Australia received its most advanced maritime patrol aircraft on Wednesday with the arrival of first Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft.
Australia received its most advanced maritime patrol aircraft on Wednesday with the arrival of first Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft.
The cutting edge maritime surveillance and anti-submarine aircraft will boost Australia's existing comprehensive maritime surveillance capability and boost its anti-submarine and anti-ship defense capabilities.
Based on the commercially-proven Boeing B737 aircraft, the P-8I was developed for U.S. Navy and is equipped with advanced surveillance sensors and weapons to engage potential maritime threats.
The aircraft has been strengthened for continued low level (down to 200ft) operations and high angle of bank turns.
Sensors include advanced multi-role radar, high definition cameras, and an acoustic system to detect submarines.
P-8I is equipped with 11 weapon stations to carry depth charges and torpedoes deployed from the internal weapon bay, and the wing mounted AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
The aircraft have an extensive communications suite that includes radios and data links across the VHF, UHF, HF and SATCOM spectrums.
An internal fuel capacity of almost 34 tonnes, gives the P-8A the ability to remain on station conducting low level anti-submarine warfare missions at a distance of greater than 2,000 kilometres from base. Air to air refueling can further extend its patrol time.
This is the first of 15 aircraft the Government committed to in the 2016 Defence White Paper, with 12 already contracted to be delivered by March 2020.
Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the first eight P-8A's is scheduled for the period 2017 - 2020.
The 15 P-8A Poseidon aircraft and up to seven MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft will together provide an advanced maritime surveillance capability to replace the ageing Lockheed Martin AP-3C Orion platform, which are scheduled for phasing out from 2018-19.
Apart from P-8A, Royal Australian Air Force already operates the Boeing 737 based airborne early warning and control aircraft designated the E-7A Wedgetail.
