The first Peace Eagle Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft (AEW&C) for the Turkish armed forces has been delivered by Boeing to Konya Air Base in Turkey. The aircraft’s arrival in-country marks an important milestone in the programme that will see Boeing deliver four Peace Eagle aircraft to Turkey by 2015.
The Peace Eagle AEW&C aircraft will bring Turkey advanced airborne surveillance and battle management capabilities. The aircraft can simultaneously track airborne and maritime targets, and includes a self-defence capability, open system architecture and an identification friend or foe system.
Mark Ellis, Peace Eagle program manager for Boeing, said: ‘The Peace Eagle programme is an example of great cooperation among the Turkish government and our excellent Turkish industry teammates, including Turkish Aerospace Industries, HAVELSAN, Turkish Airlines and MiKES. What's more, the aircraft can be used immediately because initial training for mission system operators, maintenance crews and pilots has been completed.’
The Peace Eagle fleet’s main operating base will be Konya Air Base. Two more aircraft will be delivered during 2014, with the fourth scheduled for 2015. The Peace Eagle programme also includes ground support segments for mission crew training, mission support and system maintenance.
The Peace Eagle AEW&C is based on the Boeing 737-700 airplane. Australia and South Korea already operate the aircraft as Wedgetail and Peace Eye respectively.