Providing Additional Electromagnetic Warfare Mission Systems for USAF EA-37B Fleet

BAE Systems will provide advanced electromagnetic warfare (EW) mission systems for aircraft 7-10 in the U.S. Air Force’s growing fleet of EA-37B aircraft. The next-generation Baseline 4 mission systems will deliver powerful, long-range electromagnetic attack capabilities to disrupt and suppress the enemy’s use of the electromagnetic spectrum for communications, navigation, and air defense.

“The EA-37B’s unique and exquisite EW capabilities make it a powerful asset for the U.S. Air Force and coalition forces,” said Duane Beaulieu, Compass Call technical director at BAE Systems. “As the EA-37B fleet comes on line, the Air Force will be better equipped to dominate the electromagnetic spectrum.”

Compass Call is the Department of Defense’s only long-range, full-spectrum stand-off electromagnetic warfare jamming platform. The fleet of 14 EC-130H Compass Call aircraft is being replaced with 10 modernized EA-37B aircraft. The modern EA-37B airframes will help the warfighter maintain mission readiness and provide improvements in speed, altitude, endurance, and survivability.

BAE Systems has provided the Compass Call mission systems for decades, continually evolving the technology to address modern threats and redesigning hardware for the cross-deck onto the smaller EA-37B airframe. In September, the first EA-37B aircraft was delivered to the U.S. Air Force, and the platform is currently in developmental and operational testing.

The Compass Call mission is to counter enemies’ command and control, computing, communications, combat systems, and intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting (C5ISRT) capabilities. Future mission system modernization efforts will enhance counter-C5ISRT operations and use software-defined radios and an open architecture to rapidly insert new capabilities to address evolving threats.