News: P-8 visits Canberra | ADM July 2012

In the wake of Exercise Tamex, the USN also took the opportunity to bring the P-8 over to Canberra for a day trip before heading home. The USN, RAN and RAAF operators involved in the test points for the platform were all very positive about it’s performance against ‘a challenging target’ like the Collins class submarine.

“Basically the P8-A is the follow on aircraft for our P3-Orion, same aircraft as the Australian Defence Force Royal Australian Air Force are using as well,” LTCDR Michael Howes, from the testing VX-1 squadron said. “It’s been 50 years in service and time for a change. The new aircraft is the carry on the follow on mission for the P3 Orion which is primarily antisubmarine warfare, anti service warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

“To do that we have various sensor suite onboard, new updated software, net centric approach to how we run things with an open architecture allowing us to expand on capabilities in the future.

“We’ve come out to Australia to gain test points for initial operation tests and evaluation of the aircraft. So any sort of exercise that gives us an opportunity to test the system against real world contacts and also help develop tactics, techniques and procedure to field the aircraft,” LTCDR Howes explained. When asked about how the aircraft compares to its predecessor.

“Basically a more robust and reliable capability,” LTCDR Howes said. “We are about to have worldwide supportability based on the 737 airframe. There’s a lot of misconception on that front; it’s not an authorised 737 and it’s been built from the ground up as a military aircraft. We do have commonality of parts which allows the supply chain to be shortened. More reliable hardware and software and the ability to expand in the future with our sensors makes it a logical choice for the follow on aircraft.”

The P-8 has about 70 per cent commonality with the commercial 737, Robert Schoeffling, Boeing’s manager of business development P-8 international programs said.

Australian operators were also keen to see what their future platform is like as there will be little ‘Australianising’ of the P-8. The USN aircraft is essentially what the RAAF will have once it comes into service at the end of this decade.

“There are spiral increments that the Airforce has got its eye on because we want to maintain pace with the US and not be stuck with a legacy system and our involvement [in development] allows us to do that,” Air Commodore Warren McDonald, director general of capability planning for the RAAF said.

The only Australian specific element that is currently not part of the programs is the Air/Sea rescue kit, which is currently employed on the AP3C. This is part of the future cooperative development program.

AIRCDRE McDonald also confirmed that there are no plans to integrate the MU90 torpedo at this time as the current fit for the Mark 54 and SLAM-ER Harpoon are sufficient.