BAE Systems will provide advanced electromagnetic warfare (EW) mission systems for four of the US Air Force’s EA-37B aircraft.
The next-generation Baseline 4 mission systems “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 company explained.
The US Department of Defense’s current fleet of 14 EC-130H Compass Call aircraft is its “only long-range, full-spectrum stand-off electromagnetic warfare jamming platform,” BAE stated.
Now it is being replaced by 10 modernized EA-37B aircraft, with numbers seven through 10 receiving the updated EW system.
The advanced EW system will allow the service to maintain mission readiness with improvements in speed, altitude, endurance, and survivability.
“The EA-37B’s unique and exquisite EW capabilities make it a powerful asset for the US Air Force and coalition forces,” BAE Systems Compass Call technical director Duane Beaulieu said.
“As the EA-37B fleet comes on line, the Air Force will be better equipped to dominate the electromagnetic spectrum.”
BAE’s Compass Call
BAE Systems has been manufacturing and providing the Compass Call EW mission system for many years, updating the technology to confront evolving threats.
The company redesigned hardware to “cross-deck onto the smaller EA-37B airframe,”
delivering the first EA-37B in September last year.
The delivery took place six months after L3Harris conducted its maiden flight of the “missionized” platform.
“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,” BAE said.
