A screen-grab of a Bundeswehr video released on 9 October, showing the first three Boeing P-8A Poseidon airframes for Germany beginning the manufacture process in the US. (Bundeswehr/Boeing)
Boeing has begun the build of the first P-8A Poseidon multimission maritime aircraft (MMA) for Germany, the Bundeswehr announced on 9 October.
The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) branch of the Bundeswehr released a video showing the first three of eight airframes joining the production line at Boeing's Renton site in Seattle.
“The first three P-8A Poseidon[s] for maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare are in production in the US. Planning for the first flight in November 2024 is under way. Delivery will begin in 2025,” the BAAINBw said from its official X (formerly Twitter) account.
The aviation branch of the German Navy (Marineflieger) is acquiring the Poseidon as a stopgap measure until the German Navy fields a long-term replacement for its eight Lockheed P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) after that platform's modernisation programme was halted because of cost and technical difficulties. The procurement is intended to bridge the gap between the Orion and the joint MPA development project with France dubbed the Maritime Airborne Warfare System (MAWS). Given the Poseidon remains (officially at least) an interim solution, the Marineflieger has said it will not be building type-specific infrastructure but will instead rely on “workarounds”.
The service was originally to receive five Poseidons with deliveries slated for late 2024, but this was increased by a further three aircraft in November 2023. This increase is part of a wider uplift in the national defence budget, specifically the EUR100 billion (USD109 billion) Söndervermögen (special fund) uplift following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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