India får sin første P-8 - Den stasjoneres i SØ i landet

Undertegnede og Eirik Walle hadde gleden av å se de to første maskinene på samlebåndet i Renton ved Seattle, i oktober 2011.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

India Receives first Boeing P-8I

By Woodrow Bellamy III

Boeing delivered the first P-8I aircraft to the India Naval Station Rajali.

(P-8I. Photo, courtesy of Boeing.)

India is under contract with Boeing to receive eight P-8Is, including two more in 2013. The P-8I, an anti-submarine, anti-surface warfare aircraft, is a military derivative of the Boeing 737-800, and a variant of the P-8A Poseidon featured in the U.S. Navy fleet.

According to a spokesperson for Boeing, the P-8I features India-built subsystems, including speech secrecy systems produced by Electronics Corp. of India and mobile satellite systems from Avantel.

Boeing is not able to disclose the specific India-unique design features of the P-8I.

"Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) delivered the Indian-designed Data Link II for the P-8I, a communications system that will enable exchange of tactical data and messages between the Indian navy aircraft, ships and shore establishments," says Charles Ramey, spokesperson for Boeing's defense unit.

The Indian navy has options to acquire four additional P-8Is