While walking around the P-8A Poseidon on the ramp at Andrews, we asked VP-16 commanding officer Cmdr. Molly Boron how long the trip up from Jacksonville had taken. About an hour and a half, she answered. In the P-3C the same flight would have taken more than three hours. Speed is a key difference between the two patrol airplanes, the P-3 cruising at around 300 knots and the P-8 at about 500. With each of its CFM-56-7 engines producing 27,000 pounds max thrust, the Poseidon’s climb performance far exceeds the P-3C’s.

The P-8, which combines the Boeing 737-800 fuselage with the 737-900 wing, is also considerably larger, with more area for an aircrew which consists of fewer hands. Orions fly with a crew of eleven, but Poseidons will fly with nine, including three pilots, two NFOs, two ASW acoustic operators and two non-acoustic operators.

The P-8, which combines the Boeing 737-800 fuselage with the 737-900 wing, is also considerably larger, with more area for an aircrew which consists of fewer hands. Orions fly with a crew of eleven, but Poseidons will fly with nine, including three pilots, two NFOs, two ASW acoustic operators and two non-acoustic operators. The P-8 carries no flight engineer or inflight technician. Rather than sitting at forward-facing tactical workstations as in the P-3C, P-8 NFOs/ tactical operators sit along one “rail” on the port side of the aircraft.

While baseline P-8s will deploy with the same capabilities as the P-3C, pipeline capability improvements slated for Increment 2 and Increment 3 have caused some confusion about the operational profile of the Poseidon. Chief among these is the High Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare System (HAASW), which uses modified sonobuoy sensors that will allow the aircraft to operate at higher altitudes. This enables greater communications range with large area buoy fields and greater coverage from other onboard non-acoustic sensors. The assumption is that the P-8A won’t be “going-low” in search mode.

The P-8A’s sensor suite, radar and data link systems can not only gather more (and more precise) data, they can fuse that data into a common operational picture and push it to other platforms in a fashion the P-3C cannot. A notable omission is the magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) system and the empennage boom which gave the P-3 its characteristic stinger tail. According to Rear Adm. Buck, analysis showed that the P-8’s sensor package (including the latest Multi-Static Active Coherent sonobuoys) would be able to perform all primary mission sets without the MAD system.

The airplane will initially deploy with weapons capability similar to that of the Orion, carrying the Mk. 54 torpedo and AGM-84 Harpoon. The P-8 will not initially be equipped with mines nor will it carry AGM-84K SLAM-ER missiles. Those capabilities are expected later this decade. The bomb bay is located aft of the main gear on the P-8 as opposed to forward of the gear on the P-3C.

Newness not only brings reliability, it brings refinement. Compared with the P-3C, lower levels of vibration and noise, better cabin cooling, and a more flexible wing offering a better ride combine to significantly reduce crew fatigue. With a required 10.5 hour endurance — the same as the P-3C – the P-8A’s improved environmentals will surely improve efficiency, as will its speed.

In the aft quarter of the aircraft access to sonobuoy racks and rotary/pressurized launchers is much improved over the P-3C. Walking the length of the interior, you’re struck by the biggest difference between the P-8A and the P-3C. The areas for mission equipment, storage, the communications rack, tactical workstations, the flight deck and crew rest areas are roomy, efficient and new.

“The greatest improvement from the P-8 to the P-3 right now is the overall reliability of the system,” Buck acknowledges.

Newness not only brings reliability, it brings refinement. Compared with the P-3C, lower levels of vibration and noise, better cabin cooling, and a more flexible wing offering a better ride combine to significantly reduce crew fatigue. With a required 10.5 hour endurance — the same as the P-3C – the P-8A’s improved environmentals will surely improve efficiency, as will its speed.

“A big difference is the broad area search capability of the P-8A,” Buck asserts. “In an ASW search, she can cover a significantly greater body of water and she carries the weapons to go through the entire kill chain. She gets to and from the on-station area much quicker because of her dash speed and her ability to climb.”

With its aircrew trained to refuel the aircraft, the P-8A can drop into commercial airfields practically anywhere, get gas, and go. The Poseidon will also have an aerial refueling capability. Starting in 2015 P-8A aircrews will begin air-to-air refueling training, and all 12 squadrons will be capable by 2020.

While baseline P-8s will deploy with the same capabilities as the P-3C, pipeline capability improvements slated for Increment 2 and Increment 3 have caused some confusion about the operational profile of the Poseidon. Chief among these is the High Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare System (HAASW), which uses modified sonobuoy sensors that will allow the aircraft to operate at higher altitudes. This enables greater communications range with large area buoy fields and greater coverage from other onboard non-acoustic sensors. The assumption is that the P-8A won’t be “going-low” in search mode.

“With the [more] flexible wings, the crew isn’t getting bounced around as much as in the P-3. It flies very smoothly down low.”

“The employment will be very similar [to the P-3],” Buck counters. “A myth that I’d like to bust is that the P-8 is not able to fly low. This initial lot of aircraft with the Mk.54 torpedo system will fly a very similar profile to the P-3. They’ll go down low. We fly the P-8 in a very similar flight regime to the P-3, and we will employ the Mk.54 from low altitude.”

How does it fly down in the waves?

“It’s quite a bit more comfortable,” Boron says. “With the [more] flexible wings, the crew isn’t getting bounced around as much as in the P-3. It flies very smoothly down low.”

Low altitude will not preclude the aircraft from sharing sensor data thanks to its satellite communication suite. The flight deck includes a heads-up display for the pilots and all the digital avionics, ground proximity warning, traffic collision (TCAS) and other autonomous systems expected in a modern cockpit. The VP-16 pilots with whom we spoke praised the HUD, which allows them to keep their heads above the instrument panel, particularly at low altitude. Likewise, the TCAS and radar increase situational awareness dramatically, and the autopilot reduces pilot fatigue.

Back at the interchangeable tactical workstations, the new displays, processor capability, ‘big picture’ fusion and layout are cited as big advantages. With all NFOs and operators along one rail, eye-to-eye communication is vastly better and operators can easily look at their neighbors’ screens.

“The five of them communicate very well together,” Boron affirms. “With the three [communications] nets that we have available to talk between the crew, integrating with the flight station and the pilots is easy. It is a mind-shift for former P-3 crew, but there’s been no issue.”

An example of the mind-shift Boron alludes to relates to the P-8’s cruise speed. VP-16 NFOs relate that the shorter flight times out to patrol/operating areas have removed the luxury of doing some mission planning/preparation en route. Because the Poseidon gets there so much faster, the mission-commander and his tactical operators must largely complete mission planning before manning the aircraft.

The P-8A also brings operational commonality with one of the most ubiquitous airliners flying. “It’s possible to operate where a 737 operates,” CDR Boron confirms. “We’re a little bit heavier, but that’s the only thing we have to take into consideration.”

With its aircrew trained to refuel the aircraft, the P-8A can drop into commercial airfields practically anywhere, get gas, and go. The Poseidon will also have an aerial refueling capability. While the Orion can refuel in the air, it has very rarely done so. Starting in 2015 P-8A aircrews will begin air-to-air refueling training, and all 12 squadrons will be capable by 2020.

Though its operational similarities with the P-3C are noteworthy, the patrol community has given transition and future operational training considerable thought.