The US Navy has taken delivery of the second set of P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance training devices from Boeing at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, US.
The devices include an operational flight trainer (OFT), a weapons tactics trainer (WTT) and four electronic classrooms.
Boeing Training Systems and Government Services vice president Mark McGraw said that the trainers provide improved concurrency with the aircraft configuration and will also assist the Navy with comprehensive instruction for the crew in preparation for operational capability in mid-2013.
"Unlike previously delivered tactics trainers, it can be used to train multiple mission operators at the same time," McGraw added.
The WTT features five mission-crew workstations and five instructor-operator stations and has been designed to train mission crew to operate the P-8A Poseidon aircraft’s sensor and communications systems in addition to control and deploy its weapons.
The full-motion, full-visual OFT can be integrated with WTT for a complete P-8A Weapons Systems Trainer and can also be used as a stand-alone trainer.
Boeing is scheduled to deliver seven more OFTs and four more WTTs in addition to two Part-Task Trainers and more than two dozen classrooms and attendant courseware to the Navy by the end of 2013.
The navy has plans to purchase 117 P-8A aircraft to replace its existing turbo-prop P-3 Orion fleet and the initial operational capability is scheduled for 2013.
The Boeing-led team for the construction of the P-8A aircraft includes CFM International, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Spirit AeroSystems and GE Aviation.
The Poseidon is a long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence aircraft capable of conducting broad-area, maritime and littoral operations.
P-8A has been designed to support anti-submarine warfare, shipping interdiction, engage in an electronic intelligence role and to operate in conjunction with the broad area maritime surveillance unmanned aerial vehicle.
Image: The US Navy’s Boeing-built P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft lands at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, US. Photo: Randy Hepp.
