Being former Kipper Fleet' I do have some understanding of the environment in which the P8 will operate and the difficulty of maintaining the complex kit' inside the hull. Perhaps the Norwegian P8s' and "Visitors" will also be maintained at Lossie? In which case it begins to make sense'.

A.D.

Was the aircraft wash facility relocated from Kinloss?

Or has it been left so that the pongos can wash their lorries?

I thought Boeing were meant to be building a P-8 logistics and maintenance facility at Boscombe Down?

Boeing Support
 

Boeing have different military and civic fleets operating which will require different servicing infra, so military 700s will be serviced at Lossie with RW (Apache etc) at BD.
Also the press show Boeing upfronting a LOT of their own money in, so makes sense to build in some ‘non-UK’ P8 capabilility at Lossie AS LONG AS the MOD can find the space...plus would support the UK MOD should they look to provide non-UK crew training...
All the MOD has to do is recruit all those new crews and engineers....I refer to the other threads for that one...

“Aircraft packed with avionics systems...”. Presumably these are located INSIDE the fuselage?

Oh really? Why would a front-line, multi-role, multi-man, weapons platform not need a simulator? 🙄

^^

To amplify RP, it does not matter whether your fleet is one aircraft or one hundred; you cannot train maritime crews without a simulator (or for the sake of accuracy, a static "procedures" trainer, which is what the old MCT actually was).

I'm guessing ShotOne does not really understand long-range maritime patrol or he would know this.

10,000'?? I suspect there's one too many noughts in that, for a maritime aircraft.

Is it your position, TOFU that discussing the suggestions/demands from this thread: all aircraft hangared due salt enriched environment, reopen Kinross because they need their own airfield, three hangar bays for nine a/c, new-build dedicated admin offices & workshops, is exclusively for those who "understand maritime patrol" ? If this represents current insider thinking it goes some way to explaining why our defence budget doesn't seem to stretch far. If some of this is for training/maintenance shared with other NATO members it begins to make sense but is that the case?

The Old Grey Ladies stood the test of time out on Delta in the salty breezes when I was on 8.

Kinloss?
Another airfield ruined then.

Nice big hangar at Ballykelly and the brown jobs haven't succeeded in wrecking the entire airfield (yet). The main runway could easily be re-furbished (was re-built from its WW2 layout in about '63 so as to take V-bombers on dispersal) and might even be long enough without using the bit across the railway line.

chevvron,

Ballykelly was sold off years ago and has been fully redeveloped.

Thunderbird7,

No, that figure is correct, for the vast majority of the time the P-8 is supposed to operate no lower than 10,000ft. In fact it’s supposed to spend most of its time up around FL300 using its radar which optimised for that sort of height. It is, supposedly, able to lay sonar buoys accurately from that height.

In order to prosecute submar8ne targets it is to be equipped with a UAV with a MAD which be deployed to prosecute anything detected (no idea how it is recovered).

http://www.militaryaerospace.com/art...ing-drone.html

It also supposed to be equipped with the HAAWC ALA to attack anything it, or it’s UAV, detect.

http://www.militaryaerospace.com/art...g-torpedo.html

The current order for 9 aeroplanes is woefully inadequate. I think 20 is the minimum and then some more before Boeing stop making the P8. Lossie cannot accommodate that many aeroplanes so the St Mawgan facility should be reopened. As far as man power I despair.
I maintain that there should be 45 complete crews for 20 aeroplanes and we are now talking about where they and the supporting ground crew could be basedlet alone where these aeroplanes will be maintained. Waddington? No chance.
Look out for VR Crew as well.

Are Boeing going to stop making the P8?

It's the only show in town '.......

Indeed they are. They will resume 737 construction for the airlines once these P8s are built. We have to get in with the order as soon as possible or we wont get more than the current amount of 9.
But somehow the whole thing will be thrown out of the pram - little or insufficient staff
no accommodation, no airfield to base them at, and no funds for the extra aeroplanes.
Work it out - because at the current levels of people involved nobody can take any leave, nobody can man the sims, and the R.A.F. cannot sustain people living in Hotels with all the costs that will take. I can see Kinloss reverting to Blue uniforms again.

How many Nimrods do you think we had from Woodford? I think it was about 51 and the powers to be think 9 B737 Poseidon P8s will suffice.
Get a life. It's about time the powers that are supposed to be running this show grew up.

And pay for it with what???

Linedog - of course you are absolutely correct,
The Boeing production of the P8 will finish in 2022. Any increase in orders
has to be done by Q2 2019.