Hindu Power two.-

Indian Naval Aviation received a major fillip with the arrival of the first of eight Boeing P-8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance and Anti Submarine Warfare aircraft at Naval Air Station Rajali, Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu on 15 may 13.

Vice Admiral Bimal Verma, AVSM, Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command presided over the event that was attended by Commodore Puneet Bahl, Commanding Officer, INS Rajali, representatives from the Command and Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of defence (Navy) as well.

The P-8I aircraft, based on the Boeing 737-800(NG) airframe, is the Indian Naval variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing has developed for the US Navy. The aircraft is equipped with both foreign as well as indigenous sensors for Maritime Reconnaissance, Anti Submarine operations and for Electronic Intelligence missions. The aircraft is fully integrated with state of the art sensors and highly potent Anti Surface and Anti Submarine weapons. India is procuring 12 P-8I Neptune Maritime Multimission Aircraft (MMA) aircraft for use by the Indian Navy under a deal worth more than $3 billion. It is being built by a Boeing-led industry team that includes CFM International, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Spirit AeroSystems and GE Aviation. The P-8Is will replace Indian Navy's antiquated fleet of eight Russian Tu-142M maritime reconnaissance aircraft.

 

 

On January 1, 2009, India inked a $2.1 billion deal with Boeing for the supply of 8 customized P-8I Poseidon Maritime Multimission Aircraft (MMA), designated P-8I, for use by the Indian Navy. It is the biggest ever defense deal between India and the US, surpassing the 2007 $962 million deal for the supply of six C-130J 'Super Hercules' aircraft for Indian special forces. The commercial deal between India and Boeing does not include armaments which will be supplied through the foreign military sales system. India, along with Australia, is among the first foreign buyers of the Poseidon system, which is yet to be inducted into the US Navy. The U.S. Navy plans to purchase 108 P8As to replace its fleet of P3C aircraft. The first aircraft was flight tested in 2009 and initial operational capability is slated for 2013.

 

In October 2010, MOD cleared the purchase of 4 more P-8I aircraft that were on option, taking the total procurement to 12. The order is expected to be placed within FY 2011-12. Indian Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma told India Strategic defence magazine's December issue that the Navy planned to procure 12 more P-8Is for offshore surveillance and protection, bringing the total order to 24.

 

The first P8I Poseidon arrived at INAS Rajali on May 15, 2013. Two more aircraft are to delivered within 2013, and the remaining 5, before 2015. They will all be based at INAS Rajali in Arakkonam on the Tamil Nadu coast. According to the schedule negotiated with Boeing, India was to receive its first P-8I in 2013, with delivery of the remaining seven aircraft expected to be completed by 2015-16.

 

 

The first P-8I scheduled for delivery to India made its maiden flight on Wednesday, September 28, 2011, taking off from Renton Field at 12:02 p.m. Pacific time and landing 2 hr 31 min later at Boeing Field in Seattle. The aircraft commenced its operational flight test program on July 7, 2012 taking off from Boeing Field in Seattle at 9:15 a.m. and landing three hours and 49 minutes later after demonstrating flying qualities and handling characteristics. The flight went as planned with all test objectives met. During the flight, Boeing test pilots performed airborne systems checks including engine accelerations and decelerations and autopilot flight modes, and took the P-8I to a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet prior to landing. In the coming weeks Boeing will begin mission systems installation and checkout work on the aircraft at a company facility near Boeing Field.

 

"Today's flight is another on-time milestone for the program," said Leland Wight, Boeing P-8I program manager. "We'll start out testing the P-8I's mission system, which includes its sensors and communication systems. The team then will transition to 'stores' tests during which the P-8I will carry inert weapon shapes under its wings to demonstrate that the aircraft is capable of carrying all the weapons the Indian Navy will use during regular missions." The stores the P-8I will carry will have the identical shape and size of real weapons, including the Harpoon anti-ship missile, depth bombs and torpedoes.

 

 

The P-8Is will be based at INS Rajali, Arakkonam Naval Air Station in Tamil Nadu, which is currently home base for Indian Navy's 312 Squadron which operates eight Tupolev Tu-142MK-E Aircraft (Bear F mod 3 export variant). The aircraft entered service in the Indian Air Force in 1986 and are equipped for maritime patrol and Anti-Surface Warfare, reconnaissance, air-sea rescue and search and rescue.

 

 

The Poseidon has a 1,200+ nautical miles range, with 4 hours on station. Its range / time on station can be considerably enhanced with in-flight refueling. It is designed to fly low and slow through the weather, unlike the 737-800; the 737 upswept winglets have been replaced with raked-back wingtips, better suited for icy conditions. The aircraft will be armed with sonobuoys, torpedos and Harpoon anti-ship missiles. So far India has not conveyed to Boeing any interest in arming the aircraft with the Brahmos missiles.

 

For spotting and tracking threats it is equipped with:

• An upgraded Raytheon APS137 Maritime Surveillance Radar designated AN/APY-10 with 240 degrees forward coverage.
• Telephonics APS-143C(V)3 Multi-Mode Radar (MMR) for aft coverage. The radar is also fitted on aircraft such as the USCG HC-144A Maritime Patrol Aircraft, and HU-25D Falcon Jet. The APS-143 is featured on most international S-70 Naval Hawk helicopters and certain NH-90, Super Lynx and other Maritime Helicopters. The forward and aft radars will together give the Neptune a 360° surveillance capability against airborne targets.
• Electro-optical / infrared sensors from Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems.
• A rotary internal re loadable pneumatically controlled sonobuoy launcher.
• Canadian firm CAE's AN/ASQ-508A Advanced Integrated Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) System.
• SIGINT equipment.

 

Raytheon will supply an international version of the AN/APY-10 radar for use on the P-8I. The radar is capable of long-range surface search and target tracking, periscope detection in high sea states, ship imaging and classification using Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR), and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for overland surveillance, ground mapping, and targeting. High-resolution ISAR can be used to image and classify small, fast-moving vessels that operate close to the shore. SAR facilitates imaging stationary ships and boats as well as coastal and overland surveillance. The new SAR mode in the AN/APY-10 provides multiple resolution strip map and spot SAR operation, and has high-resolution capability for target ID, battle damage assessment (BDA), and targeting.

 

 

Self Protection Suite:

• Towed Decoy Self Protection.
• Infrared countermeasures.

Weapon Suite:

At the Singapore air show in February 2010, Boeing revealed that the Indian Navy had sought Raytheon Fish Hawk GPS-guidance wing kit along with MK-54 anti-submarine torpedoes as part of the weapons package. On June 27, 2011, the American Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified the US Congress of the sale of 32 Mk-54 lightweight torpedoes for around $86 million, including associated equipment, spares and logistical support. The torpedoes, said DSCA, will "provide enhanced capabilities in effective defence of critical sea lines of communication". The torpedoes are honed to counter quiet diesel-electric submarines operating in the shallow-water littoral to arm its P-8I fleet.

 

The Mk-54 torpedo can be released from a height of 20,000 feet using a glide kit consisting of wings, control flaps, a flight control computer, battery and GPS for navigation. The kit enables the torpedo to glide for 10-15 kilometers, down to about 100 meters altitude. The kit is then jettisoned and the torpedo plunges into the water to seek out the target sub. Releasing the torpedo from a height allows the aircraft to continue with its surveillance and stay outside the range of any anti-aircraft missile equipped submarine.

 

 

The aircraft will be equipped with Harpoon Block II anti-ship missile systems. India has signed a package worth $200 million (over Rs 900 crore) for the supply of 21 missile along with associated equipment, parts and logistical support under FMS. India earlier purchased Harpoon Block II missiles for use with the maritime versions of Jaguar aircraft based in Pune.

The aircraft will feature some electronic equipment built by the Electronics Corporation of India Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited. The P-8I has five identical mission operator consoles, with each having the ability to select which sensor they want to study with two observer stations. The aircraft is designed for user to expand and configure 21 crew seats.