Italy purchases two L3Harris EA-37B electronic attack aircraft
An artistʼs conception of an Italian L3Harris EA-37B. Italy has purchased two EA-37Bs, becoming the typeʼs first export customer. (L3Harris)
Italy has purchased two L3Harris EA-37B Compass Call electronic attack (EA) aircraft for USD300 million, the company announced on 21 July.
In October 2024, the US Department of State announced that it had cleared Italy to purchase an undisclosed number of EA-37Bs via the Foreign Military Sales process for USD600 million.
Italy is the first foreign country approved to operate the aircraft. It is unclear whether its aircraft will be equipped with the Compass Call Baseline 4 (Systemwide Open Reconfigurable Dynamic Architecture: SWORD-A) electronic systems the US Air Force (USAF) uses or Italy will use a bespoke configuration.
The EA-37B is based on the Gulfstream G550 platform. The G550, although designed as a business jet, is often modified by armed forces for special missions – particularly for VIP transport and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).
The Italian Air Force operates two Gulfstream G550s with identical structural modifications – the prominent ‘cheeks' on either side of the fuselage and bulbous tail cone – equipped with Elta Systems EL/W‐2085 radars to perform airborne early warning (AEW) missions. The service is also acquiring two G550-based Joint Airborne Multisensor Multimission System (JAMMS) aircraft from L3Harris, intended for passive electronic intelligence missions.
Once sourced from the used aircraft market – the G550 is no longer in production – the aircraft enter Gulfstream's Savannah, Georgia, factory for structural modifications and are then sent to L3Harris's Waco, Texas, facility for installation of the BAE Systems-built mission equipment.
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