Fleet Surpasses 30,000 Operational Flight Hours
India has received the 10th P-8I aircraft ordered for its navy. The maritime patrol aircraft has amassed some 30,000 flight hours since being inducted into the Indian Navy fleet in 2013.
This is the second of four additional aircraft to be delivered under an option contract let by the Indian MoD in 2016. The Indian Navy was the first international customer for the P-8, which is also operated by the US Navy, the Royal Australian Air Force and Britain’s Royal Air Force. In addition to significant maritime reconnaissance and ASW capabilities, the P-8I has been deployed to assist during disaster relief and humanitarian missions.
Boeing supports India’s growing P-8I fleet by providing training of Indian Navy flight crews, spare parts, ground support equipment and service support. Boeing’s integrated logistics support has enabled a high state of fleet readiness at the lowest possible cost.
The company is currently completing construction on the Training Support & Data Handling Centre at INS Rajali, with a secondary maintenance training centre at the Naval Institute of Aeronautical Technology in Kochi, as part of a training and support package contract signed in 2019. This new indigenous, ground-based training facility will allow Indian Navy crews to increase mission proficiency in a shorter timeframe, while reducing on-aircraft training time, resulting in increased aircraft availability.
