Large military aircraft experts at the Boeing Co. are preparing to build four P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft for the United Kingdom Royal Air Force (RAF).
Officials of the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., announced a $68.4 million order Thursday to the Boeing Defense, Space & Security segment in Seattle for long-lead items for four future RAF P-8A aircraft.
The P-8 is a militarized version of the Boeing 737 single-aisle jetliner hardened for long-range maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missions. For the RAF the P-8 is scheduled to replace the now-retired Hawker Siddeley/BAE Systems Nimrod MR2 — a maritime patrol version of the de Havilland Comet jet airliner. The Nimrod was in service from 1967 to 2011.
The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence ordered nine P-8A aircraft last month to replace the Nimrod MR2. The RAF will base its future P-8As at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, which will bring an additional 400 military personnel RAF Lossiemouth air base. Operators of the P-8A are the U.S., Australia, India, and the United Kingdom.
