Tyrkia får levert kommandosentral nr. 4 - Curt Lewis

Boeing delivers fourth 737 radar jet to Turkey

Boeing (NYSE: BA) delivered a fourth 737-based airborne command center to Turkey on Wednesday, reflecting the continued success of one of the planemaker's lesser-known military derivatives of a commercial jet.

The other two derivatives are the 737-based P-8 submarine hunter, and the 767-based airborne tanker. All three of them are bringing significant amounts of work to the Puget Sound region. That includes Renton, where the 737 airframes are built, and Everett where the 767 are assembled. It also includes Boeing Field, where the military equipment is integrated.

The Turkish version of the 737-based command and control center jet, known as the Peace Eagle, features a large radar array above its fuselage.

The 737-based computer and radar-packed airborne command center jets are called Peace Eagles by the Turkish government.

Their purpose is to watch over operations of an enemy on the ground and in the air, and help direct ground and air movements against that enemy. The jets come equipped with 10 consoles, from which operators on board can monitor the information from their surveillance equipment.

The jets are technically called "airborne early warning and control" (AEW&C) aircraft. Purchasing countries have tended to avoid that mouthful by giving more evocative names.

Australia calls its jets Wedgetails; Turkey uses Peace Eagle; and Korea calls its planes Peace Eyes. The most recent buyer, Qatar, ordered three of the jets in 2014 worth $1.8 billion, according to IHS Jane's Defence Weekly.

The just-delivered Turkish Peace Eagle was flown to Konya Air Base in Turkey. It featured upgraded software, which is to be also added to the previous three jets.
So far Boeing has delivered 14 of the jets.