Boeing leads UK Poseidon maintenance and training effort
The UK MoD announced on 8 July that it has signed a contract worth £233.5 million ($322 million) for Boeing Defence UK to maintain and support the RAF fleet of nine Poseidon P-8A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA).
Additionally, the five-year deal features ‘a comprehensive training package for aircraft crews’, the MoD noted in a statement. Shephard reported in January 2021 that Boeing would select CAE for the training service support contract.
This deal creates 153 jobs in the UK, primarily at RAF Lossiemouth where five Poseidons are currently based (the remaining four are to arrive by November 2021, according to Shephard Defence Insight).
Malcolm French, DE&S P-8A Poseidon team leader at MoD Defence Equipment & Support, said the contract ‘helps enable the full range of capability that Poseidon brings to be realised, sees our modern aircraft fully supported, and our personnel being trained from state-of-the-art facilities’.
In July 2016, the UK government announced the nine-aircraft P-8A order for the RAF. In August 2018, the RAF announced that the aircraft will be officially designated Poseidon MRA Mk.1.
RAF Lossiemouth includes a £100 million purpose-built facility for Poseidon, opened in September 2020, and the base also underwent an upgrade of its runway and other infrastructure.
‘It will be the future home of the UK’s fleet of Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning surveillance aircraft,’ the MoD added.
More from Air Warfare
-
UK company demonstrates crewed-uncrewed teaming
QinetiQ's aerial target drone, the Banshee, was modified to be controlled by a piloted aircraft.
-
Poland and Netherlands approved for hundreds of air-to-ground missiles
The AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) is a supersonic, medium-range, air-launched tactical missile compatible with US and allied strike aircraft.
-
Anduril and GA-ASI propel forward in US Air Force CCA programme’s next phase
Anduril and GA-ASI have raced ahead in the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) initiative, securing contracts with the US Air Force to build production representative flight test platforms.
-
Another Saab GlobalEye lands in the UAE
The arrival of the latest GlobalEye marked the fourth AEW&C aircraft delivery to the UAE in just four years.
-
Greece and Israel cosy up over Rafael’s Spyder air defence system
Ongoing discussions between Greece and Israeli arms manufacturer Rafael to acquire Spyder air defence systems underscored the resilience of international business ties despite geopolitical tensions.