USN P-8A multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft. (Photo: Boeing)
USN will obtain 11 more P-8A aircraft and RAAF fleet will grow by two.
The USN is procuring 11 additional P-8A Poseidon long-range anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare aircraft from Boeing for $1.7 billion, the manufacturer announced on 31 March.
Two of these Poseidons will be supplied to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as a partner in the P-8A programme.
The latest contract will bring to 114 the total number of P-8As in the USN inventory, plus 14 bought by the RAAF via the FMS programme.
Other orders for the P-8A (or variants thereof) have come from India, New Zealand, Norway, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and the UK.
Boeing to Produce 11 P-8A Poseidon aircraft for U.S., Australian Navies Our Bureau 390
The U.S. Navy awarded Boeing a $1.6 billion contract on March 31 for the next 11 P-8A Poseidon aircraft, 9 of which will join the U.S. Navy fleet and two will go to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
The contract brings the total number of U.S. Navy P-8A aircraft under contract to 128 and the RAAF total to 14.
The P-8A is a long-range anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare aircraft used by the U.S Navy. It’s vital for intelligence gathering, surveillance reconnaissance and search and rescue.
17th March 2021 - 06:31 GMT | by Gordon Arthur in Christchurch RSS
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands, deep in the Indian Ocean, is a strategic concern for the Australian military.
Australia issued an expression of interest (EoI) on 5 March concerning the construction of an airborne EW and ISR forward operating base on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean.
Tender documentation revealed the infrastructure work is part of Project Air 555 Phase 1, the programme procuring four MC-55A .
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US Navy/MCS2 Juan S. Sua
A Navy P-8A Poseidon is shown carrying AGM-84D Harpoon missiles in photos taken in January but released this month.
It s not the first time a Poseidon has been spotted with that kind of weapon, but it appears to be the first time a P-8 in the Persian Gulf has been seen with it.
The US Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft have started flying missions in the US 5th Fleet AOR (Area of Operations) carrying AGM-84D Harpoon missiles.
Images just released by the naval service through the DVIDS network show sailors assigned to the Fighting Tigers of Patrol Squadron 8, deployed with Commander, Task Force (CTF) 57, performing preflight checks on AGM-84 Harpoon missiles carried by a P-8A of VP-8 ahead of a mission in the US 5th Fleet area of operations (that encompasses the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean) on January 15-16, 2021.