Germany's naval aviation, the Marineflieger, is set to bolster its fleet with the procurement of three more Poseidon maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft. This acquisition brings the total P-8A fleet count for the Marineflieger to eight, as announced by the Ministry of Defence today. The added investment is valued at €1.1 billion.
Previously, speculation arose in November concerning Germany's request to modify an existing Foreign Military Sale (FMS) agreement for five P-8A aircraft initially approved in 2021, valued at $1.77 billion, with deliveries expected to commence in 2024. The procurement of the additional three aircraft will enable the German Marineflieger to replace its aging P-3C fleet on a one-to-one basis.
The decision to augment the fleet comes after the older Orion MPA, acquired from the Netherlands in 2006, encountered increasing availability issues over the years. Originally intended for life-extension and service into the 2030s, a collaborative program with France, the Maritime Airborne Warfare System (MAWS), aimed to replace both the German P-3C and the French Breguet Atlantique ATL2 MPA. Unfortunately, this joint effort faced a significant setback when the German life-extension program failed, leading to the effective retirement of the single airframe used for evaluation.
The German MPAs have been actively deployed in NATO- and EU-related missions, including anti-piracy patrols off Somalia and surveillance flights in the Mediterranean off Libya. With the failure of the life-extension program, pressure mounted on the Marineflieger and the Ministry of Defence to address the issue promptly.
Germany had initially viewed the purchase of five Poseidons as an "interim" solution until the operationalization of MAWS, which aims to replace all retired Breguet Atlantique ATL1 aircraft. However, the total requirement for the Marineflieger's MPA-component stands at twelve aircraft, necessitating a full replacement of the retired Atlantique ATL1 that reached the end of their service life, leading to the Orion purchase.
While there had been discussions to acquire up to seven additional Poseidons for Germany, events such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 prompted Chancellor Scholz to emphasize increased defense spending and NATO contributions. Nonetheless, due to funding constraints, the German Navy is unlikely to acquire the full desired number of aircraft.
The recently published "Zielbild Marine 2035+" now confirms the acquisition of eight P-8A aircraft, fulfilling the immediate requirement for naval aviation. Although this addition of three aircraft falls short of the optimum target, it effectively revitalizes the existing Orion fleet. However, the original characterization of the purchase as "interim" now faces significant doubt regarding its long-term viability. Furthermore, integrating the American P-8A into any Franco-German maritime warfare system appears impractical without pertinent technical consents from the United States, not to mention the substantial associated costs.
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