First flight of the Norwegian P-8

Two hours and 24 minutes: that's how long the maiden flight of the first P-8A for the Norwegian Air Force took on 9 August. On the flight from Renton Municipal Airport to Boeing Field in Seattle, a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet was reached. Following the transfer to Boeing's Installation and Checkout Facility, the mission systems will be installed and the complete weapon system will then undergo extensive functional tests. So far, production of the aircraft is on schedule, meaning that handover to Norway is still planned for this year. "The first flight is an important milestone for Norway and the team at Boeing remains committed to delivering the P-8 fleet to the Norwegian procurement authority on schedule," said Chris Thomsen, manager of the P-8 programme in Europe.
Norway has ordered a total of five Poseidons. The aircraft will replace six obsolete P-3 Orions and DA-20 Jet Falcons. With the introduction of the P-8A, the aircraft will be based at Evenes Air Station, around one hundred kilometres to the south-east of Andoya. In addition to submarine hunting, the tasks of the new aircraft also include reconnaissance, observation and tracking of ships as well as SAR missions.

To date, Boeing has delivered 136 P-8 aircraft. In addition to the main customer, the US Navy, the Poseidon is also flown by the Royal Australian Air Force, the Indian Navy and the British Navy. Korea and New Zealand have also decided to purchase the P-8. In order to be able to replace the P-3s, which were once purchased by the Dutch and have since become outdated, towards the middle of this decade, the German parliament has also recently spoken out in favour of procuring the P-8A.

Text: mb; Photo: Boeing