S. Korea received first spy plane

  South Korea''s first surveillance airplane to be deployed this year arrived at an Air Force base on Monday, the country''s defense procurement agency said. The Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said that an E-737, the country''s first airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft from Boeing, landed at the Air Force base in Gimhae, about 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, South Korea''s (Yonhap) news agency reported. The aircraft, based on Boeing''s 737-700, has been dubbed "Peace Eye" after a naming contest in 2008. "The first E-737 completed tests by our Air Force at Boeing''s factory in Seattle," the DAPA said. "It will go through test flights and acceptance tests before it''s handed over to our Air Force in early September." In 2006, South Korea reached a US$1.6 billion deal with Boeing to purchase four E-737s. The DAPA said the remaining three E-737s will be delivered by 2012.