On June 30, the German Ministry of Defense signed a Letter of Acceptance for five Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft as part of a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process with the US government. With this order, Germany becomes the eighth customer for the multi-mission capable naval aircraft, after the USA, Australia, India, Great Britain, Norway, Korea and New Zealand.
“Boeing is honored to provide Germany with the world’s most capable maritime patrol aircraft,” said Michael Hostetter, Boeing Defense, Space & Security vice president in Germany. “We will work with the U.S. government, the German government and industry to create a reliable maintenance package that ensures the operational readiness of the German Navy’s P-8A fleet.”
The P-8A Poseidon offers a unique multi-mission capability and is the only aircraft in service and in production that meets the full range of maritime challenges faced by European nations. With more than 130 aircraft in service worldwide and over 300,000 total flight hours, the P-8A is indispensable for anti-submarine warfare, reconnaissance and surveillance, and search and rescue missions. “Bringing this capability to Germany is not possible without the contributions of German industry,” said Michael Haidinger, President of Boeing Germany, Central and Eastern Europe, Benelux and Northern Europe. “With the P-8A, we will continue to expand our collaboration with German companies, create new jobs and contribute to long-term local economic growth.” German companies already supplying components for the P-8A include Aljo Aluminium-Bau Jonuscheit GmbH and Nord-Micro GmbH. Boeing recently signed further agreements with ESG Elektroniksystem-und Logistik-GmbH and Lufthansa Technik to collaborate on system integration, training, support and maintenance. By working with local suppliers, Boeing will also offer support, training and maintenance solutions.
From 2025, the Poseidons will replace the eight P-3C Orions, which were taken over by the Dutch Navy in 2004. Due to “technical difficulties and total costs that can no longer be calculated” as reported the aging turboprop aircraft will not be upgraded for an even longer service life. According to the navy, there is already “insufficient material operational readiness without any foreseeable improvement”. For this reason, the modernization project was terminated prematurely, but two aircraft are to receive the still outstanding renewal of the wings.
Here for more news about Boeing.
