Boeing contracted to add sixth workstation to USN, RAAF Poseidons

Boeing has received awards worth $34.5 million to deliver a sixth mission crew workstation retrofit to previously delivered US Navy and Royal Australian Air Force P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.  

A total of 60 aircraft will be modified under the contracted work, expanding the crew size from five active operators to six, which will increase the mission capability. 

More operators will result in more functions being able to be performed, and more functions means more data collected and therefore increased mission effectiveness, Fred Bruner, P-8 programme manager at Boeing, said. 

‘Our ability to continue to enhance the P-8’s capabilities is really a reflection of our commitment to give our customers the product they need, when they need it,’ Bruner added.

‘By using this kind of evolutionary approach, we’ve been able to get the aircraft out there, performing at an incredibly high level, and now will add even more capability to support missions around the world.’

The retrofit will additionally bring existing operational aircraft up to the same crew configuration as recent production aircraft, including the four aircraft due to be delivered to the Royal New Zealand Air Force, which already include a sixth workstation.