AirForces Monthly – September 2019

8 // September 2019 #378 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

First fl ight for RAF’s Poseidon MRA

BOEING COMPLETED the

maiden flight of the first of

nine RAF P-8A Poseidon

MRA1s at its Renton,

Washington, facility on July

12. The initial aircraft, ZP801,
    named Pride of Moray,
    performed a 90-minute
    test sortie in the hands of
    Boeing test pilots and in the
    presence of UK Ministry of
    Defence (MOD) and RAF
    personnel, plus Boeing

P-8 programme leaders.

Since then the

manufacturer has begun

integrating mission systems

at its Installation and

Checkout facility in Tukwila,

Washington. Further testing

will take place here before

delivery to Naval Air Station

Jacksonville, Florida,

scheduled for October. Once

at ‘Jax’, ZP801 will undergo

additional preparation

and UK personnel will

continue training before

the aircraft flies home to

the UK early next year.

Air Commodore Richard

Barrow, the senior

responsible owner for the

UK’s P-8A programme, said:

“This is a great milestone

in the UK P-8A Poseidon’s

journey to the UK, as we are

one step closer to its arrival

in Scotland. The platform

will enhance the UK’s

maritime patrol capability

with advanced, state-of-

the-art technology.”

The first cadre of RAF

engineers and aircrew have

now been trained on the

Poseidon, which will be

based at RAF Lossiemouth

from autumn 2020. However,

due to scheduled runway

works, the P-8As will

temporarily operate from

nearby RAF Kinloss. Initial

operating capability is

also expected next year.

Two RAF P-8A units will be

formed: No 120 Squadron

(established in April 2018)

and No 201 Squadron, to

be stood up in due course.

All nine aircraft

will be delivered by

November 2021 with full

operational capability

scheduled for 2024.

The fi rst P-8A Poseidon MRA1 for the RAF takes off for its maiden fl ight wearing temporary test registration N456DS. Construction of the aircraft began in

February with the laying of the keel beam at Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita, Kansas, before assembly was completed by Boeing in Seattle. Boeing

Chris Gilligan

Wildcat gains hardpoints

Wildcat HMA2 ZZ513 under

test from the Leonardo

Helicopters facility in Yeovil,

Somerset, on July 15. The

rotorcraft is fitted with new

stub wings incorporating

pylons for the carriage of

the forthcoming Martlet

and Sea Venom missiles.

Trials work with the new

hardpoints began on July

2. Initially, the Wildcat has

been flown in a ‘clean’

configuration, but it will later

add dummy weapons before

eventually progressing to

live-firing campaigns.

Each stub wing can

accommodate either ten

Martlet or two Sea Venom

missiles. Eventually, all 28

Royal Navy Wildcats will be

retrofitted with the pylons

under a £90m contract.

Reaper to

retire by

2024

THE UK Ministry of

Defence has outlined plans

to withdraw the RAF’s

MQ-9 Reaper unmanned

aerial vehicle by 2024, in

line with planned delivery

of the first of 16 Protector

RG1s “in the early 2020s”.

Until then, the Reaper

Force will undergo a

phased drawdown,

including termination of the

UK’s use of ground control

station (GCS) infrastructure

at Creech Air Force Base,

Nevada. The UK has

ordered seven new GCSs

to support operations for

the forthcoming Protector

fleet from RAF Waddington

in Lincolnshire.

Civil Aviation Authority

permission to conduct

Protector training

flights from Waddington

is expected in the

first half of 2024.

NEWS United Kingdom

08-09 UKNews AFM Sep2019.indd 8 8/5/2019 10:43:31 AM