Article Posted on : - Dec 23, 2016

Australia's first P-8A Poseidon aircraft. Photo: Boeing

NEW DELHI (BNS): Australia has received the first of eight P-8A Poseidon aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

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.