USAF awards BAE SYSTEMS $53 million for compass call upgrades
02 May 2002
BAE Systems will provide equipment upgrades for U.S. Air Force EC-130H "Compass Call" aircraft under a $53 million contract awarded on March 13, 2002. BAE Systems Information & Electronic Warfare Systems (IEWS), Nashua, New Hampshire, will enhance and modernise various systems in support of the aircraft's Block 35 Upgrade. Compass Call is a modified version of the Air Force's C-130 Hercules aircraft, configured to perform tactical command, control and communications countermeasures.
IEWS received an earlier award under the same production contract in May 2001 for $59 million. In both awards, BAE Systems is upgrading hardware and delivering line replaceable units (LRUs) that provide increased capability and reliability. As the prime contractor for the upgrade, BAE Systems is also overseeing two major subcontractors: Raytheon (Fort Wayne, Indiana) and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics (Palmdale, California). A third production lot could be exercised in early 2003. IEWS has produced electronic hardware and software for Compass Call since the 1980s.
"Compass Call has been in high demand in every contingency over the past two decades," said Gene Thornhill, IEWS Compass Call Program Manager. "We are pleased to support this vital and unique military capability with upgrades that will extend its effectiveness for years into the future.""
Compass Call missions are flown primarily in support of tactical air operations but can also provide information warfare capabilities to ground and sea forces. The aircraft employs jamming to prevent communication or degrade the transfer of information essential to an enemy's command and control. Two squadrons comprising 14 EC-130H aircraft are based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
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