The P-8 Poseidon, a cornerstone of interoperability

A US Navy P-8 Poseidon. RAF aircrew have been training with the USN in preparation for the UK receiving its own P-8s in 2020

The P-8 Poseidon, made by Boeing was announced by the MoD to be the United Kingdom’s next-generation maritime patrol aircraft in August 2012 at a final price of £3 billion, giving us 9 aircraft and support infrastructure. This was announced after the cancellation of the Nimrod MRA4 program, a life extension of the MRA2 costing £789 million and over 9 years late, came as a welcomed move.

An artist’s impression of an RAF P-8 Poseidon, the first of which will be delivered in 2020

So what is this aircraft all about? And what's so special? Well, let's start off with the build. It, in its entirety, is a modified Boeing 737-700. It can be manned by 5 people, 2 flying officers and 3 Aircrewman manning the APY-10 radar from Raytheon. This radar is multi-purpose, from periscope detection to navigation, making it a formidable opponent toward any submarine. But the crucial part of this aircraft is the ability to attack as well. Previously, ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) aircraft would have to call for fighter aircraft to carry out attacks, coordinated by the reconnaissance aircraft, but now, with the P-8, a bomb bay located behind the wing, can carry an array of torpedoes, the amount, classified. With this High Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare Weapon Capability (HAAWC), it can turn a Mk54 torpedo into a glide bomb with ease, allowing flexibility at any altitude to carry out a bombing run from above 30000 ft. The UK plan on using US weaponry at first and possibly integrate British weaponry later on in the program.

So this aircraft is going to blur the lines between classification and roles, rather like the Royal Navy’s T26, it can do far more than its predecessor. It seems the P-8MRA1, the official name for the RAF, along with the F35B, is going to forge new interoperability between the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy along with strengthening partnerships with the other 5 countries acquiring the aircraft. Furthermore, it is going to see the RAF specialising on maritime defence from land, specifically, RAF Lossiemouth where they are based, providing a what has been called a “long-range overwatch role” over the continuous At-Sea Deterrent and aircraft carriers.

We are going to see the first deliveries year, assigned to the reformed No.120 Squadron RAF, a fitting squadron as they operated the RAF’s coastal defence command in WWII, and later others assigned to the No. 201 Squadron RAF, planned to be reformed in 2021 and having an affiliation to Guernsey in the Channel Islands.

But due to the fact that the RAF will be only procuring 9 of these important aircraft, there will still be the need for the US to station some of their Poseidons in the UK. So, whilst it is clearly a good thing that we will have our own aerial maritime defence capabilities, the era of the UK strongly relying on US is clearly not over.