Boeing handed over the seventh production P-8A Poseidon to the U.S. Navy on schedule March 29, marking the first delivery from the second low-rate initial production contract awarded in November 2011.
The maritime patrol aircraft departed Boeing Field in Seattle for Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., where it joined six P-8As currently being used to train Navy crews.
“This is our second P-8A delivery of 2013, and we’ll continue to provide the Navy with new Poseidon aircraft at a rate of nearly one a month,” said Rick Heerdt, Boeing vice president and P-8 program manager. “We’ve got a full factory of P-8As for the U.S. Navy and P-8I aircraft for India, and we’re working side-by-side with both customers to introduce the aircraft’s advanced capabilities into their fleets.”
The P-8A Poseidon is one of many US Navy vessels to carry Brandywine’s timing and frequency equipment on board.