U.S. Air Force retires EC-130H Compass Call aircraft

The U.S. Air Force retired EC-130H Compass Call tail 1590 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, on Sept. 18, after more than four decades of Compass Call electronic warfare operations. The propeller-driven aircraft made its final flight on Sept. 2 and taxied in for the last time during a retirement ceremony.

The EA-37B now takes over the Compass Call mission. The U.S. Air Force describes it as a heavily modified Gulfstream G550 built to deny, degrade, and disrupt adversary communications and radar systems.

The U.S. Air Force says the EC-130H has flown electronic attack and offensive counter-information missions in support of U.S. and coalition forces since its first flight in 1981. In practice, that meant disrupting enemy communications.

The two aircraft differ sharply on paper. The EA-37B can operate at 15,500 meters (51,000 feet), more than double the EC-130H’s ceiling, and reaches speeds of up to 965 km/h (600 mph), about twice as fast. The U.S. Air Force also says the new aircraft needs 30% fewer crew members on board and has greater speed and unrefueled endurance. It gave no endurance figures.

At the ceremony, tail 1590 was reassigned from the 55th Electronic Combat Group to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, which runs the U.S. Air Force’s aircraft storage site known as the boneyard. The aircraft is slated to enter the boneyard on Sept. 21.

“That flight was the culmination of six years of late shifts, pride, and constant battles to keep that plane flying,” said Staff Sgt. Justin Franko, 755th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron dedicated crew chief. “It represents our team coming together as a family to accomplish the mission and ultimately see this aircraft off with the honor it deserves.”

“This closes the door not just on my time in our squadron, but on an entire chapter of my life,” said Franko.

“None of what we have done happened because of an airframe,” said Col. Eric Rumble, 55th Electronic Combat Group commander. “Airplanes don’t build legacies, people do.”

“It’s about the missions they flew, the people they protected, the enemies they disrupted, and the sacrifices made by thousands of men and women who became part of the Compass Call family. We are retiring the EC-130; we are not retiring Compass Call. The mission continues with the EA-37B,” said Col. Aaron Gray, 55th Wing commander at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.