US Air Force retires final EC-130H Compass Call

The US Air Force retired its last EC-130H Compass Call, with a formal ceremony held at Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona on 18 September to mark the aircraft's final operational taxi. The jet, tail 1590, had completed its final operational flight on 2 September.

The Lockheed Martin EC-130H first flew in 1981 and supported the US Air Force and other US military forces in defence missions for more than four decades. A dedicated crew chief with the 755th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Staff Sergeant Justin Franko, described that last flight as the result of six years of late shifts and sustained effort to keep the aircraft flying, and said the team came together to see it off.

The Compass Call mission has now moved to the EA-37B. Five of the replacement aircraft are in service, according to the source, with five more under contract and in production. The Air Force's fiscal year 2027 budget request, released in April 2026, sets out plans to spend just under $2.9 billion on a further 12 EA-37B aircraft.

The two types differ sharply in performance. The EC-130H is turboprop-powered and operates at low altitude; the EA-37B is based on a heavily modified Gulfstream G550 and can fly at 51,000ft, more than double the older aircraft's ceiling, at speeds up to 520kt (960km/h), roughly twice as fast. It also needs about 30% fewer crew on board.

Colonel Eric Rumble, commander of the 55th Electronic Combat Group, said the ceremony was about more than the airframe, and that the people who flew and maintained it built its legacy through the missions they carried out.