India is the first international customer for the P-8. Boeing will deliver the first P-8I within 48 months of the contract signing, and the remaining seven by 2015.
These planes would be replacing the eight Russian origin Tuolev-142Ms, which India currently uses for maritime reconnaissance, said the Rear Admiral, Mr S.M. Vadgaokar, NM, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Air), on Saturday Dec. 12 2009.
Speaking to reporters after the passing out parade of the 73rd batch of helicopter conversion course at the INS Rajali in Arakkonam, the rear admiral said that the government had signed an agreement with the company this year.
“The deal is finally through and we will receive the first P-8I in 2013 while the remaining seven will be procured in a phased manner over the next three or four years,” he said.
The P-8I aircraft are likely to be armed with Harpoon missiles, torpedoes and depth bombs to give them potent anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capability.
The Boeing P-8I multi-mission aircraft is a variant of the US Navy's P-8A maritime warplane. The system uses a Boeing 737-800 platform.
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