Australia's First P-8A Poseidon Touches Down

17 November 2016

P-8A Poseidon with body number A47-001 at Canberra Airport. (all photos : Australian Aviation)

Australia’s newest maritime surveillance aircraft, the P-8A Poseidon, has been welcomed into the Air Force.

The P-8A Poseidon is a cutting edge maritime surveillance and anti-submarine aircraft which will dominate the skies around the nation’s coastline. It will greatly enhance Australia’s ability to keep our borders secure and guard our maritime approaches.

The Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull MP, the Minister for Defence Industry the Hon. Christopher Pyne MP and the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection the Hon. Peter Dutton MP, together with the Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Leo Davies, welcomed the new Poseidon aircraft at a ceremony in Canberra on 16 November 2016.

These new aircraft will strengthen our existing comprehensive maritime surveillance capability, helping secure Australia’s borders, play a vital role in the fight against people smugglers and providing state of the art anti-submarine defences.

The P-8A Poseidon is a modern, highly reliable aircraft based on the commercially-proven Boeing B737, modified to incorporate the latest maritime surveillance and attack capabilities.

This aircraft has been designed by the US Navy to dominate in Anti-Submarine Warfare and will work closely with existing Australian Border Force assets to protect our border.

This is the first of 15 aircraft the Government committed to in the 2016 Defence White Paper, with 12 already contracted to be delivered by March 2020.

These aircraft will be based and sustained at Edinburgh, creating over 30 direct jobs.

The acquisition includes development and sustainment cooperation with the United States Navy and will keep the RAAF P-8A at the forefront of maritime patrol aircraft innovation for years to come.

The 15 P-8A Poseidon aircraft and up to seven MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft will together provide an advanced maritime surveillance capability to replace the ageing AP-3C Orion platform.

(RAAF)