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Boeing Delivers Second P-8I To India

: Dec 6, 2013 - : 8:19 am

P-8i
New Delhi: India has taken delivery of the second P-8I aircraft from Boeing, doubling its long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
Boeing is building eight P-8I aircraft for India and delivered the first aircraft in May. Based on the company’s Next-Generation 737 commercial airplane, the P-8I is the Indian Navy variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing has developed for the U.S. Navy.
“With two aircraft at Naval Station Rajali now, the Indian Navy will get a good feel for the P-8I’s interoperability with other aircraft,” says Leland Wight, Boeing P-8I program manager.
“Acceptance trials on the first aircraft are progressing well and its availability for testing has been excellent, in large part due to Boeing’s worldwide 737 support capabilities,” Wight says.
While the aircraft delivered on Nov.15 will begin flight trials in the coming months, the first P-8I recently completed testing its weapons capabilities, including successfully firing a Boeing Harpoon missile at a target and dropping a torpedo.
P-8I aircraft are built by a Boeing-led industry team that includes CFM International, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Spirit AeroSystems, BAE Systems and GE Aviation.
Boeing offers India a broad spectrum of defense, space and security solutions that are relevant to India’s current and future military and humanitarian needs, a Boeing official says.
The P-8A Poseidon, based on a Boeing 737-800 airliner, is set to replace the U.S. Navy’s P-3 Orion turboprop airplanes. The U.S. Navy has ordered an initial batch of 13 and ultimately plans to buy 117 jets.The first ones are set to enter operational service next year.
India has been the first international customer for the P-8I.
The Indian version has two unique components that are not available in the U.S. P-8A–an aft radar and a Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD) fixed on the tail that can distinguish between an enemy submarine and a blue whale, says the Boeing official.
The P-8I’s enhanced internal fuel tanks will allow it to fly 1,100 kilometers to a patrol area, remain on station for up to six hours, and then fly back 1,100 kilometers to its base. The aircraft is capable of floating for more than half-an-hour in case of a an emergency landing in the water
Under a $2 billion contract signed in 2009, Boeing will deliver six more of the long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft to India, with an option for four more.
Boeing expects India’s P-8I order to increase to as many as 30 units, citing the Indian navy and coast guard’s interest in multi-mission aircraft.
“With 7,500 kilometers of coastline, and with three aircraft carriers, the Indian navy is going to have a tremendous need for . . . maritime and surveillance aircraft. . . .So we expect that once the navy starts using the P-8I the demand may go up to 30 or more,” a Boeing spokesperson told this correspondent.
The P8-Is will operate from INS Rajali, a naval base at Arakonam, near the southern city of Chennai.

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