Boeing on Oct. 24 delivered the fourth and final 737 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft to the Republic of Korea Ai...
Boeing on Oct. 24 delivered the fourth and final 737 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft to the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF).
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) modified and supported testing of three of the four 737-based Peace Eye aircraft at its facility in Sacheon.
The delivery marks the completion of a US$1.6 billion contract signed in 2006 to buy four modified versions of the high-altitude surveillance aircraft from Boeing to strengthen South Korea's aerial surveillance capabilities against North Korea.
The first two planes were delivered last year and the third in May.
The last three units were assembled at Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), under Boeing's supervision.
The aircraft can detect and track about 1,000 flying objects simultaneously with 360 degrees coverage.
Other Korean companies that made key contributions to the AEW&C program include:
Korean Air Aerospace Division: technical services, spares and related parts-handling services
LIG Nex1: networking and training
Samsung Thales: mission crew training.
Boeing Training Services Korea: flight crew training
Huneed Technologies: ground-based datalinks communications system.
The AEW&C team has delivered all ground support segments for mission crew training, mission support and system maintenance to ROKAF Base Gimhae, the Peace Eye fleet's main operating base.
Boeing is providing on-site technical support, training and spare parts as part of an interim support program. This allows seamless support of the Peace Eye fleet as it transitions to a through-life support program.
Boeing also has delivered six AEW&C aircraft to Australia. Four other AEW&C aircraft are in production for Turkey.
The 737 AEW&C aircraft is designed to provide airborne battle management capability with an advanced multirole electronically scanned radar and 10 state-of-the-art mission crew consoles that are able to track airborne and maritime targets simultaneously.
The mission crew can direct offensive and defensive forces while maintaining continuous surveillance of the operational area.
