An artist's impression of the Boeing P-8A Poseidon MMA in German Navy service. (Boeing)
Germany has signed for five Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime multimission aircraft (MMA), with an initial Foreign Military Sale (FMS) award of USD756.6 million announced on 27 September.
The Lot 12 aircraft will be delivered by the end of February 2025.
The contract follows the US government's earlier approval for the sale which, as well as the aircraft equipped with the standard sensors and systems, covers training and sustainment support. If all the options are exercised, the total value of the procurement will be USD1.8 billion.
Germany is acquiring the Poseidon as a stop-gap measure until the German Navy could find a suitable long-term replacement for its eight Lockheed Orion maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) after that platform's modernisation programme was halted because of cost and technical difficulties.
In securing the requirement, Boeing fought off competition from Airbus with its C295 Persuader, and from Rheinland Air Service (RAS) with its RAS-72 Sea Eagle. The German Navy will now join the Royal Australian Air Force, the Indian Navy, the Republic of Korea Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the Royal Norwegian Air Force, the UK Royal Air Force, and the US Navy in operating the type.
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