Boeing to supply additional P-8A Poseidon aircraft
Boeing has received a $1.7 billion low-rate initial production (LRIP) award from the US Navy to supply an additional seven P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft. According to a company statement issued 9 November 2011, the LRIP-II is the follow-on to an initial LRIP-I contract awarded in January to provide six Poseidon aircraft.
Boeing said that the US Navy will purchase 117 Boeing 737-based P-8A anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft in total to replace its P-3 fleet. As part of the contract, Boeing will provide aircrew and maintenance training for the Navy beginning in 2012, in addition to logistics support, spares, support equipment and tools. The training system will include a full-motion, full-visual Operational Flight Trainer that simulates the flight crew stations, and a Weapons Tactics Trainer for the mission crew stations.
Boeing completed assembly of the first LRIP-I aircraft at its Renton, Wash., facility this summer. The first flight test took place in July, and the Poseidon team has built and is testing six flight-test and two ground-test aircraft under the US Navy System Development and Demonstration contract awarded to Boeing in 2004.
According to the company, first-in-industry in-line production processes that draw on Boeing’s Next-Generation 737 production system are being used for the aircraft. All P-8A-unique aircraft modifications are made in sequence during fabrication and assembly. The Poseidon is built by a Boeing-led industry team that includes CFM International, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Spirit AeroSystems, BAE Systems and GE Aviation.
Initial operational capability for the Navy is planned for 2013.
More from Naval Warfare
-
![Australian industry programme builds pipeline for Virginia-class sustainment]()
Australian industry programme builds pipeline for Virginia-class sustainment
Australian businesses can now bid to support Virginia-class submarine sustainment in Western Australia, as momentum around the Henderson Defence Precinct also builds.
-
![South Korea, Japan and Turkey vie for US shipbuilding access in future frigate contest]()
South Korea, Japan and Turkey vie for US shipbuilding access in future frigate contest
Washington’s search for a foreign-built frigate could hand South Korea, Japan and Turkey a larger prize than a double-hull order: a foothold inside the US shipbuilding industrial base.
-
![Russia’s uncrewed boat portfolio hints at future naval demand]()
Russia’s uncrewed boat portfolio hints at future naval demand
Ukrainian intelligence has catalogued more than 20 Russian uncrewed surface vessels, revealing a portfolio weighted towards mine warfare and logistics, with implications for Western naval investment.
-
![Ukraine’s new long-range 12m autonomous vessel can deploy other drones]()
Ukraine’s new long-range 12m autonomous vessel can deploy other drones
Ukraine’s UForce unveiled the MV11 uncrewed surface vessel, designed to launch and support other naval drones at sea, fuelling debate over the future of autonomous maritime task groups.
-
![German Navy’s Israeli missile test points to deepening defence-industrial ties]()
German Navy’s Israeli missile test points to deepening defence-industrial ties
The test-firing of an Israel Aerospace Industries LORA ballistic missile from a German vessel highlights the Bundeswehr’s focus on speed to capability as it trials Israel’s operationally proven technology.
