Air Power 2017

66 AIR POWER 2017

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later this decade. “The P-8 provides height, speed and
reach,” says Wing Commander Rich Berry, a maritime
surveillance and security expert. “It provides the height
to do anti-submarine warfare in potentially new ways
through new technologies, and it provides us with the
speed to get to faraway places where we might be
called upon to do any type of maritime operation. It’s
a step forward, not just from the capability gap we’ve
had over the past 10 years, but prior to that as well.”
Air Commodore (Air Cdre) Ian Gale, Assistant
Chief of Staff for Command and Control, Intelligence
Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C2ISR), and
SRO (Senior Responsible Owner) for the P-8A
Poseidon programme, has a very clear vision of
what will be needed from the platform. “I want
it to be flexible in its response option capacities
and I want it to be lethal, because it will need
to complete the kill chain where necessary.”

RANGE OF WEAPON SYSTEMS
Regarding the latter, the P-8A can be equipped with a
remarkable range of weaponry, from torpedoes, mines,
depth charges and sonobuoys in its weapons bay to air-
to-surface and air-to-air missiles installed on underwing
hardpoints. The on-board ELINT and other technology is

also cutting-edge. “What you try to do is create a calm,

quiet, easy environment to do the work of listening,

watching and communicating,” says Air Cdre Gale.

“The aircraft is an excellent platform that has a

magnificent reliability and serviceability rate, both as the

Boeing 737 and in the US Navy as the P-8A. Also, the

mission kit is significantly ahead of what is being used

presently for MPA tasks. It has a wide-ranging set of

sensors, including a very advanced surface-scanning

radar able to detect very small objects on the surface

at very long range.” Air Cdre Gale also considers the

P-8’s synthetic aperture radar and MX-20 electro-

optic sensor the best available on the market today.

All of these features, when matched with Poseidon’s

ability to deploy an unrivalled amount of both active and

passive sonobuoys, along with the computing power

to monitor large numbers of them simultaneously,

make it an incredibly potent detection system.

FUTURE INTEGRATION

Other intelligence-gathering opportunities, such as

integrating with Remotely Piloted Air Systems (RPAS),

await future decisions. The Poseidon was designed

to operate in conjunction with the MQ-4C Triton

RPAS, with both the American and Australian navies

currently testing and developing their own Triton-

based tactics. However, the UK has no current plans

to procure Triton, opting instead for the Protector

RPAS which is due to replace the Reaper RPAS. If there

does turn out to be a maritime role for Protector, it

will be integrated with the P-8, “but it’s too early to

put any detail on that just yet,” says Air Cdre Gale.

As a recent Station Commander at RAF

Lossiemouth, Air Cdre Gale feels its turnaround

in fortunes has been quite remarkable, with his

successor now also focusing on the upcoming arrival

of additional Typhoons as well as the first P-8As.

And while attention is naturally now concentrated

on bringing the P-8A to Lossiemouth to perform its

primary functions, he notes that, as the RAF transitions

to become a next-generation air force, “all our

capabilities and platforms need to be interoperable

and work together for joint effect. The P-8, the F-35

and the Typhoon will all share a network, will all

share tasking and will all be interoperable.”

Enormous

computing power

and ergonomic

workstations offer

surveillance experts

unparalleled

capabilities

(PHOTOS: US NAVY MASS

COMMUNICATION

SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS

JASON KOFONOW)

“The aircraft is an excellent

platform that has a

magnificent reliability and

serviceability rate”