Final Peace Eagle “Batı” AEW&C Aircraft Delivered to Turkish Air Force
Boeing delivered the fourth and final Peace Eagle Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft to the Turkish Air Force (TurAF) at Konya Air Base on 9th December, completing the Turkish AEW&C fleet and enhancing Turkey’s airspace surveillance and battle management capabilities.
This final aircraft includes upgraded software for the platform and the final element of the ground support segment, the Software Support Center (SSC). Previously delivered Peace Eagles will receive the upgraded software in the second quarter of 2016.
Boeing worked with Turkish industry partners Turkish Aerospace Industries, Turkish Airlines, Havelsan and Aselsan to complete the delivery of the final aircraft as well as establish technology capabilities like the Software Support Center, updated mission simulator software and mission support center software.
“Turkey is currently the only nation in this region with the AEW&C capability. By combining Boeing’s innovative engineering with the expertise provided by local Turkish industry partners, we’ve delivered an advanced world-class airborne surveillance system to our customer,” said Ms. Aysem SarginIsil, Managing Director, Boeing Turkey.
Turkey, Australia and South Korea operate AEW&C platforms.
Based on Boeing’s 737-700 commercial airplanes, the 737 AEW&C aircraft’s advanced radar and 10 state-of-the-art mission crew consoles can track airborne and maritime targets simultaneously. The battle management capabilities allow mission crew to direct offensive and defensive forces while maintaining continuous surveillance of the operational area.
With this final delivery, the number of AEW&C aircraft in the inventory of TurAF has reached to 4 aircraft. When these 4 aircrafts operate simultaneously, the radar coverage of Turkish airspace will reach to 4 million km2. The Peace Eagle’s endurance is 10 hours unfuelled and 18 hours with refuelling. It reaches to maximum 40.000 m altitude, has 850 km/hr cruise speed and 7000 km range and can detect 1500 targets within 350 km under all weather conditions.
Possessing a wider range than ground-based radars, the AWACS aircraft can back-up ground radars with its continuous air communications capability in situations where ground-based radars are disabled from time to time as a result of uneven terrain. The Peace Eagle aircraft can detect, identify, and undertake reconnaissance and surveillance of all elements over Turkey’s airfield and additionally when entrusted with the task can undertake air traffic control operations for civilian air traffic. With the identification friend-or-foe (IFF) feature that is mounted on the mission radars, the Peace Eagle aircraft can recognise all friend and foe elements.
Modernized with the military avionics and systems of the Boeing 737 aircraft, the AWACS aircraft consists of five sub-systems: the Mission Radar, the Friend-or-Foe Detection System, Mission Computers that enable interface to user personnel, the Electronics Support System and the Communications Data-Link.
A synthesis of the additional capabilities of the Boeing 737-700 and the 737-800, the Boeing 737-700 IGW (Increased Gross Weight) Peace Eagle aircraft carries 1.5 tonne radar. Aside from the increased payload capacity, the Boeing 737-700 IGW aircraft also possesses reinforced landing gear and Head-Up Display screens as with the F-16 fighter jets in limited visibility conditions. Equipped with the ability to refuel, the Peace Eagle aircraft can jettison its fuel in emergency situations.
