The U.S. Navy has awarded Boeing a $3.4 billion contract to begin manufacturing 14 P-8A Poseidon aircraft for the Royal Canadian Air Force and three additional P-8s for the German Navy. In November 2023, Canada announced its decision to acquire the P-8A Poseidon to replace its current fleet of CP-140 Auroras. The first P-8A for Canada is expected to deliver in 2026. With the P-8 acquisition, Boeing’s economic commitments to Canada have the potential to generate annual benefits of more than 3,000 jobs for Canadian industry and value-chain partners, and at least $358 million to Canada’s gross domestic product over a 10-year period. Canada’s Team Poseidon includes CAE, GE Aviation Canada, IMP Aerospace & Defence, KF Aerospace, Honeywell Aerospace Canada, Raytheon Canada, and StandardAero. The team builds on 81 Canadian suppliers to the P-8 platform and more than 550 suppliers across all provinces contributing to Boeing’s annual ~CAD $4 billion in economic benefit to Canada, supporting more than 14,000 Canadian jobs.
“Our global customers require proven advanced capabilities to protect their countries — the P-8 provides that defense. Together with our partners, we look forward to delivering this unmatched capability in addition to significant industrial benefits for Canada’s and Germany’s aerospace and defense industries,” said Vince Logsdon, vice president, International Business Development for Boeing Defense, Space & Security and Global Services.
“We are proud to add Canada to the list of international P-8 partners as well as to Germany’s fleet of maritime patrol aircraft,” said Philip June, vice president and program manager, P-8A program. “The Poseidon is a proven aircraft, with more than 600,000 flight hours, that will serve Canada and Germany well in today’s challenging security environment and for decades to come.”
Artist’s rendering of Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft for Germany (Photo by Boeing)
Following the initial procurement of five P-8 aircraft in June 2021, Germany added three additional aircraft to bring the total number of P-8s for the German Navy to eight. The first aircraft will be delivered in 2025, to replace the country’s fleet of P-3 Orions. In Germany, Boeing has partnered with ESG Elektroniksystem-und Logistik-GmbH and Lufthansa Technik to deliver systems integration, training, support and sustainment work that will bring the highest operational availability to fulfill the German Navy’s missions. Last year, Boeing and CAE signed teaming agreements to expand multi-mission platform collaboration in Canada, Germany and Norway. These agreements use the complementary capabilities of each company to provide superior management, technical and cost-effective training solutions for the P-8A Poseidon program. There are 200 P-8s currently in service or on contract across nine countries including the United States, Australia, India, United Kingdom, Norway, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Germany and Canada.
The Boeing P-8 Poseidon is an American maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by Boeing Defense, Space & Security, and derived from the civilian Boeing 737-800. It was developed for the U.S. Navy. The P-8 operates in anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) roles. It is armed with torpedoes, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and other weapons, can drop and monitor sonobuoys, and can operate in conjunction with other assets, including the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The P-8 is operated by the United States Navy, the Indian Navy, the Royal Australian Air Force, the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force, the Royal Norwegian Air Force and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. It has also been ordered by the Republic of Korea Navy, and the German Navy. The Royal Canadian Air Force announced it is ordering 14 P-8 aircraft with options for 2 more in November 2023.
Artist’s rendering of Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft for Canada. (Photo by Boeing)
