Following on from iraven. The GA-ASI brochure mentions an external payload capability of ~1350kgs.
http://www.ga-asi.com/products/aircr...f/Guardian.pdf
So looking at the questions; if we're talking 5kgs per sonobuoy then that's 270 by weight, if we're talking the bigger ones then about 90 by weight. Endurance is no problem at 6 hours (they would have 8-12 hours spare!). So for 200 buoys in 6 hours let's say we need 2x Pred Bs and then one on station with 4x airdropped torpedos like Stingray that are about the same size and weight as JDAM (and an MQ-9 successfully carried 4 of those and dropped them against 4 seperate targets at the same time). Now that makes 3 aircraft to accomplish the sonobuoy and torpedo task. As for MAD - I don't see it on the P8 - I wonder why?
I'm not saying that Pred B is
the answer to our requirement, but it
might be
an answer. As everything it comes down to money, being able to multi-role and be able to be in a military that often says that an "80% fit" will do.
There are other options on the table and I'm sure (I hope) that far better analysis than my "fag packet" sums are being done. I do however believe that at first look, the SofS' and CAS' suggestion might be plausible with an unmanned system of some sort (Pred B sized as a minimum). It doesn't seem too much of a crackpot plan to me as it does to some...
LJ
PS. Standard Pred B can carry 1710kgs under the wings and there's a new model that has just come out that can carry more (Block 1 plus). So you could have more sonobuoys on that aircraft to the one carrying the RADAR.