Boeing Wins $1 Billion Turkish Order

Boeing, the world's biggest planemaker, has won a one billion dollar order from Turkey's military for four radar equipped 737 airliners to spot airborne intruders.

The US State Department and Congress however must approve the order, which may take several months, a Boeing spokeswoman Marta Newhart said. Deliveries may start in 2006, after design work with partners including Northrop Grumman and Turkish Aerospace Industries, she said.

The order is Boeing's second for the modified 737 early warning aircraft. The Australian government ordered four in 2000.

Boeing is seeking orders from other countries, focusing on those in the NATO alliance, Newhart said. Boeing wants to increase military business to counter a slump in its commercial-aircraft business. That division, which accounts for sixty percent of Boeing's revenue, is cutting production by half after a drop in air travel.