Delivery to the NDMA Expected Later This Year

The first of five P-8A Poseidon aircraft took its first flight on the morning of August 9th. It left Renton Municipal Airport and traveled to Boeing Field in Seattle, reaching a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet in the 2 hour and 24 minute flight. 

The five aircraft will ultimately replace Norway’s current fleet that includes six P-3 Orions and three DA-20 Jet Falcons, and move from Andoya Air Station to Evenes Air Station with the introduction of the P-8As. 

The aircraft will be moving to the Installation and Checkout facility as the next phase of the production cycle arrives. Before the delivery to the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) later this year, mission systems will be installed and additional testing done. 

“This inaugural flight is an important milestone for Norway, and the Boeing team remains committed to delivering the P-8 fleet to the NDMA on schedule,” said Christian Thomsen, P-8 Europe program manager. “The P-8 is a capability that will help Norway improve anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and search-and-rescue missions, in addition to fostering valuable regional collaboration and interoperability with NATO nations.”

Norway is one of eight nations who have selected to use the P-8’s as their maritime patrol aircraft, alongside the U.S., India, Australia, the United Kingdom, Korea, New Zealand and Germany. Described by Boeing as, “An Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Solution”, the P-8 has two variants: The P-8I, flown by the Indian Navy, and the P-8A Poseidon, flown by the U.S. Navy, the Royal Australian Air Force and the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force.

FMI: www.boeing.com/defense/maritime-surveillance/p-8-poseidon/index.page