It is very easy to spot when something on ground by the using of satellite. but what if the enemy activity carried from the inside the water and launch the missiles. to finding such activity there is one aircraft which can spot easily and alert to the defense crew.

Meet the Boeing P8 Poseidon aircraft, a modified 737 dash 800ERX maritime patrol aircraft, built by Boeing Defense and Security. It was created for the Navy of the United States of America.

Let’s have a look at its past. The Boeing P8 replaced the P3 aircraft, which was developed by Lockheed Martin in 1962, because the range and endurance of the P3 aircraft were restricted due to increased weight and airframe fatigue life constraints. In the year 2000, the US Navy ordered a new tender. A Boeing proposal for a new maritime aircraft based on the B737 has been approved. The P-8A name was given to this aircraft after it obtained a 5-aircraft order in the beginning.

lets check out about its specifications

The Boeing 737-800 Next Generation serves as the basis for the P-8. The forward portion of the under-fuselage has an internal weapons compartment. Air-to-surface missiles can be carried thanks to hard points on the wings.

The aircraft had a length of 39.47 meters, a wingspan of 37.64 meters, and a height of 12.83 meters. The maximum take-off gross weight of the P-8I is 85,139kg.

The P-8I aircraft is produced by a Boeing-led industrial consortium that includes CFM International, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Spirit AeroSystems, BAE Systems, and GE Aviation.

The crew of this plane numbered nine people. The primary flying display, multifunction displays, friend and foe recognition, and flight and store management systems are all integrated in the cockpit.

A CAE AN/ASQ-508A magnetic anomaly detection system, an APS-143C(V)3 multimode radar, and a worldwide version of the Raytheon APY-10 surveillance radar are all installed on the aircraft.

In any weather conditions, day or night, the APY-10 radar gives precise information. The P-8I also has a BEL Data Link II communication system, an Avantel mobile satellite system, and a voice secrecy system from the Electronics Corporation of India (ECIL).

Mark A total of 54 torpedoes, depth charges, and free-fall bombs can be stored in the internal weapons room. Air-to-surface missiles can be launched from the underwing hard points.

The P-8I is powered by two CFM56-7 engines from CFM International, a joint venture between Snecma Moteurs and GE Electric. Each engine has a take-off thrust of 27,300 pounds.

The engines are equipped with a new generation full authority digital engine control (FADEC) technology.

The P-8I had a maximum altitude of 12,496 meters and a top speed of 789 km/h. The plane can fly for up to four hours and has a maximum range of 2,222 kilometers.

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This aircraft can execute anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and shipping interdiction missions. There are also torpedoes, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and other weapons on board. It can deploy and monitor sonobuoys, as well as collaborate with other assets to detect items in the water. It can also fly Northrop Grumman’s MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance unmanned aircraft vehicle.

This aircraft took off first time in 2009 after several technical analysis the P-8 in introduced officially into US naval operations. in the beginning for further test aircraft was impoverished. it had first customer from the Indian Navy placed an order of 8 aircraft at the cost of US 2.1 billion dollars in 2008. It replaced the ageing fleet of the Indian Navy’s Tupolev Tu-142 aircraft.

As of now 8 countries is operating this aircraft including the US navy. and Boeing is built  142 aircraft as of November 2021. India and Australia operates 12 aircraft and US operates nearly 98 aircraft.

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To power additional onboard electronics, the P-8 has a 180 kVA electric generator on each engine, which replaces the 90 kVA generator present on civilian 737s. It has 100 antenna for data transmission and can fly for ten hours without refueling.

The P-8 has flown more than 400,000 hours around the world without a single accident, with more than 140 aircraft in service. The P-8 is designed to resist the harshest marine flight conditions for a period of 25 years/25,000 hours, including protracted icing operations.

According to the latest deal This Boeing 737 maritime aircraft costs $US 260 million, which is 1.6 more than a commercial version of a similar model aircraft. As of 2021, it will cost US$ 106.2 million.

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