The Lockheed EC-130H Compass Call is a specialized electronic warfare platform developed for the United States Air Force. Rather than being a clean-sheet design, the EC-130H was created through a conversion program that adapted the existing Lockheed C-130H Hercules transport airframe for electronic attack missions. The aircraft's primary purpose is to disrupt enemy communications and command-and-control networks, providing essential support for the suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD).
Development of the EC-130H saw its first flight in 1981, followed by delivery in 1982. The aircraft achieved initial operational capability in 1983. While the underlying airframe was manufactured by the Lockheed Corporation—which later merged with Martin Marietta in 1995 to become Lockheed Martin—the sophisticated mission systems were integrated by defense contractors BAE Systems and L3 Communications. The total fleet consisted of 14 aircraft, comprising Block 20, Block 30, and Block 35 variants.
Technically, the EC-130H is powered by four Allison T56-A-15 turboprop engines, each producing 4,910 prop shaft horsepower. The aircraft is designed to carry a large crew of 13, including two pilots, a navigator, a flight engineer, two electronic warfare officers, a mission crew supervisor, four cryptologic linguists, an acquisition operator, and an airborne maintenance technician. Its physical dimensions include a length of 97 ft 9 in, a wingspan of 132 ft 7 in, and a height of 38 ft 3 in. The aircraft has a service ceiling of 25,000 ft and a range of 2,295 miles. For the Block 1 variant, the weight is listed at 107,000 lb.
Operated by the U.S. Air Force's Air Combat Command, the EC-130H was based at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, under the 55th Electronic Combat Group. This group included the 41st ECS, 43rd ECS, the 42nd ECS training unit, the 755th OSS, and the 755th AMXS. The aircraft saw extensive combat service in Panama, Haiti, Kosovo, Serbia, Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, the 43rd EECS flew over 26,000 hours of electronic attack, while the 41st ECS/EECS recorded more than 39,000 hours across 6,800 combat sorties.
The fleet began a gradual retirement process, with the first aircraft sent to the Davis-Monthan "Boneyard" on August 31, 2021. The 43rd ECS conducted its final EC-130 sortie on February 15, 2024. As the Air Force transitions to the EA-37B, the remaining inventory of EC-130H aircraft is estimated to be between 4 and 8 units.