An RAAF P-8A Poseidon near Penang in Malaysia. Photos: ADF.
Boeing has been awarded a $139.5 million contract to upgrade the Royal Australian Air Force’s fleet of 12 P-8A Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft to improve the aircraft’s reconnaissance, communications and maritime strike capabilities.
The P-8A is a development of the commercial 737-800 airliner but features the wing from the larger 737-900ER model, as well as advanced sensors, communications systems, an internal weapons bay and weapons for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare (ASW/ASuW).
Australia operates 12 P-8As, which entered service in 2016 and are based at RAAF Edinburgh near Adelaide, and has an additional two aircraft on order for delivery this year and in 2025.
The comprehensive Increment 3 Block 2 upgrade will see the first two RAAF aircraft modified at Jacksonville in Florida, and the remaining 12 upgraded at Edinburgh.
Increment 3 Block 2 will be a significant upgrade for P-8A’s airframe and avionics. Physical changes include new airframe racks, radomes, antennas, sensors and wiring, and each aircraft is expected to take more than seven months to complete the upgrade.
The upgrade will add a new combat systems suite with an improved computer processing and higher security architecture capability, a wideband satellite communication (SATCOM) system, an ASW signals intelligence (SIGINT) capability, a track management system, and additional communications and acoustics systems to enhance search, detection and targeting capabilities.
On top of the 250 workers employed at Edinburgh to manage P-8A maintenance, an additional 50 new jobs comprising six Certificate IV aircraft maintenance engineering apprentices, 38 Certificate II aerospace workers and several supply chain trainees will be created.
Boeing Defence Australia director of sustainment operations Naomi Smith said: “We anticipate the upgrades will involve more than 300,000 hours of maintenance work over four years, with each aircraft taking around 7.5 months to complete.”
The upgrade will improve the P-8A’s reconnaissance, communications and maritime strike capabilities.
Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said: “Investing in this critical upgrade to our P-8A Poseidon fleet will create new opportunities for apprentices to learn valuable skills and forge a career that offers long-term and well-paid employment, while also ensuring our Defence Force is equipped with the capabilities it needs to keep Australians safe.”
Program manager for PMA-290, the US Navy’s Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft program office, Captain Erik Thomas, said the Increment 3 Block 2 upgrade brought the capability that the P-8A was made for.
“These modifications will allow aircrews to search, locate and track the most advanced submarines in the world, enabling the fleet to pace the threat with the required capability and capacity to win the fight,” he said.
“This delivery demonstrates the PMA-290 team’s outstanding work ethic, professionalism and dedication to the fleet.”
