Click here - to select or create a menu

Naval News

DEFEA 2023
  • News
  • Event News
    • Sea Air Space 2023
    • DSEI Japan 2023
    • NAVDEX 2023
    • SNA 2023
    • Euronaval 2022
    • Indo Pacific 2022
  • Interviews
  • Videos
  • Advertising
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Home» News»12th and Final P-8A Poseidon MPA Arrived in Australia
IMDEX Asia 2023
A RAAF P-8A Poseidon supports sea trials for the NUSHIP Hobart in the Gulf St Vincent off the coast of Adelaide. Image via Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Defence.

12th and Final P-8A Poseidon MPA Arrived in Australia

The 12th and final P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) on order for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) arrived in Australia on December 12, 2019.

Xavier Vavasseur 17 Dec 2019

Australia’s newest maritime surveillance aircraft, the P-8A Poseidon, has arrived at its new home, RAAF Base Edinburgh on 12 December, 2019, completing the fleet for No. 11 Squadron.

“This is the twelfth Poseidon to join the fleet, since the first arrived in Canberra on 16 November 2016. The aircraft can be refuelled while flying by tanker aircraft such as Australia’s KC-30A, making it possible to patrol Australia’s isolated Southern Ocean territories. The P-8A is already providing significant operational support to Australia, including a recent mission to the Middle East Region on Operation MANITOU as part of the International Maritime Security Construct.”


Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC

The P-8A Poseidon and the MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), are replacing the AP-3C Orion aircraft.

The RAAF has committed to acquiring 15 P-8A Poseidon aircraft. Up to now, 12 P-8A Maritime Patrol Aircraft have been approved for acquisition, and three are subject to normal Government Defence acquisition approval processes.

About P-8A Poseidon MPA

The crew involved in flying the 12th and final P-8A Poseidon to Australia. Image via Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Defence.

The P-8A is a long-range multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft capable of broad-area, maritime and littoral operations. A military derivative of the Boeing Commercial Next-Generation 737 airplane, the P-8A combines superior performance and reliability with an advanced mission system that ensures maximum interoperability in the battle space.

The P-8A is militarized with maritime weapons, a modern open mission system architecture, and commercial-like support for affordability. The aircraft has been modified to include a bomb bay and pylons for weapons – two weapons stations on each wing – and can carry 129 sonobuoys. The aircraft is also fitted with an in-flight refueling system. With more than 180,000 flight hours to date, P-8 variants, the P-8A Poseidon and the P-8I, patrol the globe performing anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; humanitarian; and search and rescue missions.

The United Kingdom is one of six international customers for the P-8A Poseidon. The first British Poseidon MRA Mk1 was delivered earlier this year. As a direct commercial sale, India has received eight of the P-8I variant to date with four more in production. The U.S. Navy is on contract to receive 111 with the potential for additional quantities based on the fleet’s needs. As a cooperative partner with the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Program Office, Australia began receiving their P-8A aircraft in 2016 with eight delivered and four more in production; Norway will begin receiving their five P-8As in 2022; both New Zealand and South Korea have signed agreements with the U.S. Navy to purchase four and six aircraft respectively.

Our video coverage and interview on the P-8A during Seoul Airshow 2019
Australia Boeing Maritime Patrol Aircraft MPA P-8A Poseidon 2019-12-17
Tags Australia Boeing Maritime Patrol Aircraft MPA P-8A Poseidon
Facebook Twitter Stumble linkedin Pinterest More
SAS 2023

Authors

Posted by : Xavier Vavasseur
Xavier is based in Paris, France. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems and a Master of Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). Xavier has been covering naval defense topics for nearly a decade.

Related Articles

French MoD awards studies contracts for next-gen Maritime Patrol Aircraft

French MoD awards studies contracts for next-gen Maritime Patrol Aircraft

Nathan Gain 12 Jan 2023
On December 22, 2022, the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) awarded Airbus Defense and Space and Dassault Aviation two study contracts for the architecture of a future maritime patrol aircraft (Patmar) based on the Airbus A320neo and Dassault Falcon 10X platforms.
What does Australia’s Strategic Review hold for the RAN?

What does Australia’s Strategic Review hold for the RAN?

Benjamin Felton 20 Dec 2022
Australia’s Defence Strategic Review (DSR) is set to be publicly released in March next year. Here are a few hints on how it could impact the Royal Australian Navy (RAN)...
French Navy Receives 10th Upgraded ATL2 Maritime Patrol Aircraft

French Navy Receives 10th Upgraded ATL2 Maritime Patrol Aircraft

Xavier Vavasseur 16 Dec 2022
The French DGA took delivery of the tenth Atlantique 2 (ATL2) maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) upgraded to standard 6 on December 12, 2022.

3 Comments

  1. Pingback : 2nd Poseidon MRA Mk1 MPA Touched Down in the UK - Naval News

  2. Pingback : RAF Poseidon MRA Mk1 MPA reaches Initial Operating Capability - Naval News

  3. Pingback : NAVAIR progressing towards LRASM integration on P-8A MPA - Naval News

Advertisement

Advertisement

Legal / Privacy Policy
About Us
Contact Us

Copyright © 2022 Naval News
All Rights Reserved
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok