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USAF uses EA-37B Compass Call in operations against Iran before formal IOC

The U.S. Air Force has deployed the EA-37B Compass Call electronic-attack jet in operations against Iran in the Middle East, marking the platform's first known combat employment. The sorties took place before the aircraft was formally declared operational, demonstrating early operational use of the new EW asset.

Discovered 2026-04-02T11:22:02.543836-07:00 | 2026-04-02T11:22:02.543836-07:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

The deployment is the EA-37B’s first known combat employment and confirms the jet is being used operationally prior to a formal initial operational capability; see the earlier Europe stopover and export context (source:c1d739d1-30a6-42b6-9e34-a790d09518c5) (source:3e21ec71-77a5-4772-9f00-6fba9f413182).
The mission shifts U.S. airborne electronic-warfare posture in the Middle East during Operation Epic Fury and follows strikes that degraded airborne surveillance assets, altering the regional EW/ISR mix (source:ece2e9ee-ffba-43ba-83f6-59d1ff0d7808) (source:3d176704-cd36-4dfc-a3b1-980995720e6e).
Fielding the platform into combat operations before formal IOC ties to recent forward employment and procurement signals, providing necessary context for basing, readiness and follow-on acquisition decisions (source:c1d739d1-30a6-42b6-9e34-a790d09518c5) (source:3e21ec71-77a5-4772-9f00-6fba9f413182).

Reported By

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