As part of the wider transformation process that the RAAF is undergoing, the replacement of the ageing AP-3C fleet with the Boeing P-8A is on track.

Katherine Ziesing | Seattle

It was announced in August this year that Australia’s first four P-8As will make their way through the Boeing production line in Seattle this year, with the initial aircraft to be delivered to the RAAF beginning in late 2016.

Both Boeing and the RAAF are confident that the P-8A Poseidon will fulfil all the current missions of the AP-3C Orion and more.

“The P-8 is fulfilling every mission that it has been designed to globally,” Boeing Global Sales & Marketing director for Maritime Programs James Detwiler explained to Australian media recently.

While the aircraft was designed with the USN in mind, India has ordered eight and Australia has been working with the USN since 2009 on the program.

Earlier this year, Australia confirmed its order for eight aircraft with a possibility of another four. Australia is taking part in the program as a cooperative development partner rather than going down the pure Foreign Military Sales route.

"This is not the 737-800 that you see flying through Australian skies every day."

Defence confirmed in a statement that there are 15 Australians working as part of the JPO (joint program office) in the US. This team includes nine RAAF uniforms and six CASG and DSTG personnel. One of the biggest additions the Australian team had made in terms of design is the inclusion of a SAR (search and rescue) kit where the aircraft is able to drop inflatable rafts and supplies to parties in distress. RAAF aircrew are also undertaking training with their USN counterparts.

Detwiler was also keen to point out that the program is currently on time and has saved $2.1 billion compared to the original cost estimate. Many of these savings have been realised through the use of a proven civil airframe, the Boeing commercial 737 platform.

As ADM has outlined before, this is not the 737-800 that you see flying through Australian skies every day. For a start, the bomb bay doors are a dead giveaway. The larger wings that are usually seen on the larger 737-900 and are fitted with a de-icing system that is also seen in the nose for the radar (the Raytheon APY-10 multi-mission surface search radar, optimised for periscope detection).

The sensor payload will allow the RAAF and RAN to exploit a new generation of technology not seen on the legacy platform. A raft of antennae along the centre line provide the aircraft with various tactical datalinks (link 11 and 16 alongside CDL, Inmarsat sat comms and SIPRnet) and a reinforced structure and landing gear account for the heavier loads the platform carries.

“For example, the fuselage is also twice the gauge of a regular 737 as we are taking this craft to twice the g-load compared to the civil variant,” Detwiler said when explaining the reinforcing of the structures, including the wing that carries an extra fuel load.

There is also a provision for more hard points along the centre line should the customer require it.

The EO/IR turret descends from the bottom of the aircraft ‘like an upside down R2-D2’ according to the Boeing engineer who gave Australian media a tour of the civil 737 – military P-8 conversion process. Sonobuoys are fired pneumatically through more specially cut holes, rather than using an explosive charge. Each Poseidon carries up to 126 buoys for submarine hunting missions.

In terms of weapons, for a combat mission the aircraft would carry four Harpoon anti-ship missiles on hardpoints - two on each wing - and five Mk.54 torpedos internally in what would have been a luggage compartment. This compartment is temperature controlled given the propellant of the torpedos can react unfavourably to changes in temperature. It remains to be seen whether Australia will decide to incorporate the MU90 lightweight torpedo, already in service elsewhere in the ADF, somewhere down the line.

The aircraft is also able to transit faster to its mission station thanks to more efficient engines, can spend more time on station thanks to a larger fuel load carried in the wings, and can fulfil the mission with a smaller crew. For example, the figures used to demonstrate the endurance are impressive: transit 1,200nm with four hours on station and 10,000 pounds of ordnance on board.

The P-8 can also be refuelled by the KC-30A thanks to it being equipped with the same refuel system as the Wedgetail, giving it a potential to be on station as long as personnel can operate effectively.

Detwiler highlighted the room for growth the platform still has.

“There is still 30 per cent floor space available and another generator that isn’t even being used yet,” he explained. “Also, the cost per hour to operate the P-8 is significantly lower than the P-3.”

The aircraft flies with 180kVA electric generators on each engine, replacing the 90kVA generator of civilian 737s; this required the redesigning of the nacelles and their wing mountings to compensate.

The big discriminators between the P-3s and P-8s come down to fuel burn and maintenance plus replacables after flights. The fuel burn on the two CFM56-7BE engines is impressive given the mission profile of the aircraft which sees long transit times and constant changes to altitude. The increase in the altitude ceiling of up to 41,000ft, a good 10,000ft higher than the P-3, also means that the aircraft can conduct ISR operations over hostile territory, where it may need to retreat higher to avoid ground based threats. This was an issue for operators in Afghanistan.

The replaceables after flight leverage off the 737 commercial system, which has been operating internationally for some time with numerous customers. The maintenance profile of the airframe is also well understood by the wider aviation industry.

The current delivery schedule is outlined in the box on the previous page but Detwiler confirmed that the Seattle plant is turning out one Poseidon a month (compared to two 737s A DAY for the commercial line) but this is being ramped up to 18 a year under the new full rate production schedule.

Existing customers for the P-8 are the USN, Australia and India. When questioned on future customers, Detwiler told the media to look at nations operating ageing P-3 fleets.

Note: The author travelled to Seattle as a guest of Boeing.