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RAAF to expand Poseidon posse by a pair

4th January 2021 - 21:48 GMT | by Gordon Arthur in Christchurch

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With maritime threats continuing to abound, Australia exercises an option for two more Boeing maritime patrol aircraft.

The Australian government announced on 31 December 2020 that it is acquiring two additional Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. This will expand the fleet to 14 aircraft.

The first Australian P-8s were ordered in 2014 under Project Air 7000 Phase 2B to replace AP-3C Orions. At that time, Australia contracted for eight aircraft and held options for four. The RAAF ordered four Poseidons in 2016 and retained an option for three aircraft. The twelfth P-8 was delivered in December 2019.

Now Australia has now exercised that option, which had a deadline of the end of 2020. Presumably, the

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Author

Gordon Arthur

Gordon Arthur was the Asia Pacific editor for Shephard Media. Born in Scotland and educated …

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