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RAAF BASE WILLIAMTOWN, New South Wales, Nov. 26, 2009 --
The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today delivered the first two Project
Wedgetail 737 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C)
aircraft to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
The aircraft were delivered during a ceremony at RAAF Base
Williamtown, the main operating base for the Wedgetail fleet.
Attending the ceremony were officials from the RAAF, the Defence
Materiel Organisation and Boeing.
Delivery of the two aircraft and utilization of the
Boeing-provided Operational Flight Trainer, Operational Mission
Simulator and Mission Support System allow the RAAF to begin
familiarization training for flight, mission and maintenance crews.
The trainer and the simulator are located at the Williamtown base's
AEW&C Support Centre.
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Three additional Wedgetail aircraft will be delivered to the
RAAF by the end of 2010, including one upgraded in the final
AEW&C configuration with Electronic Support Measures (ESM). All
aircraft in the Wedgetail fleet will be upgraded in the final
configuration in early 2011.
"Project Wedgetail represents a fundamental shift in airborne
surveillance technology. Australia is leading the way with the most
capable electronically scanned air surveillance radar and battle
management system in the world," said Maureen Dougherty, Boeing
vice president of the Airborne Early Warning and Control Program.
"The worldwide surveillance marketplace has taken notice of
Wedgetail's progress, and we're working with several customers to
define their future requirements."
Project Wedgetail includes six 737 AEW&C aircraft plus
ground support segments for mission crew training, mission support
and system maintenance. Based on the Boeing Next-Generation 737-700
commercial airplane, the 737 AEW&C aircraft is designed to
provide airborne battle-management capability with an advanced
multirole electronically scanned radar and 10 state-of-the-art
mission crew consoles that are able to track airborne and maritime
targets simultaneously. The mission crew can direct offensive and
defensive forces while maintaining continuous surveillance of the
operational area.
Boeing also has AEW&C systems in production for Turkey and
the Republic of Korea.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense
Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense
businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven
customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile
manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis,
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $32 billion business with
70,000 employees worldwide.
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A related image is available at boeing.mediaroom.com.
Contact:
Dave Sloan
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems
+1 253-657-8008
david.a.sloan@boeing.com
Ken Morton
Boeing International Communications - Australia
+1 (61) 2-9086-3330
ken.morton@boeing.com