US sends EA-37B Compass Call into Iran fight in first known combat deployment
The US military has introduced a potent new weapon into the Iran fight with the deployment of the Air Force’s new EA-37B Compass Call electronic attack aircraft.
The move marks the first known combat deployment of the platform as the Pentagon adds more specialized assets to the conflict. Two EA-37Bs recently flew from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to RAF Mildenhall, and US Central Command included the aircraft in an April 1, 2026, fact sheet on Operation Epic Fury for the first time.
The EA-37B is a “wide-area airborne electronic attack aircraft” built on a heavily modified Gulfstream G550 business jet. Its job is to jam enemy communications, radar and navigation systems, making it harder for an adversary to see, talk, coordinate and respond.
The deployment comes days after an Iranian strike at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia destroyed a US Air Force E-3 Sentry, a major blow to one of the Pentagon’s core airborne surveillance and battle-management platforms.
The EA-37B does not fill that type of role, and so its arrival in theater appears unrelated. Rather, it is an electronic attack aircraft designed to jam, disrupt and degrade enemy systems. Its appearance in the Middle East, therefore, could point to a move to expand the offensive punch of the US air campaign.
US Air Combat Command says the aircraft is designed to “deny, degrade and disrupt adversary communications, information processing, navigation, radar systems and radio-controlled threats.”
That gives the Air Force a new tool for blinding and confusing enemy defenses without needing to physically destroy equipment on the battlefield. The platform also supports suppression of enemy air defenses by interfering with the links between sensors, command networks and weapon systems.
The EA-37B represents the next chapter in the long-running Compass Call mission, which the Air Force has flown for roughly four decades using an aging EC-130H fleet. The service began moving toward the G550-based replacement several years ago in an effort to give the mission more speed, altitude, range and survivability.
BAE Systems and L3Harris delivered the first aircraft, then designated EC-37B, to the Air Force for developmental and operational testing in September 2023. Air Combat Command redesignated it as the EA-37B in late 2023 to better reflect its attack mission.
The program then moved from testing into operational buildup. Air Combat Command received its first mission-ready EA-37B at Davis-Monthan on August 23, 2024, for pilot training. The 43rd Electronic Combat Squadron flew the aircraft’s first official mission training sortie on May 2, 2025. The Air Force plans to field 10 EA-37Bs, with five delivered so far and the remaining aircraft expected in 2027 and 2028.The post US sends EA-37B Compass Call into Iran fight in first known combat deployment appeared first on AeroTime.
The US military has introduced a potent new weapon into the Iran fight with the deployment of the…
The post US sends EA-37B Compass Call into Iran fight in first known combat deployment appeared first on AeroTime.
