Third Boeing Peace Eye Boosts South Korean AEW

Boeing E-737 Peace Eye

17/05/2012by Paul Fiddian - Armed Forces International's Lead Reporter

The Republic of Korea Air Force has taken on a third modified Boeing 737 airliner to boost its airborne early warning capability.

The transfer of the third Boeing E-737 Peace Eye to Korean defence officials occurred on 16 May and there'll be one more supplied in coming weeks.

The Republic of Korea Air Force got its first E-737 Peace Eye AEW platform in September 2011 and all four airframes are being delivered through a $1.6bn contract agreed in 2006.

The Boeing E-737 Peace Eye is built around the Boeing 737-700 model and boasts a multirole-capable radar system, mounted on the top of the fuselage. This can pick out and track no less than 1,000 airborne or ground-based targets at any one time, across a radius of 370 kilometres. While the Boeing E-3 Sentry - probably the most iconic AEW aircraft in service today - features a rotating radar dish, the E-737's radar is fixed in place.

Boeing E-737 Peace Eye

The Boeing E-737 Peace Eye can stay airborne for more than nine hours, is all weather-capable and can loiter at over 40,000 feet, cruising at 530 miles per hour.

Besides the Republic of Korea Air Force, the AEW variant of the Boeing 737 also equips the Royal Australian Air Force and the Turkish Air Force. The type made its first flight in 2004 and the first example to enter service did so five years later.

The Republic of Korea Air Force was established in 1949 and currently operates in the region of 760 aircraft. Since its inception, it's been involved in numerous conflicts, including the Korean and Vietnam Wars and the War on Terrorism.

South Korean AEW

As far as reconnaissance is concerned, the E-737s are by far the most up to date types operated but the air arm also has a number of modified RF-4C Phantom IIs employed in that role. The arrival of the third and fourth E-737 airframes will act to significantly augment South Korea's AEW capability.

The Republic of Korea Air Force's aircraft are very rarely seen in the west but, this summer, its national display team - the Black Eagles - are set to make their European debut at the Royal International Air Tattoo.