Air Force Retires EC-130H Compass Call

Tactical military aircraft makes final flight alongside EA-37B, the model that will replace it.

Jack Daleo

Saturday, September 05, 2026 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

The last remaining U.S. Air Force EC-130H Compass Call aircraft this week makes its final flight alongside the EA-37B that will replace it. [Credit: Devlin Bishop/U.S. Air Force]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. Air Force has officially retired its last remaining EC-130H Compass Call aircraft after decades of electronic warfare service, marked by its final flight alongside its successor.
The EC-130H is being replaced by the EA-37B, a modified Gulfstream 550 business jet, which performed its first formation flight with the outgoing C-130 variant.
The new EA-37B maintains the EC-130H's critical mission of disrupting adversary command and control networks but offers significant performance enhancements in speed, range, and altitude.
The transition to the EA-37B is ongoing, with the Air Force planning to procure up to 22 units, and the new aircraft has already commenced combat deployments.

See a mistake? Contact us.

The last remaining U.S. Air Force EC-130H Compass Call made its final flight this week alongside an EA-37B, the modified Gulfstream 550 that will replace it.

Per a photo release Wednesday from the 355th Wing based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, the EC-130H and EA-73B flew in formation together for the first time. According to the 355th, EC-130H crews have flown over 76,000 combat hours over the past 20 years. Soon, it will join the Air Force’s already retired EC-130Hs in the boneyard at Davis-Monthan once the branch transitions its “compass call” mission systems to the Gulfstream business jets.