The Turkish force is nearing the end of a seven-year wait to receive its first Boeing 737-based airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system aircraft, with a first example having been transferred to its Konya air base.
The first of four heavily modified 737s to have been acquired via a "Peace Eagle" deal with the USA, aircraft 13-001 was in early February moved to the air force base from Turkish Aerospace Industries' Ankara facility.
Ankara launched its AEW&C acquisition in 2003, at which point the fleet and a related ground control centre was due to be delivered from 2007. Boeing completed modifications to the programme's first aircraft in the USA, with the remainder having been converted from a "green" condition by TAI.
Turkish Aerospace Industries
Following the first aircraft's acceptance, Boeing and TAI plan to deliver two more examples this year, and the fourth in 2015.
Source: Flight International
