VP-30 receives 15th low rate initial production P-8A aircraft, deliveries remain on schedule

August 06, 2014

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VP-30 receives 15th low rate initial production P-8A aircraft, deliveries remain on schedule

NAVAL AIR STATION JACKSONVILLE, Florida – Sailors from Fleet Replacement Squadron, VP-30, receives and parks the 15th low rate initial production P-8A Poseidon aircraft Aug. 5 on the flightline at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida. (U.S. Navy photo/released)

The U.S. Navy delivered the 15 th P-8A Poseidon aircraft Aug. 5 to Fleet Replacement Squadron, VP-30, at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida.

“This aircraft adds to our growing fleet of P-8As and bolsters our capacity to begin the transition of the fourth P-8 squadron in Jacksonville. Eventually this aircraft will become a part of the P-8A deployment cycle and continue to build on the successes of the first P-8A deployment,” said Capt. Sean Liedman, commodore of Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11, Jacksonville, Florida.“Throughout the P-8A’s maiden operational deployment, the reliability of P-8 were proven over the course of executing 17 detachments throughout the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean region, including  detachments to the Republic of the Philippines, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. Each of those detachments were executed with only a small level of expeditionary maintenance support, yet maintained high mission completion rates.”

This delivery follows on the heels of the first-ever operational deployment for the P-8A Poseidon.

“Fleet P-8 aircraft and aircrew continue to impress, adding to accomplishments that began with last year’s initial operational capability and first deployment and will continue as we expand the capabilities of a rapidly growing inventory,” said Capt. Scott Dillon, program manager of Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Program Office (PMA-290), Patuxent River, Maryland.

Last month, the first P-8A Poseidon squadron from NAS Jacksonville, Patrol Squadron 16 (VP-16), returned from its maiden operational deployment with the Navy’s newest maritime patrol aircraft. The War Eagles of VP-16 operated out of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan, and supported the commander of Task Force (CTF) 72 throughout the Western Pacific area of operation with anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, maritime domain awareness, search and rescue, carrier strike group coordination and theater security cooperation missions.

According to the commanding officer of VP-16, Cmdr. Dan Papp, the P-8A met or exceeded all expectations during its maiden deployment to the Western Pacific.

“The P-8A exceeded P-3 performance in every historical measure of performance, including mission completion rate, on-time takeoff rate, number of in-flight aborts, and persistence at range,” Papp said. “[The P-8A] proved to be a game-changer for Theater Anti-Submarine Warfare (TASW) in the western Pacific due to its increased range and endurance, higher dash speed to get to the area of action faster, and larger passive search area due to its capability to process 64 vice 32 sonobuoys.  Additionally, P-8's acoustic processor demonstrated better reliability and longer passive detection ranges than a P-3.”

Over the course of the seven-month deployment, the P-8A became the platform of choice for long-range maritime domain awareness, and Search and Rescue missions due to its increased range and endurance.  The higher transit speed of a P-8 resulted in more on-station time during the execution of long-range missions, Papp said.

Papp added that the ALQ-240 Electronic Support Measures (ESM) system significantly extended the tactical surveillance range of the P-8A and enabled aircrews to quickly locate surface contacts of interest in the dense maritime environment of the Western Pacific. In addition to the ESM system’s performance, he also explained that the datalink and sensor fusion capability of the P-8 significantly enhanced aircrew situational awareness and enabled higher-fidelity tactical reporting to operational commanders.

“P-8 demonstrated high levels of SIPRNET chat, Link 16, and Link 11 connectivity, which enabled aircrews to better integrate with U.S. and Allied naval and joint platforms operating in the Western Pacific,” Papp added.

Not only did VP-16 conduct various operational missions while deployed, the squadron also conducted demonstrations for high-ranking officials from Allies and partners such as Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Malaysia.

"The high quality work of the P-8A team has made this fleet delivery possible. We look forward to having continued successes within the program,” Dillon said.

The P-8A Poseidon is replacing the P-3C Orion as a long-range anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, capable of broad-area, maritime and littoral operations.

Source : Naval Air Systems Command