By Courtney E. Howard
ST. LOUIS - Engineers at Boeing Integrated Defense Systems in St. Louis equipped the first of four 737-700 aircraft being developed for Turkey’s Peace Eagle airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) program with a multifunction electronically scanned array (MESA) radar system from Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems in Baltimore.
Boeing’s design for the Peace Eagle AEW&C program involves stripping and modifying stock production aircraft from the company’s Renton, Wash., facility to be converted into the AEW&C platform. As part of the process, Boeing is installing the MESA radar and identification friend or foe (IFF) system from Northrop Grumman.
Northrop Grumman’s MESA radar-considered the most critical sensor aboard the 737 AEW&C and a low-risk solution-is able to detect and track targets beyond 200 nautical miles and track thousands of targets simultaneously, Northrop Grumman officials say.
The radar uses antenna apertures, transmit/receive modules, radar, IFF support electronics, power supplies, the radar processor, integrated software, and radar components.
The MESA antenna is 35.5 feet long and 11 feet high, and weighs about three tons. It has a light foam sandwich construction, support for side-emitting electronic manifold arrays, and a low drag profile thanks to its dorsally mounted array. All these features enable installation of the MESA system on midsize 737-700s without influencing aircraft performance.
The key enabling technologies for this system are the 360-degree electronically scanned antennae coupled with miniaturized transmit/receive modules and modern data processing, say Northrop Grumman representatives. In turn, its interleaved waveform enables the system to track ships and aircraft simultaneously. Moreover, with the selection of the L-band operating frequency, the MESA system will perform radar and IFF functions with the same antenna equipment.
“Radar beam management enables the mission crew to monitor the airspace for hundreds of miles, and make decisions about threats, including alerts to friendly surface and airborne assets,” says Joe Schuster, director of airborne surveillance business development at Northrop Grumman. “The system provides situational awareness to the fighter aircraft on intercept missions, while continuously scanning deep into the threat area and the area surrounding the AEW&C,” continues Schuster, who is responsible for identifying and interfacing with new customers of the MESA system.
Boeing’s modification to the 737-700s AEW&C aircraft includes structural changes to the fuselage to install the aperture on top of the aircraft. The design compensates for the added weight and aerodynamic influence of the aperture.
Boeing engineers are modifying and testing the first of the four Peace Eagle aircraft, including installing the MESA system, in Seattle. Other AEW&C modifications will be at TUSAS Aerospace Industries (TAI) Inc. in Ankara, Turkey.
Boeing anticipates delivering the four aircraft to the Peace Eagle AEW&C program in Turkey by the end of 2008 under terms of a $1 billion contract. The first of the four, to which the MESA antenna is being applied, will be delivered in 2007.
To date, the Australian Defence Force has ordered six aircraft, whereas the Republic of Turkey has requested four. For more information, visit www.boeing.com and www.northupgrumman.com.
