$1.5 Billion Order Includes Aircraft for South Korea and New Zealand
The US Navy has awarded Boeing a $1.5 billion (€1.36 billion) production contract for the next 18 P-8A POSEIDON maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), the company announced on 30 March.
The contract includes eight aircraft for the US Navy, six for the Republic of Korea Navy and four for the Royal New Zealand Air Force: the two latter forces procured their aircraft through the Foreign Military Sales process and will receive the same P-8A POSEIDON configuration variant designed and produced for the US Navy. New Zealand expects to begin receiving aircraft in 2022 and Korea in 2023.
The P-8 is a proven, long-range, multi-mission MPA capable of broad-area maritime and littoral operations. A military derivative of the Boeing 737, the P-8 combines superior performance and reliability with an advanced mission system that ensures maximum interoperability in the battlespace. It is militarised with maritime weapons, a modern open mission system architecture and commercial-like support for affordability. Modified to include a bomb bay and with two weapons stations on each wing, the P-8 can carry 129 sonobuoys. The aircraft is also fitted with an in-flight refuelling system.
