FARNBOROUGH, United Kingdom July 22, 2002 The Undersecretariat for Defense for the Government of Turkey has approved the purchase of four CFM56-7-powered Boeing 737 Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) Aircraft. The engine order, which is subject to U.S. State Department and Congressional approval, is valued at approximately $40 million.
CFM56-7 engines are produced by CFM International (CFM), a 50/50 joint company between Snecma Moteurs (Safran Group) of France and General Electric of the United States.
"CFM has a long tradition of service on military special use applications," said Al DiLibero, general manager of CFM Military Programs. "More than 10 percent of CFM's total orders and 20 percent of the current in-service fleet are military applications. This success is based on providing the economic benefits of commercial engines to military aircraft.
"The CFM56-7-powered 737 has built a phenomenal reputation in commercial service and those benefitsreliability, fuel efficiency, ease of maintenanceare being leveraged by our military customer."
The AEW&C is a derivative of the 737-700 IGW (increased gross weight) aircraft commercially available as the Boeing Business Jet. This platform is designed to operate at heavier weights to carry more fuel for greater range. The CFM56-7 engine is rated at 27,300 pounds takeoff thrust for this application.
The AEW&C program was launched by the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in 1999 with an order for seven aircraft, which will begin delivery in 2006. This engine also powers the C-40 for the U.S. Navy. The Navy ordered nine C-40s to replace its C-9 aircraft; the Navy has taken delivery of two C-40s since April 2001.