L3Harris Outlines Proposal To Increase EA-37B Fleet

AURORA, Colorado—The team of L3Harris, BAE Systems and Gulfstream have presented a proposal to Capitol Hill and the Pentagon to increase the fleet size of the EA-37B Compass Call electronic attack aircraft, citing a need to possibly double the fleet.

The proposal would face an uphill challenge amid fiscal restrictions, after the Air Force has already downsized the fleet from 14 aircraft to 10. Jason Lambert, president of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance at L3Harris, says there have been studies showing a need for more than 20 of the modified Gulfstream 550s, particularly looking at operations in the Indo-Pacific.

The proposal would include four aircraft that could be entered into the program objective memorandum in fiscal 2027, with potentially two aircraft in unfunded priorities lists in fiscal 2026. L3Harris and its partners can commit to delivering four additional aircraft beyond the current program of record by 2030.

“Industry is fully committed to this,” Lambert told Aviation Week on the sidelines of the Air and Space Forces Association’s Air Warfare Symposium here. “We know the government has a need, so we put this proposal together and we’ll see where it goes from a budgetary and funding perspective.”

L3Harris and BAE have delivered five aircraft to the Air Force, which are being flown for training. There are five additional aircraft currently in modification at Gulfstream, with the next aircraft expected to be delivered to the Air Force in 2027.

Because Gulfstream no longer produces the 550, the program surveys the open market for used aircraft that could be traded in. At any given time, there are 20-25 aircraft on the market. The jets are returned to Gulfstream to be prepared for modifications. L3Harris adds the BAE electronic attack suite at its Waco, Texas, facility.