The US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is soliciting potential contractors to integrate the Boeing P-8A Poseidon with Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles, as well as several other weapons.
www.flightglobal.com
Interesting that they don't mention the much delayed expendable sensor drones.
The US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is soliciting potential contractors to integrate the Boeing P-8A Poseidon with Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles, as well as several other weapons.
www.flightglobal.com
Interesting that they don't mention the much delayed expendable sensor drones.
The US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is soliciting potential contractors to integrate the Boeing P-8A Poseidon with Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles, as well as several other weapons.
www.flightglobal.com
Interesting that they don't mention the much delayed expendable sensor drones.
Sorry for the delay, my initial attempt at posting a long reply evaporated for some reason when I tried to fix a formatting glitch (figures).
At the moment I can't find the relevant links again, but the concerns I believe that are being raised (apart from those that are not really the aircraft's fault, such as the on-going basing fiasco) can be more or less boiled down to the following major problems:
A serious shortage of spare parts, along with other logistical issues (the DE&S and it's American counterpart the DLA have been running true to form, unfortunately). The RAAF are in much the same boat. The USN are in a not much better position (which incidentally raises interesting questions about India and the P-8I).
The sensor suite is much less comprehensive than the Nimrods (or the P-3 for that matter), in particular with regards as to both the ASW and the secondary ELINT roles.* (That was actually a design feature, I should note. ) There are also reliability issues with the sensors the P-8A does have. There are similar concerns with the EW systems.
Despite a recent announcement, there are still restrictions on operational low level flying, especially over water. Not to mention that overall flying hours are presently being restricted, in part due to the spare parts problem (no pun intended).
Even if that was not the case, the P-8A's ASW capability is currently limited, not only at low level but also at it's planned normal operating altitude. A lot of this is down to the fact that stopgap systems still have not been fitted to make up for equipment that is vapourware (not least the organic sensor drones that were supposed to make MAD and a lot of other onboard sensors 'unnecessary') or otherwise seriously delayed (e.g. HAAWC). The initial plan not to integrate the Sting Ray torpedo on the RAF Poseidons but to just buy Mark 54 torpedoes directly from the United States probably hasn't helped matters either. Even though that decision has been supposedly reversed, there still hasn't been any money allocated for the necessary modifications. There are also worries about ASuW capability, such as target acquisition under operational conditions. (The fact that the Harpoon missile is rather long in the tooth and hasn't received any real upgrades in ages has also been noted.)
Corrosion issues still have not been resolved satisfactorily. As a 'solution', I understand that Boeing has previously told the RAF and other operators to not fly low over the ocean, period. Which makes things such as hunting submarines and Anti-Ship warfare a trifle difficult, I think you would agree.
Major delays on the delivery schedule which was revealed last December seem set to continue, at best. I believe quality control is also still a very sore point with the RAF, not to mention the other operators, with the possible exception of the Indian Navy & the P-8I (though again I have to wonder).
*The United Kingdom isn't currently procuring the dedicated ELINT variant, which may have it's own additional issues.
The sensor suite is much less comprehensive than the Nimrods (or the P-3 for that matter), in particular with regards as to both the ASW and the secondary ELINT roles.* (That was actually a design feature, I should note. ) There are also reliability issues with the sensors the P-8A does have. There are similar concerns with the EW systems.
There were claims this would be so at the time. The defense procurement minister of the day, one Philip Dunne told Parliament that “some billion dollars’ worth of the program would be supplied by British companies. However it was delivered with US mission systems with nary even token British made components, a (partial) exception being the sonobuoys (Ultra Electronics, via the ERAPSCO joint venture with the American company Sparton Corp.). What British made content there is in the plane is much the same as that in commercial 737s, with a few exceptions such as Martin Baker crew seats and auxiliary fuel tanks from Marshalls (GE's UK subsidiary provided the [US designed] weapons pylons in addition to standard B737 flight management system components, a planned contract for a mission planning system upgrade apparently has not materialised to date). There are supposed to be more UK sourced equipment including weapons incorporated into a scheduled major upgrade in 2021, but I'm not holding my breath. I should note in passing that the plan to 'Anglicise' the Wedgetails appears to have imploded recently.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Chinese Navy ship fired a laser at a U.S. surveillance aircraft flying over the Philippine Sea west of Guam, the Navy said Thursday, acknowledging the incident more than a week after it happened.
I think they were mentioning it as one of the customers for CAE's MAD products in general, rather than as one of the applications for the MAD-XR (which seems to be primarily aimed at the ASW helicopter market, at least for now).
A shame that Boeing has had to close the factory's due to the Covid-19 virus, lets hope that it will only be for a short while, and that they can get the factory's can get back up and running as soon as possible when the crisis is over.
The US government has approved to separate deals to sell India anti-ship missiles and air-launched torpedoes for its fleet of Boeing P-8I Neptune maritime patrol aircraft. The first possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) covers 10 Boeing AGM-84L Harpoon Block II missiles and related services and...
The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, is awarded a $7,039,596 against previously issued basic ordering agreement. This order procures non-recurring engineering for the design, fabrication and correction of deficiencies required for the delivery and installation of retrofit kits for Navy P-8A aircraft with Increment 3 ECP 6 capabilities. The P-8A ECP 6 provides a significant modification to the baseline aircraft, installing new airframe racks, radomes, antennas, sensors and wiring, while incorporating a new combat system suite with an improved computer processing and security architecture capability at the higher than secret level, a wide band satellite communication system, an anti-submarine warfare signal intelligence capability, a minotaur track management system and additional communications and acoustics systems to enhance search, detection and targeting capabilities. Work is expected to be complete by May 2021
BAE Systems received a $4 million contract from the U.S. Navy to conduct a quick-turnaround demonstration of a new radio frequency countermeasure (RFCM) system for the P-8A Poseidon.
Air Force’s maritime patrol capability will be boosted with Australia set to acquire two more P-8A Poseidon surveillance and response aircraft, bringing the total fleet size to 14.
Air Force’s maritime patrol capability will be boosted with Australia set to acquire two more P-8A Poseidon surveillance and response aircraft, bringing the total fleet size to 14.
Air Force’s maritime patrol capability will be boosted with Australia set to acquire two more P-8A Poseidon surveillance and response aircraft, bringing the total fleet size to 14.
It's the largest purchase outside of the US, and these 14 aircraft plus up to 5 MQ-4C Triton (3 ordered so far) are replacing 18 AP-3C. So the net result is a similar or possibly even slightly larger number of much more capable aircraft. This seems like a significant upgrade overall.
Air Force’s maritime patrol capability will be boosted with Australia set to acquire two more P-8A Poseidon surveillance and response aircraft, bringing the total fleet size to 14.
It's the largest purchase outside of the US, and these 14 aircraft plus up to 5 MQ-4C Triton (3 ordered so far) are replacing 18 AP-3C. So the net result is a similar or possibly even slightly larger number of much more capable aircraft. This seems like a significant upgrade overall.
Australia is also getting MQ-9Bs as well which will also have a Maritime Surveillance capability as well. In fact, if you take a systems of systems type of view rather than just individual platforms, you will see a quite capable package with the ADF having or in the process of acquiring a range of very capable ISREW systems. The list includes the E-7A Wedgetail, P-8A Poseidon, MQ-4C Triton, MC-55A Peregrine, EA-18G Growler and MQ-9B SkyGuardian. There is also the Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) over-the-horizon radar as well.
The United States' State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Germany of Boeing P-8A Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) and associated support, and related equipment, for an estimated cost of $1.77 billion.
The U.S. government has cleared the sale of five P-8A maritime patrol aircraft to Germany, but Berlin is nowhere near ready to make a decision on the $1.8 billion purchase.
On March 31, 2021, the U.S. Navy awarded Boeing a $1.6 billion production contract for the next 11 P-8A Poseidon aircraft. Nine aircraft will join the U.S. N
An Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 20 P-8A Poseidon successfully completed an airworthiness test of a pod-mounted radio frequency countermeasure (RFCM) prototype at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Atlantic Test Ranges, March 12.
The first-of-its-kind radio frequency defense decoy could allow the P-8A to thwart enemy radio frequency missile attacks.
“This has the potential to be a game-changer for protecting the warfighter,” said Capt. Eric Gardner, program manager for the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft Program Office (PMA-290). “We continue to look for ways to enhance capabilities that allow the fleet to be successful.”
Getting the pod into testing, in just over a year, took a complete team effort.
Constantly looking for upgrades to the P-8A, PMA-290 set out to find a solution to a potential threat from surface-to-air radio frequency missiles.
Outlining their needs and running lead on the project, PMA-290 brought in the Advanced Tactical Aircraft Protection Systems Program Office (PMA-272), the Rapid Prototyping, Experimentation & Demonstration (RPED) team, and the NAWCAD Aircraft Prototype Systems Division (APSD) to get the ball rolling.
The RPED team supported APSD in designing the RFCM pod, which integrated the proven AN/ALE-55 Fiber Optic Towed Decoy from PMA-272 into a shell. The team developed the shell design based on the certified AGM-84 Harpoon missile, and then incorporated unique tracks and housing to fit and deploy the decoy.
By employing the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition’s delegation of other transactions authority (OTA) for prototype projects, PMA-290 and NAWCAD were able to complete a one-of-a-kind contract with BAE Systems to develop the RFCM pod’s additional internal equipment suite. The OTA, a non-Federal Acquisition Regulation contracting approach, could potentially allow this critical self-protection technology to transition from prototype to fleet capability in much less time than a traditional effort.
APSD and BAE leveraged the established AN/ALE-55 electrical design to accommodate the suite’s installation.
“A lot of the challenge and effort went into designing, to our best estimates, for what BAE was expected to put in the pod,” said Michael Hansell, the leading APSD engineer for the project. “We had to adapt and redesign rapidly. We worked as fast as possible to support PMA-290 and RPED to make sure we could pivot and adjust to meet established timelines.”
Constant tweaks were needed as the teams continued to hone in on a capable design.
“Michael Hansell and his team’s flexibility and willingness to go above and beyond, to work through issues and prepare for BAE, was key in getting [the pod design and build] done in a timely manner,” said James Sherman, the APSD project lead.
The Naval Innovative Science & Engineering (NISE) program funded the project, which provided the means to conceptualize, prototype, build, and test this new capability for the Navy.
This funding accelerated the design and manufacturing cycle for the prototype to just under six months. The expedited developmental process supports the rapid prototyping of new and developing technologies and provides the resources to find solutions and incorporate improvements to fill capability gaps in the fleet faster.
The teams were also able to utilize PMA-272’s F/A-18 lab equipment to speed up the timeline.
All this teamwork culminated in the successful airworthiness test with VX-20.
“This shows that when we identify a need and work rapidly as a team we can bring a viable solution to test that has the ability to greatly impact the warfighter,” said Lt. Cmdr. Mike Marschall, PMA-290 weapons and rapid capabilities co-team lead.
Following the test, the pod went to Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California where it successfully completed effectiveness testing, March 21-26. It will now continue to be tested at a system level leading to platform integration through planned capability fielding phases.
PMA-290 manages the acquisition, development, support, and delivery of the Navy's Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft.
An Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 20 P-8A Poseidon successfully completed an airworthiness test of a pod-mounted radio frequency countermeasure (RFCM) prototype at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Atlantic Test Ranges, March 12. The first-of-its-kind radio...
Patrol Squadron FOUR (VP-4) successfully conducted a coordinated missile launch with VP-40 using two Air to Surface Missile (AGM-84D) Harpoons against a target barge off the coast of Norway during exercise At-Sea Demo/Formidable Shield (ASD/FS), May 31, 2021.
This marked the first use of Harpoon missiles by P-8A Poseidons in the European theater.
Patrol Squadron FOUR (VP-4) successfully conducted a coordinated missile launch with VP-40 using two Air to Surface Missile (AGM-84D) Harpoons against a target barge off the coast of Norway during
The U.S. government’s offer for the aircraft, dated April 5, comes in at 1.1 billion. Taxes, training, spares and support make up remainder of the request to lawmakers, according to the document.
The German parliament's budget committee on Wednesday approved the 1.4 billion euro purchase of five Boeing P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, a parliamentary source said.
The German parliament's budget committee on Wednesday approved the 1.4 billion euro purchase of five Boeing P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, a parliamentary source said.
Notice that with 30% more airframe and roughly the same years in service, the fleet of P-8 logged 3 time more flying hours than the A400M, a far less sophisticated platform.
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) There are also reliability issues with the sensors the P-8A does have. There are similar concerns with the EW systems.
apnews.com
eurasiantimes.com
www.navalnews.com
www.minister.defence.gov.au
www.navalnews.com
www.aerotechnews.com
www.navyrecognition.com
