September 11/17: L-3 Communications will move forward external link with migrating the US Air Force’s EC-130H Compass Call equipment to a Gulfstream 550 Conformal Airborne Early Warning (CAEW) aircraft, after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) turned down a protest from rivals Boeing and Bombardier last month.
The Compass Call “crossdeck” program (EC-X), will transition mission equipment from the USAF’s existing fleet of Lockheed Martin EC-130H aircraft, which serves as a communications eavesdropper and jammer for the service, onto new Gulfstream business jets.
A service spokesperson said that a final agreement with L-3 on contract terms, specifications and price of the undefinitised contract action (UCA) is still pending.
Moving Compass Call onto this sort of platform follows the U.S. Navy’s plan to replace its old NP-3D “Billboard” aircraft with a new plane using the Gulfstream G550 special mission design, which some have referred to as the NC-37B. These aircraft monitor missile tests and conduct other research, as well as keep an eye for unwanted visitors over the testing grounds.