Private jets are being refitted to be Air Force attack planes: Weapon of the week

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

THERE’S AN OLD SAYING THAT GOES “LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING,” AND THAT’S NEVER BEEN MORE TRUE THAN WITH OUR WEAPON OF THE WEEK.

MEET THE EA-37B COMPASS CALL. IN THE SIMPLEST TERMS IT’S AN ELECTRONIC ATTACK WEAPON SYSTEM.  IF IT LOOKS VAGUELY FAMILIAR, THERE’S A GOOD REASON FOR THAT. UNDERNEATH ITS BULKY EXTERIOR IS THE SLEEK GULFSTREAM G550. ONE OF THE MOST EXCLUSIVE PRIVATE JETS IN THE WORLD, OWNED BY THE LIKES OF ELON MUSK, MARK CUBAN AND, HIS AIRNESS, MICHAEL JORDAN. 

NEEDLESS TO SAY THE AIR FORCE DIDN’T PICK IT TO KEEP PACE WITH THE CELEBRITY JET SET. 

AFTER UNDERGOING AN EXTENSIVE RE-FITTING THE G550 IS CONVERTED INTO THE EA-37B. WHILE SPECIFICS OF WHAT GOES INTO THE AIRCRAFT ARE HELD CLOSE TO THE VEST BY THE AIR FORCE, WE DO KNOW THE COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM OF ELECTRONICS IS BUILT BY L3HARRIS AND  BAE SYSTEMS. THE JOB OF ALL THAT HARDWARE, AND THE CREW OF NINE, IS TO PREVENT ENEMY COMBATANTS FROM EFFECTIVELY USING ANY SYSTEM THAT REQUIRES OPERATOR INPUT.

BASICALLY, IT’S AN INTERRUPTER, USING TECHNOLOGY TO DENY THE OTHER SIDE AN OPPORTUNITY TO USE THEIRS. DISABLE THE LINK BETWEEN OPERATOR AND DEVICE–AND YOU CAN EFFECTIVELY DISABLE THE DEVICE OR, DEPENDING ON THE SOFTWARE, HACK INTO IT AND TAKE IT OVER. 

THE EA-37B REPLACES THE LONG-SERVING, EC-130. 

IN SWAPPING THE 130’S FOUR PROPS FOR THE 37B’S ROLLS ROYCE ENGINES, THE AIR FORCE IS BRINGING A MAJOR UPGRADE TO THE TABLE. 

THE 37B CAN FLY PAST 40,000 FEET AND CRUISE AT MORE THAN 600 MILES AN HOUR, WHICH iS MORE THAN 15,000 FEET HIGHER, AND NEARLY TWICE THE SPEED  OF ITS PREDECESSOR. 

RIGHT NOW THE AIR FORCE HAS AN ORDER FOR TEN OF THESE ELECTRONIC ATTACK AIRCRAFT, HAVING TAKEN DELIVERY OF THE FIRST LAST YEAR, AND THE NEXT FIVE SOMETIME THIS YEAR. 

AT LAST WORD THE FIRST WAS UNDERGOING EXTENSIVE TESTING BEFORE HEADING TO ITS PERMANENT HOME AT DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE NEAR TUCSON, ARIZONA.