Boeing offers P-8A to replace Canada's CP-140 patrol fleet

A P-8A Poseidon, assigned to Patrol Squadron (VP) 30, flies over the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mike DiMestico/Released)

WASHINGTON: Boeing will offer the P-8A Poseidon, a long-range maritime patrol aircraft currently flown by several militaries, to the Royal Canadian Air Force as a replacement for the CP-140 Aurora aircraft, the company announced today.

The CP-140 Aurora, built and first flown by Lockheed Martin in the late 1970s, is based off the P-3 Orion. The Canadian Royal Air Force recently published a request for information to replace the Aurora with a “Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft,” according to a Feb. 10 Boeing statement. The P-8 is flown by military aviators from the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Norway, South Korea and Germany.

“The range, speed, and endurance of the P-8 makes it the perfect platform to monitor Canada’s northern and maritime approaches and the P-8 will ensure allied interoperability to meet Canada’s security commitments. Coupled with a robust industrial partnership plan, Boeing’s offer will build on its successful record of contributing to Canada’s economic growth throughout the life of the CMMA program,” Tim Flood, a Boeing executive, said in the statement.

Boeing’s offering to Canada comes as the US Navy is wrapping up production on the surveillance aircraft. In fiscal 2021, the service planned to purchase its last batch of nine aircraft and articulated in budget justification documents that future funding would be limited to associated support items and services.