Boeing 737 AEW
Overview
On 21 July 1999 it was announced that the Boeing Company was selected as the preferred tenderer to supply seven B737-700 Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) platforms to the Australian Defence Force. Northrop Grumman's L-band Multi-Role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar will be mounted in a dorsal arrangement atop the B737 fuselage. The Boeing 737 AEW&C System is based on the commercial 737-700 airliner, which provides modern avionics and glass cockpit, minimal crew requirements and commonality with commercial airline fleets for flexibility and support. It is fitted with a Northrop Grumman ESSD (formerly Westinghouse) Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar fitted above the rear fuselage of the aircraft. This is combined with a Boeing designed Open Systems Architecture (OSA) mission system with six common console stations for the mission crew. The OSA mission system is Standards based and uses 80% Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) software. Boeing have teamed with Northrop Grumman (ESSD), Boeing Australia and British Aerospace Australia for the Boeing 737 AEW&C System.
Performance
B 737-700 Aircraft:
- Max Take-off Weight > 170,000 lb
- Thrust > 24,000 lb
- Max Speed > Mach 0.80
- Max Altitude > 35,000 ft
- Time on Station > 8 hrs
- Runway Length Required < 8,000 ft
MESA Radar
- Long Range (200 nmi)
- 360 degree coverage in less than 10 seconds
- Integrated IFF
- Beam Steering
- Interleaved multi-mode operation
