The P-8 Poseidon will patrol and hunt submarines over the seas for the next 50 years, which
we call the Second Cold War.
This aircraft has significant advantages over its predecessor, the P-3 Orion.
But, can it be described as a new-generation maritime patrol aircraft?
As the Weapon Detective, we are investigating the answer to this question.
The P-8 Poseidon may not sexy as the F-22, F-35, Rafale or Eurofighter Typhoon.
It is an ordinary maritime patrol aircraft, combining a regular airliner and state-of-the-art
electronics and sensors.
But, in contrast with this simplicity, the P-8 has high military value as the new-generation
fighters.
The story of the P-8 goes back to the 1980s when the US Navy had begun a study on a new
maritime patrol aircraft to replace the P-3 Orion.
In 1989, Washington awarded Lockheed with a fixed-price contract to develop the P-7.
Because the First Cold War ended, the programme lost its urgency.
Besides, in the new unipolar world, the threat perception changed.
This caused uncertainty about the mission definition of the new maritime aircraft.
So, the USA cancelled the contract in 1990.
Ten years later, Washington started a second programme for the replacement of the P-3.
This time, Lockheed Martin and Boeing were competitors.
In 2004, Boeing became the winner of the programme with the P-8 Poseidon, which combines the
proven fuselage of the Boeing 737-800 and the wings of the Boeing 737-900.
In 2005, the backswept wingtips of the aircraft replaced the previous blended winglets.
The P-8 performed its maiden flight on April 25, 2009.
Three years later, the aircraft became operational in the US Navy.
Australia, Germany, India, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, the UK, and the USA are users
of the aircraft.
The nine-person crew of the P-8A Poseidon consists of a pilot, a co-pilot, and seven
mission system operators.
The aircraft has a length of nearly 39.5 metres, a wingspan of 37.6 metres, and a height of
13 metres.
Its empty weight is 62,73 tons, while its maximum takeoff weight is about 85.82 tons.
Two 120.1 kiloNewton CFM56-7B27A turbofan engines provide a maximum speed of over 900
kilometres per hour.
The aircraft can climb an altitude of nearly 12,500 metres, in other words, 41,000 feet.
The P-8A has five hardpoints in its internal bays as well as six external hardpoints.
It can carry the AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Mk 54 torpedoes, mines, and depth
charges.
Except for the I versions for India, the P-8s do not have a magnetic anomaly detector, shortly
MAD.
The Indian Poseidons, called P-8I, has MAD, so this model is therefore 1.5 meters longer.
A mass of ferromagnetic material, such as a submarine, creates a detectable disturbance
in the Earth's magnetic field.
MAD is a tool that can detect this ailment, so it is remarkably effective for finding
a submerged submarine.
The US Navy claims that the acoustic sensor system of the aircraft is reportedly more
effective at acoustic tracking.
Thus, lacking a MAD won't impede its detection capabilities.
However, it is reported that the US Navy is developing a variant of an unmanned aerial
vehicle, called the High-Altitude Unmanned Targeting Air System, which can carry a MAD
sensor and transmit its findings back up to the P-8.
The Poseidon can be already operated in conjunction with the MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance
unmanned aerial vehicle.
The AN/APY-10 radar of the aircraft can detect an object with a cross-sectional area of 54
square meters in sea state 3.
It can also detect an object with a radar cross-section area of 10,000 square meters
from a range of 370 kilometres.
The radar allows tracking 256 targets simultaneously, including small ones such as periscope.
The Advanced Airborne Sensor, shortly AAS, will replace the APS-149 Littoral Surveillance
Radar System of the P-8.
The AAS provides multi-function moving target detection and tracking and high-resolution
ground mapping at standoff range covering land, littoral, and water areas.
With near 360-degree coverage, it has a double-sided active electronically scanned array radar,
which contains a moving target indicator, synthetic aperture radar, and inverse synthetic
aperture radar.
Synthetic-aperture radar can create two-dimensional images or three-dimensional reconstructions
of objects.
The inverse synthetic-aperture radar is the name of a radar technique using radar imaging
to generate a two-dimensional high-resolution image of a target.
It has a significant role aboard maritime patrol aircraft to provide them with radar
images of sufficient quality, which allows target recognition.
Moving target indication is a mode of operation of a radar to discriminate a target against
the clutter and find moving objects.
Thus, the AAS can scan, detect, map, track, and classify targets nearly simultaneously
on land and sea together.
The radar can profile vessels from a long distance and generate good resolution without
relying on optical sensors, especially day or night and in adverse weather conditions.
Some sources claim that the AAS is sensitive enough to pick up a formation of people moving
over open terrain.
The AN/APS-143 Ocean Eye synthetic aperture radar of the I versions has 360-degree coverage.
It can detect a target with a radar cross-section of 1 square meter at a range of 370 kilometres.
The German P-8s will have locally developed mission packages.
The P-8 can loiter at a speed of 333 kilometres per hour over the sea at 60 metres.
The aircraft can use only the boom-in-flight refuelling method.
Australia, South Korea and the USA have tanker aircraft with the boom system.
Currently, the other five users of the Poseidon cannot extend the endurance of these aircraft
by in-flight refuelling.
However, Norway will acquire a single A330 MRTT, which also has a boom system.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force does not have a tanker aircraft.
The German A310 MRTTs and the Indian Il-78s have hose and drogue aerial refuelling systems.
Neither the Voyager KC2s nor KC3s of the Royal Air Force has the boom aerial refuelling system.
However, in 2016, the UK stated its interest in the idea of fitting this system to at least
some of the tanker aircraft fleet.
After the First Cold War ended, the Western World was relieved from the Soviet Navy threat.
So, the maritime patrol aircraft lost their importance a little bit.
But, the Second Cold War has begun hard on the seas.
The Chinese sea power is rapidly growing.
Since the early 2010s, Russia has accelerated its investments in the navy.
Many countries bordering the Indian Ocean that did not have a submarine 20 years ago
now have submarines.
As if that were not enough, the pirates now threaten the most important sea lines more
than ever.
All these facts have increased the importance of maritime patrol aircraft once again.
Still, the operational experience of the Poseidon so far has been considerably smooth.
The US P-8As patrol near China regularly.
In 2014, a Chinese J-11 fighter came within 30 feet of a US P-8A about 250 kilometres
east of Hainan Island while patrolling the South China Sea.
Additionally, a Pentagon spokesperson said the J-11's unit had made close intercepts
earlier that year.
Naturally, these events have made the USA anxious.
The dangerous manoeuvres the Chinese aircraft carried out at close range reminded the EP-3E,
which was forced to land in Hainan in 2001.
The Poseidon worries the rivals of the USA at the other end of the world.
In 2016, a Russian Su-30 fighter dangerously intercepted a P-8.
There is a reason why the Russian Air Force is acting so harshly.
According to the military blog The Aviationist, in 2016, the Poseidon detected and engaged
one or two Oscar-class submarines in the Mediterranean.
Unlike the USA, India’s experiences are not on the sea but on the land.
This country used its Poseidons to observe the Doklam Standoff near the China border
and the Pulwama Standoff near the Pakistan border.
It would be helpful to make a note here.
The use of maritime patrol aircraft on land is not a new situation.
In 1987, France operated a single Atlantique as an airborne headquarters during Opération
Épervier, the French intervention against Libyan military units in Chad.
Also, during the 1999 Kosovo War, France used these aircraft for surveillance missions over
Serbia.
In 2013, French Navy Atlantique-2s even dropped laser-guided GBU-12 bombs on jihadist militants
in Mali.
In 2015, these aircraft bombed ISIL targets in Syria.
Like the Atlantique, the US P-3s were used for battlespace surveillance on land over
Iraq in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Also, the Pakistani Orions conducted the same mission during the Kargil conflict.
Of course, there are so many other examples.
But briefly, the use of maritime patrol aircraft on land is increasing day by day.
In fact, the USA realized this situation and demanded that the ground observation ability
of the P-8 be high during the development process.
As we mentioned, the design of the aircraft is based on the proven Boeing 737 commercial
airliner.
But we want to draw attention to something.
The P-3 was based on the L-188 Electra and made its first flight in 1957.
Thus, you can see that in the overall plane design, the P-8 has only a 10-year advantage
over the P-3.
Still, this is a wise choice.
The Boeing 737 made its first flight in 1967.
Since then, Boeing has produced more than 10 thousand pieces of them.
Due to using a pre-existing airframe, development proceeded relatively smoothly.
Also, the USA had decided to receive the P-8’s advanced systems gradually rather than acquiring
them all at once.
This led the P-8’s unit costs to stay under the initial budget plan.
Besides, the fact that the US Navy has been already using the Boeing 737-based C-40 Clipper
brought with it a significant logistical advantage.
It also applies to other P-8 users.
Australia, South Korea, and the UK are users of the Boeing 737-based E-7 early warning
and command aircraft.
In fact, the highly successful commercial airliner Boeing 737 was not used as a military
maritime patrol aircraft for the first time.
Before the P-8, in 1982, Indonesia modified three Boeing 737s as maritime patrol aircraft
to hinder pirate activities.
However, unlike the Poseidon, the called Boeing 737-2X9 Surveiller or Punuk, do not have a
weapon capacity.
Five airline companies in Australia have more than 150 Boeing 737s.
Four companies with 118 aircraft in India, two companies with 13 aircraft in New Zealand,
two companies with 162 aircraft in Norway, five companies with 106 aircraft in South
Korea, five companies with 134 aircraft in the UK, and 15 companies with 1,780 aircraft
in the USA need to add.
Considering these numbers and the global success of the Boeing 737, the P-8 is one of the easiest
maintainable military aircraft, providing easy access to spare parts and technical personnel.
But it is too big for many countries that do not have a coast to the oceans and are
interested in procuring new sea patrol aircraft.
So, despite the obvious advantages of the P-8, they would prefer the smallest platform
based on light cargo aircraft, regional airliners, or business jets.
As you see, the P-8 is not a new-generation maritime patrol aircraft.
It's just a successful good old airliner equipped with next-generation electronic and combat
systems.
These new-generation electronic systems can also be integrated into many different aircraft.
So, they can also have the abilities of the P-8 by sacrificing a bit of combat radius
and weapon-carrying capacities.
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