Defence contractor L3Harris expects to overhaul and return seven P-8A Poseidon aircraft to the U.S. Navy by the end of 2025.
The firm revealed in a recent press statement that it had already returned the first airplane to Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) earlier this month, and was on track to hand back the other six on which it is conducting maintenance and repairs by the end of the calendar year.
The work is being carried out at L3Harris’ facility Waco, Texas. The programme, which covers all 139 aircraft in Navair’s fleet, started last year and is expected to run until September 2029.
President of the firm’s ISR division Jason Lambert commented: “We’re keeping the Navy’s fleet mission-ready with this first P-8A delivery.”
He added: “Our proven expertise in aircraft maintenance enables us to enhance performance and extend fleet longevity.”
The P-8A Poseidon is the U.S. Navy’s variant of the P-8, a military version of Boeing’s 737 Next Generation commercial platform used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), anti-submarine warfare (ASW), and anti-surface warfare (ASUW).
The P-8A platform can be armed with a range of projectiles including Harpoon and AGM-84K SLAM-ER anti-ship missiles and Mk 54 and Sting Ray torpedoes. They can also deploy naval mines and depth charges.
Several other countries also operate the P-8A, including Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, and South Korea, and the U.K. (which calls it the MRA1).
- You can read more details about the maintenance programme on the L3Harris website