P-8I aircraft

In news- Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has delivered the 12th P-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft to the Indian Navy recently.

About P-8I aircraft-

The aircraft is designed for long-range anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.
It is a “multi-mission aircraft” with “state of the art sensors, proven weapons systems, and a globally recognised platform.
The first aircraft produced by Boeing flew in 2009.

The first of these aircraft was inducted in 2013, and it made India the first country outside the United States to get one.

Now, apart from India and the US, it has been chosen by six other militaries in the world.
The aircraft has two variants — the P-8I, which is manufactured for the Indian Navy, and the P-8A Poseidon, which is flown by the US Navy, the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, and the Royal Norwegian Air Force.
It has also been selected by the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the Republic of Korea Navy, and the German Navy.
P-8I have replaced the ageing Soviet/Russian Tupolev Tu-142s and it is capable of anti-submarine; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR); patrolling, coastline defence, and other operations.
The P-8I can fly as high as 41,000 feet, and has a short transit time.
It is also used for low altitude, humanitarian, and search and rescue missions.
The aircraft has two engines, and is about 40 meters long, with a wingspan of 37.64 metres.
It requires a crew of nine, and has a range of 1,200+ nautical miles, with 4 hours on station, which means about 2,222 km.
The aircraft comes with one of the most advanced weapon systems in the world, and has a life of around 25 years, or 25,000 hours in the harshest maritime flight regimes, including extended operations in icing environments.

India’s order for P-8I & their current status-

In 2009, India had placed an order for eight planes, which were called P-8A Poseidon multimission maritime aircraft (MMA), by the US Navy.
India placed the order for four more aircraft in 2016.
The first eight of these aircraft are stationed at INS Rajali in Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu, on the eastern coast.
The batch of the additional four are part of another squadron at INS Hansa in Goa, named Indian Naval Air Squadron 316.
The P-8I started operations at INS Hansa in January, after the first of them reached there on December 30, 2021.
The aircraft were inducted after fitment of indigenous equipment and Flight Acceptance Trials.

Further reading: https://journalsofindia.com/p-8i-aircraft/