Testing Chief Michael Gilmore Says New Airplane 'Not Effective' In Primary Missions

The chief of the Pentagon Testing Office says in a soon-to-be-released report that the P-8A Poseidon sub hunter aircraft deployed to Japan have "major deficiencies" and are "not effective for wide area anti-submarine search."

Michael Gilmore wrote in his annual report, portions of which were obtained by Bloomberg News, that the airplane has multiple deficiencies making the airplane "not effective for the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission and is not effective for wide area anti-submarine search.” He said every major problem identified during testing between September 2012 and March 2013 are still evident in the airplanes deployed to Japan.

The Navy has deployed six Poseidons to Japan in support of the 7th Fleet maritime patrol operations, where one of their primary missions is to track Chinese submarines. Gilmore's report suggests the P-8 is not yet capable of completing that primary mission.

In a Navy news release dated January 10, Vice Admiral Robert Thomas, commander of the 7th Fleet, praised the performance of the airplane. "I am extremely impressed with VP-16 and the P-8A Poseidon's performance during their inaugural deployment to Seventh Fleet," Thomas said. "Across every mission set, from Anti-Submarine Warfare to Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, P-8A capability represents a significant improvement over the P-3C, providing the opportunity to detect, track and report on more targets than ever before. This continues to be validated throughout the course of the aircraft's time here. I had the opportunity to fly with the squadron and witnessed their capabilities firsthand ... this aircraft is a game-changer."
 
Gilmore says in his report that the Navy will conduct additional testing “to verify the correction of some deficiencies.”

(P-8 Poseidon pictured in file photo)

FMI: www.navy.mil,