AZGrizFan said:
SoldierGriz said:
The P 3 has an exquisite sensor package used primarily for hunting submarines. It is usually used in open waters and littorals. I don't believe there is a heavily armed variant, but I honestly don't know. It is being replaced by the P 8. It's a Navy plane..maybe one of our eGriz Navy vets can answer more thoroughly.
There is not a battlefield variant, as far as I remember. Strictly a sub hunter, AFAIK.
Seen flying around Great Falls all the time. My neighbor told me what it was. Sub hunter, clearly says 'NAVY' on its fuselage I thought, WTF are they looking for Rusky subs in NC Montana? So, I managed to do a little searching. Here's an update:
P-8 A POSEIDON in flight.
P-8A POSEIDON MARITIME PATROL AIRCRAFT
OVERVIEW GALLERY FEATURE STORIES SOCIAL MEDIA P-8 SUPPORT QUICK FACTS SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS CUSTOMERS
BOEING
P-8: A Proven Multi-Mission Maritime Patrol Aircraft
The Boeing P-8 is truly a multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft, excelling at anti-submarine warfare; anti-surface warfare; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and search and rescue. The P-8 can fly higher (up to 41,000 ft) and get to the fight faster (490 knots). Shorter transit times reduce the size of the Area of Probability when searching for submarines, surface vessels or search and rescue survivors. P-8 is also designed for low altitude missions and has already proven its abilities supporting humanitarian and search and rescue missions.
A proven system with more than 155 aircraft in service the P-8 has executed more than 500,000 mishap free flight-hours around the globe.
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 United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Norwegian Air Force and Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Militaries that have selected the P-8 include the Republic of Korea Navy and German Navy. The P-8’s performance and reliability delivers confidence in an uncertain world — in any condition, anywhere, anytime.
The P-8 combines the most advanced weapon system in the world with the cost advantages of the most operated commercial airliner on the planet. The P-8 shares 86% commonality with the commercial 737NG, providing enormous supply chain economies of scale in production and support. Boeing’s expertise in commercial fleet management and derivative aircraft sustainment provides customers with greater availability at a lower operational cost. The P-8 is engineered for 25 years/25,000 hours in the harshest maritime flight regimes, including extended operations in icing environments.