Boeing to begin manufacturing Canadian and German P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft

Boeing has received a US$3.4 billion contract to begin manufacturing 14 P-8A Poseidon multi-mission MPA for the Royal Canadian Air Force and three additional aircraft for the German Navy.

Canada finalised the agreement for the 14 P-8As at the end of last year, with an option for a further two aircraft down the line. Once ready to enter service, the new MPAs will replace Canada’s CP-140 Aurora fleet, an aircraft which has been in service for more than four decades. The CP-140 Aurora was deemed inadequate and difficult to maintain, and will be removed from service in 2030.

Germany, for its part, decided to purchase three more Boeing-made MPAs last November, bringing the total fleet to eight. The Poseidon will take over submarine hunting and maritime reconnaissance from the P-3C Orion from the end of 2024, but the purchase has still been considered an interim solution. The mission requirements and capabilities were officially set to be fulfilled by the Franco-German project Maritime Airborne Warfare System (MAWS) – an effort that has received little assurance recently. 

Last year, Boeing and CAE signed teaming agreements to expand multi-mission platform collaboration in Canada, Germany and Norway. These agreements will set to use the complementary capabilities of each company to provide management, technical and cost-effective training solutions for the P-8A Poseidon programme, Boeing said.

There are 200 P-8s currently in service or on contract across nine countries including Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Norway, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, the UK and the US.

Conceived as a replacement for the P-3 Orion, development of the P-8 began in 2004, with its maiden flight in April 2009. The aircraft shares 86% commonality with the 737NG, the civilian variant the P-8 is based upon.