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 last U.S. Air Force EC-130H Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft has completed its final flight, marking its retirement after decades of active service.
The EC-130H is being replaced by the new EA-37B, a modified Gulfstream 550 business jet, which promises superior speed, range, and altitude for the "Compass Call" mission.
This transition ensures the continuation of the critical combat capability to disrupt and degrade adversary command and control networks, with the EA-37B already seeing combat deployment.
The EC-130H, operational since 1983, amassed over 76,000 combat hours disrupting enemy communications and suppressing air defenses before its phased retirement.

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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.