New Zealand receives first P-8A Poseidon

New Zealand received the first of four Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft

The milestone comes four years after the New Zealand Government entered into an agreement with the U.S. Navy for the P-8A.

Boeing Defence Australia will provide sustainment services for New Zealand’s.

New Zealand’s three remaining P-8 aircraft are all in advanced stages of production and will be delivered in 2023. The aircraft will replace New Zealand’s current fleet of six P-3K2 Orions and will be based at Royal New Zealand Air Force Base Ohakea.

navalnews

South Korea mulls purchase of four Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft

The South Korean military may buy four Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft in the wake of the successful test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) by North Korea on 24 August, the Korea JoongAng Ilbo newspaper quoted a senior government official as saying on 1 September.
"North Korea is preparing a number of strategic ways to attack the South using its submarine fleet on top of the SLBM development," said the official.
"We are discussing whether to purchase the latest maritime patrol aircraft to detect North Korean submarines to prevent surprise attacks from under water," he added.
janes

US Navy's Poseidon completes debut deployment

The inaugural deployment of the P-8A Poseidon is now in the books.
Patrol Squadron 16 returned to NAStation Jacksonville, Florida, after a seven-month deployment to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, Japan. The squadron’s last P-8A touched down at NAS Jacksonville on July 16, signaling the beginning of the end for the venerable P-3C Orion, which will phased out over the rest of the decade.
navytimes

US Navy P-8 joins military exercises in Singapore

A U.S. P-8 surveillance plane is joining Singapore’s military in exercises as the navy tests the aircraft’s capabilities after the Pentagon found it ineffective at some tasks.
The P-8A Poseidon, is conducting anti-submarine and surface warfare sorties as part of the CARAT Singapore maneuvers that end Aug. 8.
The aircraft, is still in its testing phase.
The plane’s primary missions include tracking Chinese submarines as China expands the reach of the navy and the country asserts claims to large parts of the East and South China Seas.
businessweek

Australia orders 58 F-35 Lockheed Martin stealth fighters

Australia will order 58 more F-35 Prime Australina Minister said on Wednesday.
Australia approved the purchase of 14 of the stealth fighters in 2009, and the additional jets will provide the Royal Australian Air Force with enough aircraft to form three operational squadrons and one training squadron.
The first F-35 aircraft will arrive in Australia in 2018 and enter service with the RAAF in 2020.
The Australian purchase is a signal of confidence in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, which is about 70 percent over budget and years behind schedule.
Australia has moved recently to upgrade its air defense capabilities, announcing in February that it would buy eight of Boeing P-8A Poseidon and committing in March to purchasing the U.S. Navy's MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft.
reuters

UK Team To Train on Triton as Government Ponders Maritime Patrol Future

Britain’s Ministry of Defence is dispatching a team to train on Northrop Grumman’s MQ-4C Triton UAV in the run-up to a possible decision next year on whether to re-establish a maritime patrol capability.
The government said that four personnel are scheduled to train on the MQ-4C Triton during June and August, 2014.
The Triton is a maritime version of the Global Hawk remotely piloted surveillance vehicle. The high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft is in its flight-test phase ahead of deliveries to the US Navy.
The British government said the team will be trained at the US Navy’s Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland.
Defence Secretary has said on a number of occasions that unmanned aircraft could meet at least part of the requirement for a future maritime patrol aircraft capability if the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) resurrects the requirements.
The government controversially axed Britain’s maritime patrol aircraft capability as part of a budget-cutting exercise in the 2010 SDSR when BAE Systems’ long-delayed and over-budget Nimrod MRA4 program was canceled before the aircraft entered service.
Two demonstration versions of the Triton are scheduled to be delivered to Patuxent River in the next few weeks.
Triton has already been ordered by the US Navy to operate alongside Boeing P-8 Poseidon MPAs. Australia has also said it intends to buy the machine to work with the P-8s it has on order.
Twenty british personnel have been embedded with US Navy P-8 operations as part of a program to retain crew skills until a decision is made on whether to recreate a maritime patrol capability.
defensenews

United States's proposed defense budget would reduce P-8A program

The White House’s 2015 budget request appears to cancel or reduce several defense programs, and if approved would mean a reduction in the number of P-8As to the Navy.
The 2015 fiscal year requested budget cuts the number of Boeing supplied P-8As in half, from an earlier plan of 16 to eight.
kansas

Boeing Receives Contract for 16 P-8A Poseidon Aircraft

Boeing's P-8A Poseidon program will enter full production, following a contract award from the U.S. Navy for 16 additional aircraft.
The order, which will take the total fleet to 53, marks a transition from preliminary low-rate production.
Boeing has delivered 13 P-8As to the Navy, which deployed its first patrol squadron to Kadena, Japan in December 2013 and has been conducting operational missions since then.
The Navy plans to purchase 117 P-8As to replace its P-3 fleet.
boeing

P-8A aircraft gets green light to enter full rate production

On the heels of the P-8A Poseidon squadron’s inaugural deployment, the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft Program Office recently announced P-8A Poseidon entered the full-rate productionphase of its development.
The approval, will allow the program office, resource sponsor, acquisition community and industry to continue to deliver the P-8A to the fleet with the required capabilities needed to ensure the squadrons are getting a stable and efficient system.
This approval moves the program from low-rate into full-rate production.
The objective is to deliver 117 aircraft to the fleet. Thirteen of 37 Low Rate Initial Productionaircraft have already been delivered on or ahead of schedule..
The P-8A’s current configuration, Increment 1, consists of the following capabilities: persistent armed anti-submarine warfare (ASW), an integrated sensor suite, and significant improvement in situational awareness. Increment 2 will consist of multi-static active coherent acoustics, automated identification system, and high-altitude ASW weapon capability.
The P-8A Poseidon will replace the P-3C Orion as a long-range anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft.
navair

US Navy's P-8A deploying to Western Pacific in December

Squadron VP-16 out of Jacksonville Naval Air Station, also known as the War Eagles, will deploy with the new P-8A for the first time when they head to the Western Pacific in December.
The P-8A Poseidon is replacing the Navy’s aging fleet of P-3 Orions, introduced in the early ’60s.
jacksonville.com/news

Boeing Targets Boeing P-8 Against Airbus C-295 for U.K. Sub-Hunter Plane

Boeing is pitching its P-8 maritime-patrol aircraft to the U.K. as Airbus promotes an offshoot of its C-295 turbo-propeller transport plane to meet a British aerial submarine-hunting requirement.
"Looking at the strategic needs of the U.K., the P-8 is a natural fit", said director of business development for the Boeing planeThe U.S. and India are already customers for the maritime surveillance version.
The U.K. has a gap in airborne submarine hunting. It canceled the Nimrod MRA4 program in its 2010 defense review after years of delay and cost overruns. The defense ministry has been assessing alternatives in recent months to address capability shortfalls.
The U.K. has dispatched staff to work with other militaries and help preserve maritime patrol skills under an effort called Project Seedcorn. Some of those personnel are serving as instructors with the U.S. Navy on the P-8.
A British program would probably encompass 8 to 12 aircraft, although the final number would depend on the exact requirement. The P-8 used by the U.S. could be adapted to address unique U.K. needs, as was the case with the Indian aircraft.
Airbus would build its proposal around the C-295 military airlifter in a configuration similar to one already in service with the Chilean military.
The big factor favoring the C-295 is its affordability,with a lower purchase and operations cost. The system would include about six workstations. Introducing the aircraft could happen relatively quickly once a decision to purchase is taken.
Lockheed Martin is another likely contestant. The company has said previously it would promote a maritime patrol system based on its C-130 transport plane. Raytheon Co. (RTN), developer of the British Sentinel R1 ground surveillance plane, also is tracking the maritime patrol program.
The company could upgrade the Sentinel to take on some of the surveillance roles.
The U.K. is still studying how to retain the five Sentinel aircraft in its fleet after it they were earmarked for retirement mid-decade in the last defense review.
bloomberg

Boeing P-8A ASW aircraft production ramps-up with contract for 13 more planes

Aircraft designers at Boeing are making plans to build an additional 13 P-8A Poseidon long-range maritime patrol jets for the U.S. Navy under terms of a $2 billion contract modification announced late Wednesday.
Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., announced the contract modification to Boeing, which involves low-rate initial production (LRIP lot-4 models of the P-8). The contract includes long-lead parts for 16 more P-8A full-rate production lot-1 aircraft.
militaryaerospace

Australia to Buy More P-8 Poseidon

Australia plans to buy more Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol jets than initially projected to replace planes dating from the 1970, reducing its requirement for drones built by Northrop Grumman Corp.
Funding for the purchase will be sought next year, with talks under way about the exact mix of P-8s and MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft.
Australia currently uses 18 Lockheed Martin AP-3C Orions upgraded a decade ago. While it had planned to acquire eight aircraft and seven drones, the number of P-8s could now reach into double figures.
defense-studies

US Navy's P-8 Poseidon Ready for Fleet Introduction

According reports the P-8A Poseidon as being "operationally effective, operationally suitable, and ready for fleet introduction" following an extensive testing period.The anti-submarine, anti-surface warfare aircraft is the replacement for the Navy's aging fleet of Lockheed Martin P-3C Orion. US NAVY plans on using the Poseidons on anti-submarine missions alongside the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that completed its first flight in May.
aviationtoday

US NAVY P-8A Poseidon fires Harpoon

After approximately six minutes of flight time, one of NAVAIR’s test aircraft successfully launched a Harpoon missile during a live fire event June 24 in California at the Navy’s Point Mugu Sea Test Range and scored a direct hit on a Low Cost Modular Target.
Completing only one practice dry run, a P-8A Poseidon from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 20 successfully fired a Harpoon AGM-84D Block IC missile from station 10 on the first hot run, which was later confirmed by onsite explosive ordnance disposal personnel.
navair

South Korea to buy 20 maritime patrol aircraft

The South Korean military has approved a plan to buy 20 maritime patrol aircraft to improve the Navy's surveillance capabilities. The Joint Chiefs of Staff has recently approved the Navy's request to add 20 maritime patrol aircraft to supplement the aging squadron of 16 Lockheed Martin P-3C Orions.
Among the potential candidates are Airbus Military's C-295 MPA, Boeing's P-8 Poseidon, Lockheed Martin's SC-130J Sea Hercules
yonhapnews

Boeing P-8 testing complete, set for 2013 deployment

The Boeing P-8 Poseidon has successfully completed operational testing and is set to deploy for the first time later this year with the US Navy, programme and company officials say. The aircraft is also set to enter full-rate production in 2013.

flightglobal

Navy Boeing P-8 maritime patrol jet to receive anti-submarine warfare (ASW) system upgrades

The U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon, a military maritime patrol version of the Boeing 737 single-aisle passenger jet, will receive anti-submarine warfare (ASW) system upgrades and support services under terms of a $7.2 million contract modification announced Monday.

militaryaerospace

Boeing Delivers 6th Production P-8A Poseidon Aircraft to US Navy

Boeing delivered the sixth production P-8A Poseidon aircraft to the U.S. Navy Jan. 31, successfully completing the first group of low-rate initial production aircraft that are dramatically improving the service's maritime patrol capabilities.
The delivery is the final aircraft from a contract awarded in January 2011. Boeing is on schedule to build 24 P-8A maritime patrol aircraft as part of contracts awarded in 2011 and 2012.

boeing.mediaroom

US Navy moves to purchase up to 72 Boeing P-8s

The US Navy has initiated a process that could lead to placing a five-year order for up to 72 Boeing P-8A Poseidon, if the Department of Defense and Congress grants a multi-year procurement (MYP) authority.
flightglobal