P-8 Poseidon MMA: Long-Range Maritime Patrol, and More
Mar 10, 2011 12:21 EST
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To clinch the deal, however, Boeing took an unusual step, touring US Navy bases and Naval Air Stations in Brunswick, ME; Jacksonville, FL; Norfolk, VA; Kaneohe, HI, and Whidbey Island, WA on board a 737 that leveraged their Indonesian experience and had 2 functional mission system consoles installed. Navy personnel were allowed to fly the aircraft and sit at the consoles, and Boeing demonstrations reportedly included maximum power take-off and climb 40,000 ft, manual control with no hydraulics ( 737's are not fly-by-wire, unlike, say, Airbuses -- Elmo), maximum rate of descent at over 10,000 ft/minute, tactical maneuvers at the not-uncommon maritime patrol altitude of 200 feet, simulated single engine flying and short-field landing simulations.
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The P-8 will use the same 737 airframe as the U.S. Navy’s C-40 Clipper naval cargo aircraft (replacing the C-9 Skytrain in the Naval Reserve), the E-737 Wedgetail AWACS aircraft on order by Australia, Italy, Turkey, and South Korea; and the U.S. Air Force’s T-43 Navigation trainer. The key difference will be the “raked” wingtips that improve performance for low-level flight.
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Mk 54 lightweight torpedoes equipped with the HAAWC kit promise to extend the plane’s capabilities in other ways. Longshot/HAAWC turns the torpedo into a GPS-guided glide weapon that can be launched from high altitude, which would allow the P-8A to remain within its preferred aerodynamic envelope of high-altitude cruise, and reduce the fatigue and corrosion associated with low-level flight. This capability is not expected until P-8A Increment 2, however, with initial operating capability in 2016.
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P-8 Poseidon MMA: Long-Range Maritime Patrol, and More
... Waiting for Beagie to complain that the P-8 doesn't have enough passenger cabin windows.
Last edited by Modern Elmo; 12th Jun 2011 at 18:54.