Boeing P-8

Boeing P-8 Poseidon
US Navy P-8A over the Pacific
Type:	Maritime reconnaissance and submarine fighter aircraft
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Boeing
First flight:	April 25, 2009
Commissioning:	November 29, 2013
Production time:	In series production since 2011
Number of pieces:	82 (as of April 2018)

The Boeing P-8 Poseidon is a maritime patrol and submarine fighter aircraft of the United States Navy . The twin-engine aircraft is the result of the “Multimission Maritime Aircraft” program (temporarily also referred to as “MMA”) and is based on the short- and medium-haul aircraft Boeing 737-800 . In the US Navy, the P-8 replaces the P-3 Orion fleet. India is the first export customer to use the nickname Neptune for the machine .

history

development

The development of the P-8 can be traced back to the mid-1980s. At that time, the US Navy was looking for a possible successor to the P-3 and began to define the requirements for such a machine. The primary requirement was the reduction in operating costs compared to the P-3. This suffered from comparatively severe material fatigue, which is why the new machine should have an airframe with a long life expectancy. Furthermore, an increased range or an extended patrol duration as well as a lower total weight were required. In 1989, the Navy awarded Lockheed a development contract that included the construction of two prototypes. These machines, known as P-7s , were never built, however, as Lockheed's contract was withdrawn in 1990 after a cost overrun of 300 million US dollars had to be granted.

After the end of the Cold War and the resulting cuts in the defense budget, the search for a successor to the P-3 was initially given up. The life of the airframe was initially extended through various modernization programs. When it became apparent that this would also become very expensive in the long run, a new development program was started in 2000 - the Multimission Maritime Aircraft Program . In contrast to the original requirements, the weight reduction was dispensed with because the company was prepared to accept this for longer ranges and operating times. Furthermore, the requirements in the area of avionics and communication systems have been increased. Another new addition to the specifications was the requirement that the new machines should be able to control UAVs without additional ground-based systems.

Rollout of the P-8A "Poseidon"

Initially, only Boeing and Lockheed Martin took part in the new competition. Lockheed proposed the so-called Orion 21, which was a completely revised version of the old turboprop P-3. Meanwhile, Boeing took a different approach and came up with a proposal to modify their 737-800ERX airliner. In 2001 BAE Systems entered the current competition with the Nimrod MRA.4 . They offered a modernized version of the old Nimrod MR.Mk.2 from 1969, which had already been newly developed for the British Navy. However, BAE withdrew from the competition in October 2002 because it had been recognized that it would not have been politically possible to prevail against the US competitors. Finally, on June 14, 2004, Boeing won the competition.

After the US manufacturer won the 3.9 billion US dollar MMA program, the US Navy ordered the first five machines on July 8, 2004. At the beginning of August 2008, the assembly of the first prototype P-8A-T1 at the Renton plant was completed. The instrumentation and various ground tests were then started in Seattle. On April 25, 2009 the first P-8A completed its maiden flight, so that it could replace the Lockheed P-3 by 2013 at the latest . Drop tests of sonar buoys began in October 2010 at NAS Patuxent River . On July 19, 2011, the first pre-series aircraft from the six aircraft LRIP1 pre-series contract took off in Renton on its maiden flight. In total, the US Navy plans to procure 108 aircraft, bringing the cost to around $ 15 billion. In addition to Boeing, Raytheon , Northrop Grumman , Spirit AeroSystems, GE Aviation Systems, Marshall Aerospace, CFMI , BAE Systems and Marotta are also involved as suppliers . Due to Lockheed Martin's refusal to develop the "Aerial Common Sensor" project, Boeing is now using a Linux system from Wind River Systems for its reconnaissance and mission systems.

The P-8 is being tested by the Test and Evaluation Squadrons VX-1 and VX-20, based at Naval Air Station Patuxent River , Maryland . On February 3, a P-8 took part in an exercise of the US Navy for the first time, with a total of 34 exercises were flown as part of "Bold Alligator". The US Navy's test program was completed at the beginning of April 2013, and the first machines are due to have their premiere abroad in December.

The P-8 was presented to a larger audience for the first time at an international air show at the Dubai Airshow 2013.

On November 29, 2013, the P-8 Poseidon reached its Initial Operating Capability (IOC).

production

Prototype T-1 of the P-8A "Poseidon"

116 “Poseidons” had been delivered by June 2019, 95 of them to the United States Navy (including a break cell and another static test vehicle), 11 to the Royal Australian Air Force and eight to the Indian Navy .

MSN	LN	Registration	operator	delivery	annotation	Test registration
34395	2722	-	United States Navy	December 2008	Static cell, meanwhile dismantled
34398	3069	-	US Navy	December 2009	No longer in operation
34394	2599	167951	US Navy	August 2008	-	N541BA
34396	2814	167953	US Navy	June 2009	-	N441BA
34397	2931	167954	US Navy	September 2009	-	N397DS
40594	3324	167952	US Navy	October 2010	-	N327DS
40595	3426	167955	US Navy	January 2011	-	N328DS
40596	3522	167956	US Navy	April 2011	-	N391DS
40808	3612	168428	US Navy	July 2011	-	N392DS
40809	3792	168429	US Navy	December 2011	-	N397DS
40810	3879	168430	US Navy	March 2012	-	N398DS
40811	3916	168431	US Navy	April 2012	-	N507DS
40812	3969	168432	US Navy	May 2012	-	N516DS
40813	4055	168433	US Navy	August 2012	-	N530DS
40814	4099	168434	US Navy	September 2012	-	N532DS
40815	4141	168435	US Navy	October 2012	-	N533DS
40816	4219	168436	US Navy	December 2012	-	N536DS
40817	4256	168437	US Navy	February 2013	-	N537DS
40818	4294	168438	US Navy	March 2013	-	N327DS
40819	4331	168439	US Navy	April 2013	-	N539DS
40820	4366	168440	US Navy	May 2013	-	N708DS
42250	4547	168754	US Navy	November 2013	-	N736DS
42251	4609	168755	US Navy	January 2014	-	N740DS
42252	4673	168756	US Navy	February 2014	-	N753DS
42253	4728	168757	US Navy	March 2014	-	N755DS
42254	4768	168758	US Navy	April 2014	-	N758DS
42255	4813	168759	US Navy	May 2014	-	N762DS
42256	4898	168760	US Navy	July 2014	-	N768DS
42257	4938	168761	US Navy	August 2014	-	N771DS
42258	4978	168762	US Navy	September 2014	-	N780DS
42259	5020	168763	US Navy	October 2014	-	N781DS
42260	5098	168764	US Navy	November 2014	-	N783DS
44140	5138	168848	US Navy	December 2014	-	N784DS
44141	5178	168849	US Navy	February 2015	-	N785DS
44142	5218	168850	US Navy	February 2015	-	N789DS
44143	5262	168851	US Navy	March 2015	-	N790DS
44144	5298	168852	US Navy	April 2015	-	N715DS
44145	5338	168853	US Navy	June 2015	-	N717DS
44146	5368	168854	US Navy	June 2015	-	N722DS
44147	5398	168855	US Navy	July 2015	-	N729DS
44148	5428	168856	US Navy	July 2015	-	N805DS
44149	5458	168857	US Navy	August 2015	-	N590DS
44150	5478	168858	US Navy	September 2015	-	N591DS
44151	5542	168860	US Navy	October 2015	-	N593DS
44152	5510	168859	US Navy	September 2015	-	N592DS
44938	5567	168996	US Navy	November 2015	-	N595DS
44939	5623	168998	US Navy	December 2015	-	N598DS
44940	5656	168999	US Navy	January 2016	-	N910DS
44941	5680	169000	US Navy	January 2016	-	N914DS
44942	5587	168997	US Navy	November 2015	-	N597DS
44943	5740	169002	US Navy	March 2016	-	N934DS
44944	5765	169003	US Navy	March 2016	-	N935DS
44945	5796	169004	US Navy	April 2016	-	N936DS
44946	5851	169005	US Navy	May 2016	-	N941DS
44947	5880	169006	US Navy	June 2016	-	N942DS
44948	5903	169007	US Navy	July 2016	-	N943DS
44949	5936	169008	US Navy	July 2016	-	N944DS
44950	6020	169010	US Navy	September 2016	-	N957DS
44951	5963	169009	US Navy	August 2016	-	N949DS
44952	5712	169001	US Navy	February 2016	-	N931DS
44953	6048	169011	US Navy	October 2016	-	N958DS
62288	5823	A47-001	Royal Australian Air Force	May 2016	-	N940DS
62289	5993	A47-002	Royal Australian Air Force	September 2016	-	N956DS
62290	6076	A47-003	Royal Australian Air Force	November 2016	-	N959DS
62291	6104	169324	US Navy	November 2016	-	N960DS
62292	6132	169325	US Navy	December 2016	-	N962DS
62293	6216	A47-004	Royal Australian Air Force	February 2017	-	N974DS
62294	6244	169328	US Navy	March 2017	-	N964DS
62295	6273	169329	US Navy	March 2017	-	N968DS
62296	6300	169330	US Navy	April 2017	-	N843DS
62297	6356	169331	US Navy	June 2017	-	N852DS
62298	6160	169326	US Navy	January 2017	-	N969DS
62299	6189	169327	US Navy	February 2017	-	N963DS
62698	6385	169332	US Navy	June 2017	-	N848DS
63179	6328	A47-005	Royal Australian Air Force	May 2017	-	N832DS
63180	6412	169333	US Navy	July 2017	-	N838DS
63181	6440	169334	US Navy	August 2017	-	N839DS
63182	6468	A47-006	Royal Australian Air Force	August 2017	-	N849DS
63183	6492	169335	US Navy	September 2017	-	N854DS
63184	6532	169336	US Navy	October 2017	-	N857DS
63185	6560	169337	US Navy	October 2017	-	N858DS
63186	6595	169338	US Navy	November 2017	-	N860DS
63187	6623	A47-007	Royal Australian Air Force	December 2017	-	N862DS
63188	6658	169339	US Navy	January 2018	-	N863DS
63189	6687	169340	US Navy	January 2018	-	N864DS
63190	6720	169341	US Navy	February 2018	-	N869DS
63191	6750	A47-008	Royal Australian Air Force	February 2018	Stored	N872DS
63192	6784	169342	US Navy	March 2018	-	N874DS
63193	6812	169343	US Navy	April 2018	-	N873DS
63194	6846	169344	US Navy	April 2018	-	N304DS
63195	6876	169345	US Navy	June 2018	-	N308DS
63196	6909	169346	US Navy	June 2018	-	N318DS
63197	6941	169347	US Navy	June 2018	-	N322DS
63198	6974	169348	US Navy	July 2018	-	N323DS
63758	7004	169349	US Navy	August 2018	-	N328DS
63759	7044	169426	US Navy	August 2018	-	N332DS
64073	7074	169542	US Navy	September 2018	-	N348DS
64074	7114	169543	US Navy	October 2018	-	N347DS
64075	7144	169544	US Navy	November 2018	-	N360DS
64076	7184	169545	US Navy	December 2018	-	N364DS
64077	7219	169546	US Navy	December 2018	-	N368DS
64078	7289	169548	US Navy	February 2019	-	N383DS
64079	7359	169549	US Navy	March 2019	-	N392DS
64080	7462	169573	US Navy	May 2019	-	N410DS
64083	7254	169547	US Navy	January 2019	-	N374DS
64165	7324	A47-009	Royal Australian Air Force	March 2019	-	N391DS
64166	7392	A47-010	Royal Australian Air Force	April 2019	-	N397DS
64167	7427	A47-011	Royal Australian Air Force	April 2019	-	N398DS
40610	3702	IN320	Indian Navy	September 2011	-	N393DS
40611	4014	IN321	Indian Navy	July 2012	-	N521DS
40612	4181	IN322	Indian Navy	November 2012	-	N535DS
40613	4399	IN323	Indian Navy	June 2013	-	N718DS
40614	4445	IN324	Indian Navy	July 2013	-	N720DS
40615	4481	IN325	Indian Navy	September 2013	-	N726DS
40616	4859	IN326	Indian Navy	June 2014	-	N763DS
40617	5058	IN327	Indian Navy	November 2014	-	N782DS
As of June 27, 2019

construction

Test flight of a P-8A over Patuxent River

The P-8 Poseidon is based on the civilian Boeing 737. The fuselage from the 737-800 version has been reinforced in order to cope with the increased demands and to be able to integrate a weapons bay. The extensive sensor systems, the antenna systems of which are visible along the underside of the fuselage, and the avionics also made this reinforcement necessary. Weapons can also be carried on the wings of the Boeing 737-900 .

The most important element of the surveillance equipment is the Raytheon AN / APY-10 synthetic broadband radar ( JETDS designation), a further development of the AN / APS-137 radar with reduced energy and space requirements.

Versions

• P-8A : Basic version for the US Navy, is also used for export to Australia and Canada.
• P-8I : Export version of the P-8A for the Indian Navy, which has a requirement of 12 to 16 machines. Parts of the electronics come from Indian production. Another main difference between the P-8A and P-8I is that the latter has a second APY-10 radar in the rear of the fuselage, which offers a 360 ° all-round view.
• EP-8 : Unrealized SIGINT variant of the P-8 as a replacement for the outdated Lockheed EP-3E Aries . The US Navy examined the acquisition of 19 to 26 machines as part of the EP-X program, but canceled it in favor of an unmanned platform.
• P-8 AGS : An "Airborne Ground Surveillance" version for the US Air Force offered by Boeing in 2010, as a replacement for the E-8 Joint STAR after the E-10 MC2A was canceled. The design, in which an AESA radar would be installed in the fuselage and sensor pods on the wings, is considered an alternative to modernizing the E-8 fleet.

Users

Indian Navy P-8I over Mount Rainier

 Australia

15 P-8A "Poseidon". Australia initially planned to lease eight P-8A and six MQ-4C Triton in order to use the P-8 in the network with UAVs like the US Navy . Ultimately, the leasing plans were discarded and in February 2014 Australia then initially ordered eight Poseidons for $ 3.6 billion, leaving the question of UAVs open. These eight and four copies, reordered in 2016, were shipped between November 2016 and December 2019 to replace the AP-3C Orion by 2023. The white paper published in February 2016 provides for a long-term fleet target of 15 aircraft.

The Australian P-8A are stationed at RAAF Base Edinburgh and are operated by the 11th Squadron .

 India

22 P-8I “Neptune” ordered in three tranches. On January 2, 2009, the Indian Navy decided to purchase eight P-8I machines, which replaced the Tu-142 on March 29, 2017 . The order volume for the P-8I export was approximately $ 2.1 billion with a unit price of approximately $ 200 million. Boeing plans a minority stake of Indian companies with a stake of around 30%. The order was increased to twelve machines in July 2016. The first flight took place on September 28, 2011 and the first handover at the manufacturer on December 20, 2012. The first P-8I arrived on May 15, 2013 at its base in India. The eight original copies were delivered by 2015 and the following four are expected to arrive in 2019/2020. In June 2019 India ordered another ten aircraft, by then eight aircraft had been delivered.

The operator is INAS 312 ( Indian Naval Air Squadron ), which is stationed at Indian Naval Station Rajali, INS Rajali for short, near Arakkonams.

 South Korea

4 P-8A “Poseidon” ordered.

 New Zealand

4 P-8A “Poseidon” ordered. New Zealand asked the US government for prices and delivery times for four P-8A in spring 2017 and then placed the order the following summer.

In contrast to its P-3K2 predecessors stationed at RNZAF Base Auckland , the 5th Squadron will station its P-8A at RNZAF Base Ohakea .

 Norway

5 P-8A “Poseidon” ordered. The procurement plan for the Luftforsvaret became known in November 2016 and the order was placed in the following March.

The planes are to arrive in 2021/22 and be stationed in Evenes .

 United Kingdom

9 Poseidon MRA.1 (P-8A) ordered. As part of the publication of its new White Paper , Her Majesty's Government announced the planned procurement of nine P-8A in November 2015; the order was placed in July 2016. The first flight of the first aircraft took place three years later and a few months later at the end of October 2019 Delivery for initial crew training at US Naval Air Station Jacksonville . The first plane arrived in Kinloss, Scotland, in early February 2020 . The first two copies were named "Pride of Moray" and "City of Elgin".

The two organizations are the Poseidon in RAF Lossiemouth lying 120th and 201st Squadron .

 United States

123 P-8A “Poseidon” ordered. The US Navy initially planned to purchase a total of 114 P-8As, which will be integrated into the new Maritime Surveillance UAV system. This should enable continuous maritime surveillance from 2010 onwards. For this, 68 are additionally UAVs type MQ-4C necessary, which should operate then five locations: Hawaii , Diego Garcia , Jacksonville (Florida), Kadena Air Base ( Japan ) and Sigonella ( Italy ). The MQ-4C (then called RQ-4N) was able to prevail after a three-year selection process in August 2008 against the competing models MQ-1C and MQ-9N . The P-8A will take over most of the operational command for the MQ-4C.
On June 17, 2009, the US Navy announced that it would purchase nine more machines for $ 1.8 billion, bringing the total fleet strength to 123 machines.

The Poseidon's Initial Operating Capability was achieved in November 2013 at NAS Jacksonville in Florida, where the first series machine had arrived in early March 2012. The school relay is the Fleet Replacement Squadron VP-30, which is also responsible for the P-3C and MQ-4C training. The six "East Coast" squadrons were set up between mid-2012 and mid-2016, in the order in which they were set up they were the Patrol Squadrons VP-16, VP-5, VP-45, VP-8, VP-10 and VP-26.

After the conversion of the squadrons on the Atlantic began the conversion of the planned six "West Coast" squadrons on NAS Whidbey Island in 2017. The conversion of the squadrons VP-4, VP-47, VP-9, VP-1, VP-46 and VP-40 took place until 2020.

In the command area of ​​the United States Pacific Command , Misawa Air Base in northern Japan and Kadena Air Base in Okinawa are used for several month rotations of squadrons from the USA. In December 2013 there was a first rotation of the VP-45 from Jacksonville.

interested persons

 Canada

Canada already expressed interest in the P-8 at the project stage. Here, too, the P-3 fleet, known as the CP-140 Aurora, is to be replaced.

 Italy

In 2004 Italy expressed interest in the P-8. However, the plans for the acquisition were given up in 2008 and a more cost-effective alternative based on ATR-72 was procured.

Technical specifications

US Navy P-8A stationed at NAF Atsugi in Japan

Indian P-8I with Harpoon anti-ship missiles

Parameter	Data
crew	2 cockpit crew, 7 operators
length	39.47 m
span	37.64 m
height	12.83 m
Empty mass	62,730 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	85,130 kg
Top speed	906 km / h
Marching speed	789 km / h
Service ceiling	12,500 m
Use radius	2,200 km (if you stay in the target area for 4 hours)
drive	two CFM International CFM56 -7B with 120 kN thrust each

Armament

The following armament options are planned for the P-8:

Ordnance up to approx. 2,500 kg in a 4.7 meter long internal weapons bay in the middle of the rear fuselage section

Air-to-surface guided missile

• 5 × Boeing AGM-84K "SLAM-ER ATA" - cruise missiles against land targets or ships
• 5 × Boeing AGM-84L "Harpoon Block II" anti-ship missiles

Torpedoes

• 5 × Raytheon Mark 54 MAKO (diameter 324 mm, lightweight hybrid torpedo )

Unguided bombs

• 3–5 × unknown type of water mine

Explosive ordnance up to approx. 2,000 kg at four external load stations under the two wings

Air-to-surface guided missile

• 4 × Boeing AGM-84K "SLAM-ER ATA"
• 4 × Boeing AGM-84L "Harpoon Block II" anti-ship missiles

Avionics and sensors

Multipurpose search radar

• Raytheon AN / APY-10

Electronic reconnaissance and defense measures

• AN / AAR-54 - Missile Detector
• AN / AAQ-24 - system for countermeasures in the infrared range
• AN / ALE-47 - Decoy drop system
• AN / ALQ-213 - Management system for all defense subsystems
• AN / ALQ-240 - Reception and identification of electronic signals in all frequency ranges

Web links

Commons : Boeing P-8 Poseidon  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Global Security
• Boeing's P8A website
• Tages-Anzeiger : This is what it looks like in a US spy plane

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Boeing's 100th P-8 Poseidon enters final assembly. Boeing, April 10, 2018, accessed April 11, 2018 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Lon Nordeen: American MPA Modernization . In: Air International . No. 1 . Key Publishing, Stamford January 2013, p. 74-83 .
3. ↑ FlugRevue October 2008, p. 18, P-8A ready to equip
4. ↑ Global: First Boeing P-8A gets airborne. April 25, 2009, accessed March 3, 2010
5. ↑ FlugRevue September 2011, p. 14, First series machine flies
6. ↑ Boeing Integrated Defense Systems: P-8A Poseidon , product page, accessed March 9, 2010
7. ↑ Heise: The penguin goes on a submarine hunt. July 31, 2006, accessed March 9, 2010
8. ↑ P-8A Poseidon Makes Exercise Debut . In: Air Forces Monthly . Key Publishing, Stamford March 2012 (English).
9. ^ Dave Majumdar: Boeing P-8 testing complete, set for 2013 deployment. In: Flightglobal.com. April 10, 2013, accessed April 10, 2013 . 
10. ↑ Boeing P-8A makes its international show debut. In: Flightglobal.com. November 18, 2013, accessed on November 18, 2013 (English): “One of the most sophisticated derivatives of the Boeing 737 ever flown is making its international show debut this week, with the US Navy's new P-8A being put through its paces during the daily flying display. "
11. ↑ P-8A Poseidon reports for duty. FliegerWeb.com, December 3, 2013, accessed December 4, 2013 . 
12. ↑ Boeing 737 Production List. In: planespotters.net. Retrieved June 27, 2019 . 
13. ↑ Christopher P. Cavas: Rare look at Boeing's new P-8A Poseidon production line (Updated +). In: Intercepts (blog). DefenseNews, November 20, 2012, archived from the original on February 15, 2013 ; accessed on January 12, 2013 . 
14. ^ US Navy to replace EP-3s with unmanned aircraft. Flight International, August 11, 2011, accessed August 11, 2011 . 
15. ↑ Boeing pitches P-8 variant to replace JSTARS. Flight International, February 18, 2010, accessed February 15, 2014 . 
16. ↑ Stephen Trimble: Australia nears decisions on Boeing P-8A, BAMS participation. In: Flightglobal.com. February 9, 2009, accessed May 30, 2013 . 
17. ↑ RAAF receives 12th Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft, Janes, December 13, 2019
18. ^ White Paper 2016. Australian Department of Defense, February 2016
19. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from April 2, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
20. ^ Stephen Trimble: Boeing starts search for P-8I offset partners in India. In: Flightglobal.com. January 7, 2009, accessed May 30, 2013 . 
21. ↑ India to obtain four more P-8I Neptunes. Flightglobal, August 3, 2016
22. ↑ Bob Fischer: India will purchase ten more Boeing P-8I Neptune. In: Aerobuzz. June 27, 2019, accessed June 27, 2019 . 
23. ^ Boeing's MPA agenda advances in Asia-Pacific. Flightglobal, June 26, 2018
24. ^ Boeing's MPA agenda advances in Asia-Pacific. Flightglobal, June 26, 2018
25. ↑ US approves potential Poseidon sale to New Zealand. Jane's, May 2, 2017; archived from the original on May 2, 2017 ; accessed on May 3, 2017 . 
26. ^ Another win for Boeing: New Zealand commits to the P-8 with $ 1.6 billion deal. Defense News, July 9, 2018
27. ↑ Norway signs for Poseidon MMAs, Janes, March 30, 2017 ( Memento of March 31, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
28. ↑ Norway plans to buy five new P-8 Poseidons. Flightglobal, November 28, 2016
29. ↑ UK firms up two big military buys. Flightglobal, July 11, 2016
30. ↑ UK Poseidon makes maiden flight. Janes, July 14, 2019
31. ^ RAF's first Poseidon delivered for training. Janes, November 4, 2019
32. ^ Second in Poseidon fleet touches down at Kinloss. The Northern Scot, March 13, 2020
33. ^ RAF welcomes first Poseidon to Kinloss base. Flightglobal, January 4, 2020
34. ↑ Stephen Trimble: Paris Air Show: US Navy adds aircraft to P-8A order. In: Flightglobal.com. June 17, 2009, accessed May 30, 2013 . 
35. ↑ US Navy completes Patrol Squadron transitions to Poseidon. Janes, May 29, 2020
36. ↑ First P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft deployed to Japan. Boeing, January 14, 2014, accessed March 27, 2014 .