New P-8A Poseidon aircraft delivered to US Navy

The US Navy has taken delivery of the seventh production P-8A Poseidon aircraft from Boeing at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville. The aircraft has joined a fleet of six P-8As currently being used to train navy crew.

The aircraft was officially handed over by Boeing on 29 March when it departed Boeing Field in Seattle for the flight to Jacksonville. This delivery marks the first delivery for the second low-rate initial production contract awarded to the company in November 2011.

Boeing is contracted to build and support 24 P-8A aircraft in total as part of three LRIP contracts awarded in 2011 and 2012. The navy plans to purchase 117 P-8As, which are based on the next-generation Boeing 737-800 platform.

Rick Heerdt, Boeing vice president and P-8 program manager, said: ‘This is our second P-8A delivery of 2013, and we'll continue to provide the navy with new Poseidon aircraft at a rate of nearly one a month. We've got a full factory of P-8As for the US Navy and P-8I aircraft for India, and we're working side-by-side with both customers to introduce the aircraft's advanced capabilities into their fleets.’

The P-8A Poseidon is a versatile multi-mission aircraft designed to provide broad long-range maritime patrol capabilities, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. These aircraft are being acquired by the US Navy to replace its P-3 fleet.