New Zealand Buy P-8 Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft

New Zealand has agreed to a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) buy of four Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft from the United States Government.

The aircraft will replace the Royal New Zealand Air Force's (RNZAF) six aging P-3K2 Orion maritime patrol aircraft that have been in operation since the 1960s. The current Orion fleet is expected to each the end of their operational life in 2025. The new aircraft, training systems and associated infrastructure will cost a total of $2.346 billion. The aircraft will be delivered and begin operations from 2023.

beehive.govt.nz

Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) will be replacing its in-service AP-3C Orion with the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) and the MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aircraft Systems by 2019.  12 P-8A aircraft have been ordered to be delivered by 2020. An eventual total of 15 aircraft will perform maritime patrol roles such as the detection and strike of submarine and surface threats, search and rescue support and surveillance and reconnaissance.

The aircraft has a length of 39.5m, maximum take-off weight of 85.82 tonnes, wingspan of 37.6m, with a top speed of 907kmph. An internal fuel capacity of almost 34 tonnes, allows the P-8A to remain on station conducting low level anti-submarine warfare missions at a distance of greater than 2,000 kilometres from base.

The MQ-4C Triton is based on the RQ-4B Global Hawk High Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle (HALE UAV). The MQ-4C Triton is adapted an optimised for maritime mission. The MQ-4C and P-8A combination will allow RAAF to maintain a persistent Intelligence , Surveillance and Reconnasisance (ISR) over a wide area. The MQ-4C Triton can provide wide area coverage while the P-8A will conduct targeted surveillance and prosecute hostile surface and sub-surface contacts.

RAAF