Royalist - You haven't been watching the F-35, have you?
HAS59 - Airbus has produced full-on ASW aircraft - C295s for Chile, and completely refitted P-3s for Spain and Brazil. No, they are not P-8s, but are they the classic 80 per cent solution? Or if you do want P-8s, does it make sense to operate a small force of those aircraft for ASW, plus something with a fraction of the CPFH for MPA?
Could you amplify what you mean by "quiet enough to avoid counter-detection"? This sounds like the fourth reason I have heard for high-altitude ASW:
1 - Boeing/US Navy: Because MAC and a big sonobuoy load allows you to drop a big pattern, and you want to be high to be in LOS.
2 - (Various): You don't want to get shot by an IDAS or similar popping unexpectedly out of the water.
3 - (HAS59): Sonar will detect a low-flying prop job at tactically useful range.
4 - (Various cynics): The USN has loaded the P-8 with provisions for giant radars, cruise missiles, mines and a million sonobuoys to the point where any low-alt operation drops the TOS into the
er.
Maybe we should start a poll. Personally I would put these in descending order of relevance as 1,4,3 and 2.