P 8I PATROL AIRCRAFT

P 8I PATROL AIRCRAFT

Subject: Defence

Context: Recently, the Biden Administration has notified the Congress of its determination to sell six P-8I patrol aircraft to India for an estimated cost of USD 2.42 billion.

Concept:

• The Indian Navy had procured eight P-8I aircraft from Boeing in January 2009 via direct commercial sale and contracted for an additional four aircraft in July 2016.
• The first P-8I aircraft were delivered to the Indian Navy in 2013, providing critical capabilities to coalition maritime operations.\

P-8I Patrol Aircraft

• It is a long-range, multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft offered by Boeing for the Indian Navy.
• It replaced the ageing fleet of the Indian Navy’s Tupolev Tu-142 aircraft.
• The P-8I aircraft is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon multi-mission maritime aircraft (MMA) operated by the US Navy.
• The aircraft is equipped with a CAE AN/ASQ-508A magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) system, APS-143C (V) 3 multimode radar and a global version of the Raytheon APY-10 surveillance radar.
• The APY-10 radar provides precise information in all-weather, day and night missions.
• The P-8I aircraft can fly at a maximum speed of 789km/h and can reach a maximum altitude of 12,496m.