originally planned. Despite not yet being formally declared operational, the EA-37B had already deployed, conducting missions against Iran during Operation Epic Fury from late March 2026. In its fiscal 2027 budget request, the Air Force sought $660 million to acquire three additional EA-37Bs and outlined plans to purchase seven more by 2031. These ten aircraft would be added to the twelve-aircraft program of record, which Congress had increased from ten by funding two extra jets in the fiscal 2026 appropriations. If fully funded, the plan would result in a fleet of twenty-two EA-37Bs, substantially exceeding the fourteen EC-130Hs being replaced.

The transition reflects a broader effort to modernize electronic warfare capabilities while maintaining mission continuity. The Air Force continues to integrate the EA-37B into operational units, with further deliveries planned through the early 2030s. The final EC-130H flight marks a significant milestone in the evolution of airborne electronic attack platforms.