Boeing Navy P-8 Jet Faces $900 Million Budget Cut
Friday, Dec 26, 2008
Boeing Co. new Navy P-8 patrol aircraft for spotting enemy submarines and ships faces a cut of more than $900 million in the Defense Departmentes proposed fiscal 2010 budget in order to pay for a new warship, according to budget documents, Bloomberg reported.
Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, in an Oct. 31 budget memo, approved shifting away as much as $940 million to complete payment for a new DDG-1000 destroyer that Congress partially funded this fiscal year. The ship is the last of three the service says it will buy from Northrop Grumman Corp. and General Dynamics Corp.
The proposal is an indication the Navy is willing to cut new aviation programs -- even one designed to replace P-3 maritime patrol craft in operation since the 1950s -- to sustain its long- range shipbuilding goal. The Navy wants to have 313 vessels in the fleet by 2020, including new ships added as others retire, up from 283 deployable vessels today.
http://www.yourdefencenews.com/boeing+navy+p-8+jet+faces+$900+million+budget+cut_19555.html
That's certainly a problem FOR the P-8 program, but that is not a problem OF or WITH the P-8.
Sez here:
Boeing’s P-8 gets its wings
By Curt Epstein
July 14, 2008
Aircraft
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According to Boeing, despite the Poseidon’s outward differences from its airliner cousin–including a bomb bay, raked wing tips, underwing and fuselage centerline weapons stations and nearly 100 antennas–the P-8 shares 60 percent commonality by part number with its airliner cousin and could be built on the same assembly lines.
The fuselage is supplied by Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita, Kansas, the same subcontractor that supplies the 737 bodies, and is based on the latest -800 model. ...
For a 737, a typical trip through the final assembly line takes 10 days. Boeing has allotted nine times as much time for each of the five test aircraft in the system development and demonstration contract, as the airframer is expecting a steep learning curve. Keeping the P-8s from clogging Boeing’s finely tuned 737 production system was a major motivation behind the establishment of a separate line (the former 757 wing to fuselage assembly line), which could also be used to manufacture derivative EP-8s.
Perry Moore, Boeing’s director of P-8A manufacturing operations, said he would be satisfied to see the line process a Poseidon in 45 days as the procedures are refined. Once the aircraft’s stay in Renton is complete, it will then move to the integrated defense systems division for a similar length stay in final completion. First flight of the aircraft is expected next year.
Military Characteristics
One of the features on the P-8 that hints at its future service in antisubmarine work is its wingtips. Unlike the popular performance-enhancing winglets found on many commercial and business aircraft today, the wingtips on the Poseidon are a continuation of the wing, raked backward to better shed ice, given the adverse weather and altitudes the aircraft will be expected to patrol.
According to Boeing, the wingtips–not offered to commercial customers because of the additional length they add to the wingspan–give about the same level of performance as the winglet-equipped airplane. The wing also includes additional de-icing equipment. To accommodate the new design and the four under-wing weapons pylons, each of which has a 3,000-pound weight limit, the internal wing structure has been specially strengthened. The aircraft is expected to easily meet the Navy requirement for 2.2-g sustained flight, along with certification for operations down to 200 feet.
Another departure from the standard 737 configuration is the bomb bay, which has five weapons stations, each with a 1,450-pound weight limit. While the bomb bay can handle the current stores, it was designed with some growth capabilities in mind. Boeing’s engineers said they based their dimensions on the weapons bay in the Joint Strike Fighter so the P-8 could accommodate the same munitions.
Internally, the P-8 features three times more wiring and ECS ducts than a standard 737 because of the electronics suite. The aircraft features Raytheon’s APY-10 radar, which includes several improvements over the APS-137, with network enabling to allow different users to access the same information at the same time.
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Once an operator selects a pattern for the distribution of sonobuoys–the Poseidon carries 126 per mission, double the capacity of a P-3 Orion–it is routed to the flight management where it can be considered. If approved, the autopilot can then adjust the flight to match the pattern, basically allowing the aircraft to be flown “from the back of the plane.” As one Navy requirement was for simultaneous sonobuoy drop capability, the Poseidon features three rotary launchers, each holding 30 of the marine sensors at a time. Through the operator stations, sonobuoy inventory can be managed and loading orders can be sent to the ordnance specialist working the launchers.
With a mission profile calling for an outbound trip of 1,200 miles, four hours on station and a 1,200-mile return flight, the P-8 has a fuel capacity of more than 10,500 gallons, distributed between three main and seven auxiliary tanks. Overall, the aircraft has a 5,000-nm range unrefueled and a 22-hour duration with midair refueling capabilities.
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The P-8I will be similar to the Navy aircraft, but will include the magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) boom, which was removed from the U.S. requirements late last year. Given that the aircraft was initially designed with the MAD boom, it will be simple to accommodate customers who want to include it, according to Boeing.
Boeing’s P-8 gets its wings: AINonline
What's wrong with that?