The U.S. Navy has awarded Boeing a $2.4 billion production contract for the next 19 P-8A Poseidon aircraft. The contract includes 10 aircraft to add to the current inventory of P-8As in the U.S. Navy fleet, all five jets currently under contract for Royal Norwegian Air Force and the four aircraft remaining for the existing United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force contract, bringing the total United Kingdom acquisition to nine aircraft.
The United Kingdom and Norway are acquiring the Boeing aircraft through the Foreign Military Sales process and will receive a variant designed and produced for the U.S. Navy called the P-8A Poseidon. The United Kingdom will receive their first aircraft in 2019 and Norway will begin receiving aircraft in 2021. These future deliveries are bringing unparalleled interoperability between NATO and its Allies — and providing significant power to transatlantic partnership and cooperation.
The P-8 is a long-range multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft capable of broad-area, maritime and littoral operations. A military derivative of the Boeing Commercial Next-Generation 737 aeroplane, the P-8 combines superior performance and reliability with an advanced mission system that ensures maximum interoperability in the battlespace.
The P-8 is already in operation with the United States Navy, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the Indian Navy. With more than 180,000 flight hours to date, the P-8 and all its variants patrol the globe performing anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare; intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance (ISR), humanitarian and search and rescue missions.
The P-8 is militarised with maritime weapons, a modern open mission system architecture, and commercial-like support for affordability. The aircraft has been modified to include a bomb bay and pylons for weapons – two weapons stations on each wing – and can carry 129 sonobuoys. The aircraft is also fitted with an in-flight refuelling system. With more than 180,000 flight hours to date, P-8 variants, the P-8A Poseidon and the P-8I, patrol the globe performing anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; humanitarian; and search and rescue missions.
ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 28, 2019
