The US Navy has awarded a $1.5 billion production contract for 18 P-8A Poseidon aircraft to Boeing, which likely provides welcome relief during the coronavirus crisis.
The P-8 is a long-range multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft, deployed around the globe in various anti-submarine, anti-surface and shipping interdiction capacities. It comes armed with torpedoes, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and other weapons.
The plane is a military derivative of the Boeing 737 Next-Generation aircraft.
The contract covers eight aircraft for the US Navy, six aircraft for the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) and four aircraft for the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF).
The ROKN and RNZAF acquired the aircraft through the foreign military sales program and will receive the P-8A Poseidon variant designed and produced for the US Navy.
The RNZAF is expected to begin receiving aircraft in 2022 and the ROKN is expected to begin receiving aircraft in 2023.
According to the company, P-8 is a “proven long-range multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft capable of broad-area, maritime and littoral operations”.
The P-8 is militarised with maritime weapons, a modern open mission system architecture and commercial-like support for affordability. The aircraft is modified to include a bomb bay and pylons for weapons. It has two weapons stations on each wing and can carry 129 sonobuoys. The aircraft is also fitted with an in-flight refuelling system.
At the time of writing, the P-8A and P-8I variants have together logged more than 254,000 flight hours around the globe.
