PICTURES: RAAF’s first
P-8A conducts maiden flight
24 MAY, 2016 - BY: GREG WALDRON - SINGAPORE
The first Boeing
P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft due for the Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF) has completed its maiden sortie.
The aircraft, which is based on
the 737 commercial airliner, flew from Boeing’s Renton production facility to
nearby Boeing Field, says the RAAF in a statement.
Commonwealth
of Australia
As with P-8As operated by the US
Navy and P-8I Neptunes operated by the Indian navy, the aircraft’s mission
system will be installed at Boeing Field. It will fly to Australia in late
2016.
Canberra ordered eight P-8As
under the AIR 7000 programme. It has options for four additional examples.
Commonwealth
of Australia
The type will replace the RAAF’s
fleet of Lockheed Martin P-3 aircraft. Flightglobal’s Fleets Analyzer shows
that the RAAF operates 15 P-3Cs, the average age of which is 33.5 years.
Canberra also intends to obtain
the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton unmanned air vehicle to complement the new
type.
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