Australia receives first P-8A Poseidon aircraft
The aircraft arrived in the capital city of Canberra on November 16, carrying Australia’s Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and other senior government leaders, Boeing said in a statement.
“The Poseidon is a cutting edge surveillance and anti-submarine aircraft which will dominate the skies around our nation’s coastline,” Prime Minister Turnbull was quoted as saying.
This is the first of eight Australian P-8As under contract with Boeing as part of a cooperative program with the U.S. Navy begun in 2009 to collaborate on the aircraft’s development.
Four additional Poseidons have been approved and funded by the Australian government.
The P-8A Poseidon is a long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft capable of broad-area, maritime and littoral operations.
The aircraft is militarized with maritime weapons, a modern open mission system architecture, and commercial-like support for affordability.
