Boeing receives $1.9bn contract for 11 P-8A Poseidon aircraft

The U.S. Navy on Sept. 21st awarded Boeing a $1.9bn contract for 11 P-8A Poseidon aircraft, which will take the total fleet to 24 and bolster the service’s anti-submarine, anti-surface warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. This third low-rate initial production award follows two last year that totaled 13 aircraft. Boeing has delivered three of the production P-8As, which are based on the company’s Next-Generation 737-800 commercial airplane, and the Navy plans to purchase 117 to replace its P-3 fleet. Boeing assembles the P-8A aircraft in the same facility where it builds all its 737 aircraft. The Poseidon team uses a first-in-industry in-line production process that draws on Boeing’s Next-Generation 737 production system. All P-8A-unique modifications are made in sequence during fabrication and assembly.