Turkey's Eagles have (almost) landed...

All four Turkish Air Force Boeing 737-7ES airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) Peace Eagle aircraft are now flying and in the country at various stages of development. Two are fully equipped and preparations for service entry are now under way.

There have been delays and the aircraft missed its planned 2008 service entry, most recently because Israel held up the delivery of electronic support mechanism (ESM) sub-systems ordered from Elta.

The Boeing Company has begun an extensive maintenance training programme for mission support and maintenance personnel, with instructors from Boeing Defence Australia and Boeing Training and Flight Services providing classroom training for ten personnel from the Turkish Air Force (Türk Hava Kuvvetleri) and two from Turkish Airlines.

In total, 81 students are scheduled to take the same systems maintenance courses with Boeing over the next ten months and another 85 will undergo training at the Peace Eagle main operating base at Konya.

A further 20 Turkish Air Force personnel are undergoing mission crew training at a Boeing facility in the Seattle area.

The Boeing 737 AEW&C was originally designed to meet Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) requirements under ‘Project Wedgetail’. The aircraft was subsequently selected by the Turkish Air Force under ‘Project Peace Eagle’ – Barış Kartalı in Turkish – and by the Republic of Korea Air Force under ‘Project Peace Eye’.

The aircraft is being marketed widely and has been evaluated by the United Arab Emirates.

The Boeing 737 AEW&C is twin-engined and based on the commercial 737-700 airliner. Though dubbed AEW&C, the aircraft is actually a more powerful and versatile tool than that name suggests, serving as an airborne surveillance, communications and battle-management system.

Fitted with a fixed, electronically scanned radar, rather than using a rotating radar antenna like the 707-based Boeing E-3 Sentry, the 737 AEW&C’s Northrop Grumman multi-role electronically scanned array (MESA) radar incorporates integrated identification friend-or-foe capabilities and the 35.5ft long, 11ft high antenna (which weighs more than three tonnes) giving 360° coverage out to ranges of more than 370km.

More than 3,000 targets can be tracked simultaneously, including airborne and maritime targets.

The system is based around a flexible, open architecture for cost-effective future upgrades, and the aircraft features an extensive communications suite and a nose-mounted receptacle confers an air-to-air refuelling capability.

By basing the AEW&C aircraft on the proven 737-700 airliner, Boeing produced a cost-effective advanced technology military aircraft with 21st century avionics, navigation equipment and flight deck, which requires minimal downtime for maintenance and which enjoys a worldwide network of suppliers, parts and support equipment.

The Turkish Air Force ordered four Peace Eagle aircraft in May 2002, with an option for two more, along with the necessary ground support systems. The United States approved the sale in September 2003, when the total value of the contract was put at $1.6 billion.

Boeing Integrated Defense Systems in Seattle modified and tested the first aircraft, ‘Peace Eagle 1’, while the remaining three aircraft ‘Peace Eagles 2’, ‘3’ and ‘4’ were modified and tested by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), the primary subcontractor for the Peace Eagle parts production, aircraft modification, assembly and test programme.

TAI undertook the work at its facility in Ankara, Turkey, with the participation of Boeing and a number of Turkish companies, including Ankara-based HAVELSAN, responsible for system analysis and software support, and for delivery of the programme’s ground support segment.

HAVELSAN is the only foreign company licensed to receive critical source codes.

Local participation was always a crucial element and a three-phase $930 million industrial participation programme was agreed with Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, involving collaboration with Turkish airlines, government departments and academic institutions as well as industry.

Boeing completed the first phase of the programme in 2006 and announced completion of the second in February 2010, exceeding the $270 million phase 2 requirement by $21 million.

Boeing is confident that it will complete the programme successfully and boasts of supporting more than 1,000 direct jobs and of placing more than $1.2 billion of work in Turkey through 2013, boosting Turkish technology and small-business activities.

The company also supported a NATO airborne warning and control system industrial participation programme in Turkey.

The first modified Boeing 737 flew on September 6 2007, after installation of the MESA antenna in March 2006. A successful first mission system flight test followed on December 12 2007, when Boeing and Turkish industry engineers tested the aircraft’s internal and external communications system, establishing links with a ground-based Boeing system integration lab and local air traffic control towers.

On June 4 2008, it was announced that Turkish Aerospace Industries had completed modifications to Peace Eagle 2 at its facilities in Ankara. The first flight followed on July 16 2008.

Boeing and HAVELSAN have also been installing vital Peace Eagle ground support centre hardware at Konya, completing installation of the mission simulator and mission support centre hardware in October and November 2009, with a software support centre following in 2010.

The Peace Eagle mission simulator featured ten consoles, with instructor operator stations and aircraft equipment rack assemblies.

The mission support centre was designed for loading software on to the Peace Eagle aircraft and for providing initial data analysis following an operation. The hardware included mission and flight planning terminals, replay terminals, and electronic support measures workstations.

HAVELSAN designed the sub-systems, acquired the equipment and performed the three installations, while Boeing provided technical guidance and oversight.

Turkey's first Boeing 737 AEW&C aircraft made its UK debut at the Farnborough Air Show in 2010 and was subsequently shown at Dubai in 2011. One of the four aircraft is scheduled to appear at this year’s Farnborough show.

The four aircraft will serve with 131 Filo at 3 Ana Jet Üssü (main jet base) at Konya, and will use the call sign ‘Ejder’ (dragon). They will have a flight crew of two with a mission crew of between six and ten depending upon requirements.

The Türk Hava Kuvvetleri is considering the 737 to meet its requirement for a stand-off electronic support and attack aircraft. If the 737 were to be selected, TAI and Askeri Elektronik Sanayi would convert four aircraft.