The Defense Security Cooperation Agency confirmed on Friday that the US State Department has approved the sale of five P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol jets to Germany.
Because it involves national security issues, the acquisition of Boeing aircraft must be approved by the US government. According to the agency, the supply of the P-8A is justified “by improving the security of a NATO Ally which is an important force for political and economic stability in Europe.”
Germany currently operates eight very old Lockheed P-3C Orion turboprops, purchased from the Netherlands. The government even contracted an aircraft upgrade project, but the program was canceled after it became clear that the improvements would be marginal.
The potential agreement is expected to reach $1.77 billion and includes several other systems such as MIDS JTRS 5 (communication), LN-251 (global positioning), APY-10 radar and AN / ALE-47 electronic countermeasure dispensers, among others .
If the purchase is confirmed soon, Germany will become the third European country to use the P-8A Poseidon, after the United Kingdom and Norway. Boeing was also contracted to supply the aircraft to India, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, in addition to the US Navy, its largest customer.
The P-8A is a maritime patrol and reconnaissance platform based on the 737-800 jetliner. The aircraft can fly for more than 10 hours and 4,000 nautical miles without refueling and carry 20,000 pounds of payload. Among the items carried by Poseidon are four Harpoon anti-ship missiles, five torpedoes and 129 sonobuoys.
