전자전기 미공군, EA-37B 컴퍼스 콜 조달 대수 확대 추진

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When Computers Went To Sea | EC-37B 컴퍼스 콜 1번기 미공군에 인도 - Daum 카페

EC-37B 컴퍼스 콜 1번기 미공군에 인도

EA-37B는 애초 10대에서 2026년 미의회 승인으로 2대가 더 조달될 예정이었는데, 작년과 올해 각종 분쟁에서 성능을 입증했는지 미공군이 10대를 더 도입해 22대를 도입하려고 합니다. 

미 공군 EA-37B 컴퍼스 콜 전자전기가 일본 가데나 공군기지 제55전자전단에 배치되어 있다. (미 공군 사진: Senior Airman Melany Bermudez)

미 공군, EA-37 전자공격기 전력 거의 두 배 확대 추진
2026년 5월 5일 | 작성자 Todd South

새로운 EA-37B의 첫 실전 배치를 마친 직후, 공군은 신형 전자공격기 도입 계획 수량을 거의 두 배로 늘리고 향후 5년 동안 이 프로그램에 30억 달러 이상을 지출할 계획을 세우고 있다. 

이번 공격적 확대는 미 공군의 전자전 능력을 강화하고 중국의 방공 체계에 대응하는 데 도움을 줄 가능성이 있다.

2027년 예산 요청안에서 공군은 신규 EA-37 세 대 도입에 6억 6천만 달러를 포함했으며, 2031년까지 추가로 7대를 더 도입할 계획이다. 이 10대는 전체 기단 규모를 총 22대로 확대하게 된다. 공군은 이미 개조된 걸프스트림 G550 비즈니스 제트기 10대를 확보했으며, 공식 요구 수량은 12대였음에도 원래는 거기서 중단할 계획이었다. 그러나 의회가 2026년 예산 법안에서 추가 2대 도입 자금을 승인했다.

EA-37은 적 통신, 항법, 레이더를 교란하고 적 방공망을 억제할 수 있다. 이러한 효과는 적의 킬 체인을 교란하는 데 활용된다.

공군장관 Troy Meink는 의회 예산 청문회를 위한 서면 증언에서 22대로 확대하는 결정이 “우리의 전자공격 능력을 확장할 것”이라고 밝혔다.

공군에 처음 인도된 5대는 Baseline 3 구성으로 제작되었으며, 나머지 기체들은 Baseline 4 사양이 적용될 예정이다. Baseline 3에는 Advanced Radar Countermeasure System이 포함되어 있으며, Baseline 4는 향후 전자전 업그레이드를 수용할 수 있도록 하는 System-Wide Reconfigurable Dynamic Architecture가 추가된다.

공중전투사령부에 따르면 컴퍼스 콜은 시속 약 600마일, 고도 4만5천 피트까지 비행할 수 있으며 항속거리는 5,000마일이다. 높은 고도에서 적 통신망을 교란하고 방해할 수 있는 능력은 중국과 같은 고도화된 방공망을 무력화하는 데 중요하다.

이 공군 기체는 전자전 임무를 수행하는 F/A-18F 슈퍼호넷 파생형인 해군의 EA-18 그라울러를 보완한다.

핵심 자산

미첼 항공우주연구소의 전무이사 Douglas Birkey는 Air & Space Forces Magazine과의 인터뷰에서 “결론적으로 이는 현대 시대에 엄청나게 중요한 기체이자 임무 능력”이라고 말했다.

미군은 냉전 이후 전자전 분야 예산을 대폭 삭감했다. 그러나 적의 첨단 반접근·지역거부 체계가 발전하면서 각 군은 다시 이 능력을 재건해야 하는 상황에 놓였다.

Birkey는 “삭감된 것은 장비만이 아니라 그것을 이해하던 인적 자본과 지식이었다”며 “우리는 그것을 빠르게 다시 구축해야 한다”고 말했다.

애리조나주 데이비스-몬선 공군기지의 제55전자전단은 EA-37을 운용하는 유일한 부대다. 산하 제43전자전비행대는 2025년 5월 이 기체의 첫 작전 출격을 수행했다.

EA-37B는 전임 기종 EC-130H 컴퍼스 콜이 탑승했던 13명보다 줄어든 9명의 승무원을 탑재한다.

공군은 노후화된 EC-130H를 대체하기 위해 2017년 L3Harris Technologies를 선정했다. 첫 EA-37은 2023년에 인도되었으며, 공군은 기존 플랫폼 퇴역을 진행 중이다. 2025년 기준 공군은 보유 중이던 EC-130H 14대 중 10대를 퇴역시켰다.

제43전자전비행대(ECS)가 2024년 2월 15일 애리조나 데이비스-몬선 공군기지에서 EC-130H 컴퍼스 콜의 마지막 비행을 수행하고 있다. (미 공군 사진: Airman 1st Class William Finn)

전자전의 미래

EA-37 기단 확대는 트럼프 행정부의 1조 5천억 달러 규모 국방예산 추진 속에서 이루어지고 있다. 그러나 일부 분석가들은 의회가 예산 삭감을 시도할 가능성이 있다고 보고 있으며, Birkey는 의회가 전체적으로는 전자전 예산을 지지해왔지만 항상 확실한 것은 아니라고 말했다.

그는 20대도 안 되는 소규모 전자전 기단을 수천 대 규모의 전투기 전력과 비교하며, 전투기들은 여러 지역의 일자리와 연관되어 있어 더 강한 정치적 지지를 받는다고 설명했다.

Birkey는 “전자전 능력에 대규모 예산을 확보하기는 매우 어렵다. 보통 이런 분야는 지지 기반이 부족하기 때문”이라며 “수량도 적고, 눈에 잘 보이지도 않으며, 이해하기도 어렵고, 대부분 기밀”이라고 말했다.

향후에는 EA-37B의 능력이 전투기 호위 및 다양한 임무 수행을 목표로 하는 무인 윙맨 드론인 Collaborative Combat Aircraft 같은 다른 플랫폼에도 통합될 수 있다.

그러나 EA-37B에 탑재된 다양한 능력은 동맹 전력이 적대적 공역에서 안전하게 작전할 수 있도록 보장하는 핵심 자산이라고 Birkey는 설명했다.

그는 “레이더를 공격할 수도 있고, 사이버 체계를 공격할 수도 있으며, 지휘통제센터를 겨냥할 수도 있다”며 “핵심은 이런 연결 고리를 찾아내 어떻게 끊거나 마찰을 추가해 적이 제대로 작동하지 못하게 하느냐는 것”이라고 말했다.

Air Force Wants to Nearly Double EA-37 Electronic Attack Fleet

A U.S. Air Force EA-37B Compass Call, assigned to the 55th Electronic Combat Group at Kadena Air Base, Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Melany Bermudez)

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Air Force Wants to Nearly Double EA-37 Electronic Attack Fleet

May 5, 2026 | By Todd South

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Fresh off the first combat deployment of its new EA-37B, the Air Force is nearly doubling the planned number of new electronic attack jets and projecting more than $3 billion in spending on the program in the next five years.

The aggressive expansion will bolster USAF’s electronic warfare abilities and potentially help it counter Chinese defenses.

In its 2027 budget request, the Air Force included $660 million to buy three new EA-37s, with plans to buy seven more through 2031—those 10 aircraft would expand the fleet to 22 total. The service has already acquired 10 of the modified Gulfstream G550 business jets and had planned to stop there despite a stated requirement of 12, but Congress gave it funding to acquire two more in its 2026 appropriations bill.

The EA-37 can jam enemy communications, navigation, and radar, and suppress enemy air defenses. Those effects allow users to disrupt enemy kill chains.

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said in written testimony for a congressional budget hearing that the decision to go to 22 jets will “expand our electronic attack capability.”

The first five jets delivered to the Air Force had a Baseline 3 configuration, while remaining aircraft will have Baseline 4. Baseline 3 includes the Advanced Radar Countermeasure System. Baseline 4 adds on the System-Wide Reconfigurable Dynamic Architecture, which allows the aircraft to receive future electronic upgrades.

The Compass Call flies at nearly 600 miles per hour and up to 45,000 feet with a range of 5,000 miles, according to Air Combat Command. Its ability to jam and disrupt enemy communications networks from high altitudes is important for disrupting advanced air defenses like that of China.

The Air Force jet complements the Navy’s EA-18 Growler, an F/A18F Super Hornet derivative that also performs electronic warfare.

Vital Asset

“The bottom line is it is a hugely important airframe and mission capability in the modern era,” Douglas Birkey, executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The U.S. military cut funding for electronic warfare aggressively after the Cold War. New, highly advanced adversary anti-access/area-denial systems are driving the need to rebuild that muscle across the services.

“And the cuts weren’t just to the equipment, it was to the human capital and the knowledge that understood it,” Birkey said. “We’ve got to recreate it fast.”

The 55th Electronic Combat Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., is the only group to fly the EA-37. The group’s 43rd Electronic Combat Squadron flew the plane’s first mission sortie in May 2025.

The EA-37B carries a combat crew of nine people, down from 13 carried by its predecessor, the EC-130H Compass Call.

The Air Force tapped L3Harris Technologies in 2017 to replace the aging EC-130H. The first EA-37 aircraft arrived in 2023, and the service has moved to divest the older platform—as of 2025, the Air Force had retired 10 of its 14 EC-130Hs.

The 43rd Electronic Combat Squadron (ECS) took its final flight in the EC-130H Compass Call aircraft on Feb. 15, 2024, at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class William Finn).

The Future of EW

The increase in the EA-37 fleet comes against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s massive $1.5 trillion defense budget. But some analysts believe Congress will look to make some cuts, and while lawmakers have been supportive overall of electronic warfare funding across the services, Birkey said it’s not always a sure bet.

He compared the small fleet of less than two dozen aircraft to that of fighter jets, which number in the thousands and enjoy greater political support due to their impact on jobs across various regions.

“It’s very hard to advocate for funding at scale for the electronic warfare capability, simply because they don’t have, as usual, the constituency,” Birkey said. “They’re smaller in number. You can’t see it as easily. It’s hard to understand. It’s very classified.”

Future efforts could see the EA-37B’s capabilities integrated into other platforms, such as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, a drone wingman planned to escort fighters and conduct various missions.

But the host of capabilities onboard the EA-37B make it a critical asset for ensuring its partners can operate safely in contested airspace, Birkey said.

“So, it could be going after radars. It could be going after cyber things. I mean, it could be going after command-and-control centers, it’s where are these linkages and how do you break them up or add friction so that they can’t operate,” Birkey said.

A U.S. Air Force EA-37B Compass Call, assigned to the 55th Electronic Combat Group at Kadena Air Base, Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Melany Bermudez)

Expand Photo

Air Force Wants to Nearly Double EA-37 Electronic Attack Fleet

May 5, 2026 | By Todd South

•  
•  
•  
•  
•  

Share Article

Fresh off the first combat deployment of its new EA-37B, the Air Force is nearly doubling the planned number of new electronic attack jets and projecting more than $3 billion in spending on the program in the next five years.

The aggressive expansion will bolster USAF’s electronic warfare abilities and potentially help it counter Chinese defenses.

In its 2027 budget request, the Air Force included $660 million to buy three new EA-37s, with plans to buy seven more through 2031—those 10 aircraft would expand the fleet to 22 total. The service has already acquired 10 of the modified Gulfstream G550 business jets and had planned to stop there despite a stated requirement of 12, but Congress gave it funding to acquire two more in its 2026 appropriations bill.

The EA-37 can jam enemy communications, navigation, and radar, and suppress enemy air defenses. Those effects allow users to disrupt enemy kill chains.

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said in written testimony for a congressional budget hearing that the decision to go to 22 jets will “expand our electronic attack capability.”

The first five jets delivered to the Air Force had a Baseline 3 configuration, while remaining aircraft will have Baseline 4. Baseline 3 includes the Advanced Radar Countermeasure System. Baseline 4 adds on the System-Wide Reconfigurable Dynamic Architecture, which allows the aircraft to receive future electronic upgrades.

The Compass Call flies at nearly 600 miles per hour and up to 45,000 feet with a range of 5,000 miles, according to Air Combat Command. Its ability to jam and disrupt enemy communications networks from high altitudes is important for disrupting advanced air defenses like that of China.

The Air Force jet complements the Navy’s EA-18 Growler, an F/A18F Super Hornet derivative that also performs electronic warfare.

Vital Asset

“The bottom line is it is a hugely important airframe and mission capability in the modern era,” Douglas Birkey, executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The U.S. military cut funding for electronic warfare aggressively after the Cold War. New, highly advanced adversary anti-access/area-denial systems are driving the need to rebuild that muscle across the services.

“And the cuts weren’t just to the equipment, it was to the human capital and the knowledge that understood it,” Birkey said. “We’ve got to recreate it fast.”

The 55th Electronic Combat Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., is the only group to fly the EA-37. The group’s 43rd Electronic Combat Squadron flew the plane’s first mission sortie in May 2025.

The EA-37B carries a combat crew of nine people, down from 13 carried by its predecessor, the EC-130H Compass Call.

The Air Force tapped L3Harris Technologies in 2017 to replace the aging EC-130H. The first EA-37 aircraft arrived in 2023, and the service has moved to divest the older platform—as of 2025, the Air Force had retired 10 of its 14 EC-130Hs.

The 43rd Electronic Combat Squadron (ECS) took its final flight in the EC-130H Compass Call aircraft on Feb. 15, 2024, at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class William Finn).

The Future of EW

The increase in the EA-37 fleet comes against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s massive $1.5 trillion defense budget. But some analysts believe Congress will look to make some cuts, and while lawmakers have been supportive overall of electronic warfare funding across the services, Birkey said it’s not always a sure bet.

He compared the small fleet of less than two dozen aircraft to that of fighter jets, which number in the thousands and enjoy greater political support due to their impact on jobs across various regions.

“It’s very hard to advocate for funding at scale for the electronic warfare capability, simply because they don’t have, as usual, the constituency,” Birkey said. “They’re smaller in number. You can’t see it as easily. It’s hard to understand. It’s very classified.”

Future efforts could see the EA-37B’s capabilities integrated into other platforms, such as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, a drone wingman planned to escort fighters and conduct various missions.

But the host of capabilities onboard the EA-37B make it a critical asset for ensuring its partners can operate safely in contested airspace, Birkey said.

“So, it could be going after radars. It could be going after cyber things. I mean, it could be going after command-and-control centers, it’s where are these linkages and how do you break them up or add friction so that they can’t operate,” Birkey said.

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미군의 신형전자전기실물과 한국공군의 차기 전자전기의 CG는 외형이 비슷해보이는데 L3해리스가 한국의 전자전기 사업에 조금이라도 참여할여지가 있을까요?

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LIG 넥스원 기술도입선이 어딜지 모르겠네요. 관련 뉴스는 제가 못 본 것 같습니다.