Australia Formally Buys its first Four P-8A 'Poseidon'

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) formally bought its first four P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft in a $1.49-billion contract with Boeing that also includes the U.S. Navy’s next nine aircraft, Boeing announced today.
Australia’s participation in the program goes back to 2009, and though it has recently procured a complete training system and signed a contract for long-lead materials, it had not formally signed a contract for its aircraft.
The RAAF announced in February 2014 it intends to buy eight P-8As to replace its AP-3C Orions, and could buy as many as 12 pending the outcome of a Defence White Paper review. It said the first aircraft would deliver in 2017 and the full 8-plane fleet would be operational by 2021.
The contract announced today keeps ahead of that schedule, with Boeing saying that “production of the first Australian P-8A will begin later this year, with delivery to the RAAF scheduled for 2016.”
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