21 ST CENTURY PARTNERSHIPS AIR POWER 2017 7321 ST CENTURY CAPABILITIESThe Boeing P-8A
Poseidon will deliver
the most advanced
MPA capability
available quickly
and at an extremely
competitive cost
(PHOTO: NIALL
FERGUSON/ALAMY)squadron will consist of a mixed team from the
RAF and Royal Navy. Each crew will comprise
eight personnel, including two pilots, two tactical
coordinators and four acoustic and electronic system
operators. Training has already begun, as UK crews
have been operating on board US Navy P-8As since
- Other UK maritime patrol specialists have also
been embedded with the P-8A’s forerunner, the
P-3 Orion, in Australia, Canada and New Zealand to
keep their skills current. Search and rescue training
is due to be delivered in the UK from around 2021.
A TRAINING HUB
Just as initial UK F-35B Lightning crews are being
raised in the US, so will the P-8 crews. However, once
they have transferred to the UK, the training will be
provided locally. In a further effort to maximise tactical
realism while constraining costs, a large amount
of this training will be delivered synthetically via
desktop computers and simulators. In fact, the UK
expects to become a hub for fixed-wing MPA training,
and the RAF is working with the DE&S (Defence
Equipment and Support) to get everything in place.
The UK is also hoping to become a major support
partner for the P-8 in much the same way as it has
been selected to support the F-35. The signs for this
are positive. Norway, which is due to acquire five P-8As,
recently signed an agreement with the UK to work more
closely on their respective MPA capabilities to bring
down costs and increase operational effectiveness.
Air Marshal Julian Young, the man in charge of the
P-8 acquisition programme at DE&S, recently visited
the Boeing 737 production line in Seattle, where he
pressed the programme manager for a delivery date.
He made a bet with him as to when the first UK P-8A
will be complete and when he can come and take
delivery. “We had a wager; £10 from me, $10 from him.
The deal is I pay if the company is on time and they
pay me if the aircraft is late. We signed a piece of paper
saying our aircraft will fly between 10 o’clock and
one o’clock on 27 March 2019. I said I would be there
in person, and hoped to hand over the £10 note.”