Indian Navy receives 9th P-8I reconnaissance aircraft at naval airbase INS Hansa in Goa

Indian Navy received the ninth P-8I aircraft at its Goa Naval Airbase, INS Hansa on Wednesday morning, November 18. This P-8I aircraft is the first of the four additional aircraft which were ordered by the Indian Government under the $1.1 billion follow-on order with the US. This move is aimed at boosting the anti-submarine warfare capabilities of the Indian Navy in the Western seaboard. This reconnaissance aircraft is reportedly equipped with the latest sensors. 

Speaking to Republic Media Network an official source said, "The TU-142M had a runway restriction so they could land at the Naval Airbase in Goa, INS Hansa, but with a lot of restrictions. Because the runway requirement of P-8I is much lesser than TU-142M, it has allowed us to enhance our range on the Western seaboard as the P-8I is easier to accommodate and there is no issue."

"P-8I aircraft was acquired to replace Long-Range Maritime Patrol (LRMP) aircraft TU-142M the Russian legacy which was based On the Eastern coast in Arakkonam. These LRMP aircraft were based in Naval Airbase INS Rajali in Arakkonam, which is about 80 km from Chennai, as the entire infrastructure required to facilitate these aircraft were based there. This is why initially the P-8Is were based there (INS Rajali)," informed the source. 

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P-8I in Indian Navy 

The P-8I is the Indian variant of Boeing's P-8A Poseidon aircraft which was developed to replace the old P-3 fleet of the United States Navy. With the conclusion of January 2009 $2.1 billion deal with the United States for eight aircraft, Indian Navy became the first international customer for the P-8 aircraft. The P-8I aircraft was first inducted in the Indian Navy in 2013 and soon after in 2016, India's Ministry of Defence placed another other for four additional P-8I aircraft under a $1.1 billion deal with the United States. In 2019, procurement of another batch of six reconnaissance aircraft P-8I has been approved by the Indian government. 

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The reconnaissance aircraft P-8I is equipped with long-range anti-submarine warfare along with anti-surface warfare. It also has intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for the support of several maritime operations along with broad area and littoral ops. The surveillance aircraft's communication and sensor systems include indigenous equipment which has been developed by defence PSUs as well as private manufacturers. The P-8I has high speed as well as a high endurance capacity of about 10 hours. In the past, P-8Is have been deployed along the International Borders in Ladakh and Sikkim to monitor the Chinese troops. It was also deployed to monitor the movement of Pakistani troops after the 2019 Pulwama terror attack. 

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Boeing P-8 Poseidon

Developed by the United States Navy and produced by Boeing Defense, Space & Security, P-8I is the Indian variant of Boeing P-8 Poseidon which is a military surveillance aircraft. Operated by the United States Navy, Indian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force as well as Britain's Royal Air Force, P-8 is armed with torpedoes, Harpoon anti-ship missiles along with several other weapons. It can also monitor and drop sonobuoys and operates in collaboration with other assets including maritime surveillance unmanned aerial vehicles.

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(With inputs from ANI & PTI)