Farnborough - P-8 og Apache til UK - AIN Defence News

UK Orders $6 Billion of Boeing Military Hardware

by Chris Pocock

 - July 12, 2016, 12:01 AM

British Prime Minister David Cameron opened the show here yesterday with a speech that discussed the country’s problems and prospects following the Brexit vote. He described the UK aerospace industry as a model for other businesses to follow, with a high growth rate, good productivity and 90 percent of revenue earned from exports. The PM said he would not retreat from his pre-referendum ‘Remain’ stance, but “we must accept the new reality.” There will be problems ahead, he added, “but we’ll deal with them from a position of strength.” The outgoing leader concluded by declaring that “it is in our fundamental interest to remain very close to Europe.” Before the speech, Cameron toured selected exhibitors. Afterward, he headed for the Boeing P-8 in the static park to review Britain’s latest defense buy.

As expected, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) yesterday handed Boeing $6 billion-worth of orders, for nine P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and 50 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters. The message was that it was more cost-effective to buy from American production lines, but the UK aerospace industry would benefit from support business. To that end, the government signed “strategic partnerships” with Boeing and Leonardo Helicopters (formerly AgustaWestland).

“The P-8A is tried, tested and can be delivered in the timeline we need,” said Tony Douglas, CEO of the MoD’s Defence Equipment and Support Organisation. Defence Procurement Minister Philip Dunne told reporters here that they would all be delivered over a 24-month period starting in 2019. Having sent a number of crews to fly P-8s in the U.S. Navy, the Royal Air Force (RAF) is well-placed to accept them quickly. As well as maritime surveillance and anti-submarine missions, the P-8s would do search-and-rescue and overland surveillance, the MoD said. When asked by AIN whether their cost would force retirement of the RAF’s five Sentinel overland surveillance aircraft, Dunne said that would be decided by the next defense review in 2020.

Dunne admitted that the only UK content on the P-8 was auxiliary fuel tanks (from Marshall Aerospace); weapons pylons (from General Electric) and crew seats (from Martin Baker). The weapons would be bought from the U.S., including the sonobuoys, he added. Boeing said it would work with the government to build a new £100 million operational support and training base at RAF Lossiemouth, that would create 100 new jobs.

British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon described the $2.3 billion Apache deal as “good value for money.” Key avionics from the current British Army AH-64A fleet will be refurbished and recycled into the new machines, including the Longbow fire control radars and the Modernized Target Acquisition and Detection Sights (M-TADS). The first deliveries will be in early 2020, with initial operating capability to follow in 2022.