Why the Air Force is turning this business jet into a weapon

The Air Force is hitting refresh on electromagnetic warfare with its first new electronic attack aircraft in forty years. The EA-37B Compass Call is a modified business jet that some experts are already calling a “game changer” thanks to its speed, range, high service ceiling, and ability to upgrade quickly to keep pace with new technology.

But at the same time, other experts warn that the service will need more Compass Calls than the Air Force plans on buying to meet the challenges of the invisible battlefield.

Cat-and-mouse

One of the earliest examples of electromagnetic warfare emerged in 1904, when Russia jammed Japanese radio signals coordinating the shelling of Port Arthur. It’s been a cat-and-mouse game ever since: as new technologies for radar, communication and navigation crop up, so do new ways of jamming, spoofing, or otherwise messing with them.

During Desert Storm, Air Force EF-111A Ravens and Navy and Marine Corps EA-6B Prowlers jammed enemy air defenses to clear the way for strike aircraft. Though often overshadowed by fighters and bombers, the Navy wrote that electromagnetic jamming, also called defense suppression, was “critical to the success of all aviation missions” during the Gulf War, and “If Navy defense suppression wasn’t available, the missions didn’t fly.”

Today, the cat-and-mouse game is faster than ever. As described in a 2023 report by the RAND Corporation, advanced radar systems can adjust their waveforms, power, and sensitivity to become much more difficult to spot, or shift rapidly between “never-before-seen waveforms.”

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This is playing out in Ukraine. Bryan Clark, an electronic warfare expert and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, told Task & Purpose that Ukrainian troops are using software-defined radios to maneuver through the electromagnetic spectrum.

“They’re very versatile when it comes to changing the waveforms and frequencies, which allows you to be more capable of circumventing jamming,” he said. “And if you’re jamming, you can hunt for the signals you’re trying to jam more effectively.”

Compass calling

The EA-37B is replacing the EC-130H, which flew over the Middle East practically non-stop through the Global War on Terror. EC-130H crews used radio signals to track down insurgents and disable remote-controlled improvised explosives.

But the Pentagon is preparing for a possible fight with China across the vast Pacific Ocean. The EC-130H may not have the speed or range to help, and its low ceiling of 25,000 feet means it can’t throw signals very far to touch enemy systems.

The EA-37B can fly about twice as far, fast and high as its predecessor. The bulges on the side of the fuselage house transmit antennas and amplifiers that boost its power, letting the jet hit targets farther away than smaller platforms such as the Navy’s EA-18G Growler.

The Air Force is also developing a software system that will let Compass Call crews quickly update their electronic warfare programs in response to new threats.

The first EA-37B arrived in August, 2024, and the fleet grew to five by May 2025. It’s already a combat veteran, having taken part in Operation Epic Fury earlier this year.

But is it enough?

In its 2027 budget request, the Air Force bumped its request for 12 EA-37Bs up to 22 aircraft through 2031, nearly double the original ask. But given the size of the Pacific and the worldwide demand for electronic attack, some say that may not be enough. Heather Penney, an airpower expert at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, said on a recent podcast that the Air Force probably needs upwards of 30 aircraft to meet demand.

On the other hand, Clark warned that as air defenses become more formidable, EA-37Bs may soon become obsolete.

There is plenty of grey between peace and war, and the electromagnetic spectrum allows superpowers to poke each other without turning buildings into rubble. This was a big part of the Cold War, wherein U.S. aircrews gathered electronic intelligence on the Soviet Union for decades. The EA-37B may play a similar role.

“If anything, the electromagnetic spectrum has become more challenged over time,” Col. Scott Mills, then-commander of the 355th Wing at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, said when the EA-37B first arrived there in 2024. “We need an asset that can meet that challenge today. We have that with the arrival of the EA-37B.”

We have even more about the EA-37B and why it’s so important for modern warfare over on our YouTube channel, which you can check out here.