Indian Navy Uses P-8 Poseidon of US Origin to Assist Chinese PLA Navy in Locating Sunk Ship

The warships of China and India rarely work together on international waters. In response to a request from the Chinese PLA Navy, the Indian Navy’s US-made P8I Poseidon surveillance aircraft assisted in the search and rescue (SAR) operation of a sunken Chinese fishing vessel in the Southern Indian Ocean region on May 17.

The Indian P-8I flown by the Indian Navy has already accumulated 40,000 flying hours and has continued to provide India’s defense with promising surveillance support.

In an immediate humanitarian response to the drowning of the Chinese fishing vessel Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028 with 39 crew members on board, the Indian Navy deployed its Air Maritime Reconnaissance capabilities in the Southern Indian Ocean region on May 17.

Boeing created the P-8I aircraft as an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and maritime patrol aircraft for the Indian Navy. It is built on the Boeing 737-800 platform and is intended only for use in marine operations.

The P-8I can carry out a variety of duties, including intelligence gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance, and anti-submarine operations, thanks to its sophisticated sensors and mission systems. Modern acoustic systems, electro-optical and infrared sensors, and radar systems are included for locating and tracking submarines.

Despite bad weather, P8I aircraft conducted several, thorough searches and discovered numerous things that might be associated with the sunken ship, according to Commander Madhwal.

The Lu Peng Yuan Yuan Yu vessel’s crew was made up of people from the Philippines, Indonesia, and China. The Indian aircraft (P8I) responded immediately by deploying search and rescue equipment at the location at the request of PLA (N) ships sealing the area, according to the Indian Navy’s Spokesperson.

About 267 nautical miles separated the Chinese fishing vessel from the strategically significant Diego Gracia outpost of the US and UK armed troops in the Southern IOR. The Chinese ship’s catastrophe occurred 900 nautical miles off the coast of India, south of the Maldives.

“In a display of India’s obligations as a credible and responsible partner for ensuring safety at sea, the Indian Navy units also coordinated SAR efforts with other units in the area and guided the PLA(N) warships transiting to the scene of the incident,” Indian Navy tweeted from its official Twitter account along with a file picture of P8I and area-map of the SAR site.

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