Originally Posted by
Pure Pursuit
Modified 737-800ERX. They start life as such and are converted part way through production.
Sorry Pure Persuit, but you are not correct.
The P-8A is intended to be just that from the start. The 737-800 fuselage is utilised with the 737-900 ER Wing, albeit with modified wingtips/winglets due to icing considerations. The whole lot is also significant strengthened due to the nature of the P-8As task. This is in contrast to the E-7 which utilises a 737-700 which is then converted. This can be seen by simply noting the sides of the fuselages on both aircraft, The E-7 demonstrates blanked passenger windows that illudes to its 700 series origins, while the P-8A is smooth with no evidence of converted windows that shows it is not a conversion.