Boeing has anounced the signing of a contract with the US Navy to supply five P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) to the German Navy. Deliveries will start in 2024 and will be completed in February 2025.
The aircraft will replace the second hand P-3C bought from The Netherlands a few years ago. The cost is 756.6 million $. The aircraft are being procured via the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route, which estimated the contract at a much higher value (1,750 million $).
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| German Navy P-8 concept (Boeing). |
The sale is a big success for the US industry against the European one. The German Navy had considered different proposals from European manufacturers (C295 and RAS 72 de Rheinland Air Service in MPA variants), but currently the P-8 Poseidon is the reference. It has flown more than 350,000 hours with 8 operators.
The acquisition casts a shadow of a doubt on the future MPA aircraft to be designed by Germany and France. It was supposed to replace both the German P-3C and French Atlantique 2. As a temporary solution France had offered Germany some Atlantique 2. On the other hand the German government has stated that the P-8 acquisition is a temporary solution, but US press releases state 30 years of operations.
The acquisition casts a shadow of a doubt on the future MPA aircraft to be designed by Germany and France. It was supposed to replace both the German P-3C and French Atlantique 2. As a temporary solution France had offered Germany some Atlantique 2. On the other hand the German government has stated that the P-8 acquisition is a temporary solution, but US press releases state 30 years of operations.
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