ID :
208579
Wed, 09/21/2011 - 13:10
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/208579
The shortlink copeid
Air Force unveils its first high-tech spy plane
GIMHAE, South Korea, Sept. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Air Force on Wednesday unveiled its first U.S.-made advanced surveillance aircraft that can detect more airborne and surface targets in North Korea.
The inside of the spy plane Boeing E-737 was open to the media for the first time at an Air Force base here, about 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul. It had been delivered to South Korea early August after completing tests at Boeing's factory in Seattle.
It is South Korea's first airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft and will be deployed on a limited basis starting next year, the Air Force said. It's an upgrade of the airborne warning and control system (AWACS), according to military experts.
The aircraft, based on Boeing's 737-700, has been dubbed "Peace Eye" after a naming contest in 2008.
In 2006, South Korea reached a US$1.6 billion deal with Boeing to purchase four E-737s. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the South's state-run procurement agency, has said the remaining three E-737s will be delivered by 2012. Australia and Turkey are the other operators.
Experts say the E-737, equipped with a sophisticated radar system called Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA), can detect and monitor up to 1,000 airborne or surface targets simultaneously.
"MESA on the Peace Eye allows for better, more intensive detection than AWACS models," said Jang Myung-soo, an Air Force colonel. "Beyond bolstering Air Force's capabilities, this will play an important role in the national security."
The inside of the spy plane Boeing E-737 was open to the media for the first time at an Air Force base here, about 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul. It had been delivered to South Korea early August after completing tests at Boeing's factory in Seattle.
It is South Korea's first airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft and will be deployed on a limited basis starting next year, the Air Force said. It's an upgrade of the airborne warning and control system (AWACS), according to military experts.
The aircraft, based on Boeing's 737-700, has been dubbed "Peace Eye" after a naming contest in 2008.
In 2006, South Korea reached a US$1.6 billion deal with Boeing to purchase four E-737s. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the South's state-run procurement agency, has said the remaining three E-737s will be delivered by 2012. Australia and Turkey are the other operators.
Experts say the E-737, equipped with a sophisticated radar system called Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA), can detect and monitor up to 1,000 airborne or surface targets simultaneously.
"MESA on the Peace Eye allows for better, more intensive detection than AWACS models," said Jang Myung-soo, an Air Force colonel. "Beyond bolstering Air Force's capabilities, this will play an important role in the national security."
