Boeing P-8 Poseidon
The Boeing P-8 Poseidon is an American maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by Boeing Defense, Space & Security, and derived from the civilian Boeing 737-800 airliner. It was developed for the United States Navy (USN).
The P-8 operates in anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) roles. It is armed with torpedoes, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and other weapons, can drop and monitor sonobuoys, and can operate in conjunction with other assets, including the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
The P-8 is operated by the United States Navy, the Indian Navy, the Royal Australian Air Force, the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force, the Royal Norwegian Air Force and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. It has also been ordered by the Republic of Korea Navy, the German Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Development[edit]
Origins[edit]
The Lockheed P-3 Orion, a turboprop ASW aircraft, has been in service with the United States Navy (USN) since 1962.[4] In the 1980s, the USN began studies for a P-3 replacement, the range and endurance of which were reduced due to increasing weight and airframe fatigue life limitations. The specification required a new aircraft to have reduced operating and support costs. In 1989, Lockheed was awarded a fixed-price contract to develop the P-7, but this was canceled the following year.[5]
In 2000, a second competition for a replacement began. Lockheed Martin submitted the Orion 21, an updated new-build version of the P-3.[6] Boeing's proposal was based on its 737-800 airliner.[7] BAE Systems offered a new-build version of the Nimrod MRA4, a British jet-powered maritime patrol aircraft. BAE withdrew from the competition in October 2002, recognizing that without a production partner based in the United States, the bid was politically unrealistic.[8] On 14 May 2004, Boeing was selected as the winner of the Multimission Maritime Aircraft program.[9]
In June 2004, the USN awarded a development contract to Boeing.[10] The project was planned to be for at least 108 airframes for the USN.[11] Project value is expected to be worth at least $15 billion. Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, Spirit AeroSystems, GE Aviation Systems, Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, CFM International, BAE Systems, and Marotta are major subcontractors.[12] In July 2004, the USN placed an order for five aircraft, and the first flight-test aircraft was to be completed in 2009.[11] On 30 March 2005, it was assigned the P-8A designation.[13]
Operational history[edit]
United States[edit]
In February 2012, the P-8 made its mission debut during "Bold Alligator" 2012, an annual littoral warfare exercise.[49] In April 2012, it took part in Exercise Joint Warrior, flying out of RAF Lossiemouth.[50] During RIMPAC 2012 in the Hawaiian area, two P-8As participated in 24 scenarios as part of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron One (VX-1) while forward deployed to Marine Corps Base Hawaii.[51] On 29 November 2013, its inaugural deployment began when six aircraft and 12 air crews of squadron VP-16 departed its home station of NAS Jacksonville, Florida, for Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan.[52] This deployment was a pre-planned regional re-balancing action, but occurred shortly after China's establishment of the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone, heightening tensions.[53]
During early exercises and the Japanese deployment, the P-8 reportedly suffered radar, sensor integration, and data transfer problems, leading to more testing. In 2012–3, the US government's Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOTE) evaluated the P-8A Increment 1, and reported that it was effective for small-area and cued ASW search, localization and attack missions, but lacked the P-3C's broad-area ASW acoustic search capability; the Mk 54 torpedoes were of limited use against evasive targets. The P-8A was also effective at ASuW search, detection and classification in all-weather at short to medium ranges for all surface vessels and at longer ranges for larger vessels, yet was not effective for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance mission due to various issues including no high-resolution SAR capability. It did have better range, speed, and reliability than older aircraft.[54][55] DOTE concluded that it was not deployment ready.[56] Pentagon acquisition undersecretary Frank Kendall said of the report that, although its findings are factual, it ignored future capability upgrades for ASW and surveillance.[57]
A second squadron, VP-5, completed its transition to the P-8 in August 2013.[52] During mid-2014, a pair of P-8s were dispatched to Perth, Australia for two months for an international search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.[58] On 2 October 2015, USN P-8s stationed at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, alongside U.S. Coast Guard HC-144A Ocean Sentry, HC-130H and USAF Reserve HC-130P Combat Shadow aircraft, searched the Eastern Caribbean Sea for the missing SS El Faro cargo ship that sank on 1 October in the Category 3 Hurricane Joaquin near Crooked Island in the Bahamas.[59] On 20 February 2018, a P-8 of Patrol Squadron Eight (VP-8) rescued three fishermen whose vessel had been adrift in the South Pacific Ocean for eight days, deploying a search and rescue (SAR) kit containing supplies and communications equipment, the first time that a P-8 deployed a SAR kit in a real operation.[60]
On 19 August 2014, a Chinese Shenyang J-11 fighter came within 30 feet (9.1 m) of a USN P-8A of VP-5 about 135 miles (217 km) east of Hainan Island while patrolling the South China Sea. The J-11 flew past the P-8's nose and performed a barrel roll at close proximity.[61] A Pentagon spokesperson said the J-11's unit had made close intercepts earlier that year.[62] The U.S. sent a diplomatic note to China about the behavior of the Chinese fighter group's commander.[63] China stated that the claims were "totally groundless", and that the root cause was U.S. surveillance of China.[64] In November 2016, a Russian Su-30 fighter intercepted a P-8 over the Black Sea, coming within 5 feet (1.5 m) of it, forcing the P-8 through its jet wash, causing "a 15-degree roll and violent turbulence".[65]
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
