Boeing P-8I maritime recce aircraft for Indian Navy debuts
30 Sep 2011
Bangalore: Boeing successfully carried out the debut flight of the first P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft for the Indian Navy at the Boeing Field in Seattle.
Boeing test pilots performed airborne systems checks and took the P-8I to a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet prior to landing in the course of the flight which lasted two hours and 31 minutes, Boeing said in a statement here.
In the coming weeks, Boeing will begin mission systems installation and checkout work on the aircraft at a company facility near Boeing Field.
"The P-8I programme is progressing well and we are looking forward to this potent platform joining the Indian Navy as part of its fleet," Rear Admiral DM Sudan, assistant chief of naval staff (air), indian navy, was quoted as saying.
"The P-8I will provide India with the necessary speed and reliability to satisfy the Indian Navy's maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare requirements," Boeing India president Dinesh Keskar said.
Based on the Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 commercial airframe, the P-8I is the Indian Navy variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing is developing for the US Navy, he added.
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