South Korea’s Poseidons May Be Called P-8K, Feature Some Local Systems

A well-informed source during ADEX 2021 (the Seoul Air Show held last month) confirmed on the condition of anonymity that the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy will procure 6 P-8 Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) by 2024, at the price of 2 trillion KRW which includes operational training, equipment, and necessary facilities. The aircraft could be designated P-8K and feature some South Korean equipment.

Daehan Lee report with extra report by Xavier Vavasseur

The beginning P-8 is expected to arrive in 2022. The name of Poseidon MPAs in ROK Navy service could be tentatively dubbed as P-8K, but a final decision on this is silent to be made, Naval News has learned .

Boeing told that South Korea will be able to maintain the P-8s locally, like Boeing 737 aircrafts. Both Korean Air and Korean Aerospace Industries ( KAI ) were responsible for the maintenance of P-3 Orion aircrafts, but another rival will select the companies in charge of the P-8 maintenance .

As the ROK Navy presently uses 6 P-3Cs and P-3CK since 2010 and the Navy might have to consider purchasing new P-8 Poseidons to replace them in 2030, a person at Boeing booth conservatively showed promise that the Korean Navy could possibly purchase more P-8s, confirming that South Korea is preparing for the request to replace 8 P-3C aircrafts by the 2030s .

Regarding the shape of the likely “ P-8K ” aircraft, Boeing said it is impossible to precisely know functional differences between the original U.S. Poseidons and Korean Poseidons. specially about what kinds of systems would be added or removed and what kind of south korean equipment would be added. Boeing flatly told Naval News that there is technical sensitivity that should be discussed by higher levels, since the P-8 export is a contribution of FMS ( extraneous military sales ), meaning that it is the agenda to be agreed between governments and navies .

The indian Navy so army for the liberation of rwanda is the only P-8 customer to fly a “ custom-make ” adaptation of the aircraft, known as the P-8I Neptune. The P-8I features specific equipments for the amerind Navy not fitted on the P-8A. These include a Telephonics APS-143 OceanEye aft radar and a magnetic anomaly detector ( MAD ) .

According to a document from the U.S. Defense Cooperation Agency, it is expected that the ROK Navy purchased P-8s without electronic war devices such as AN/ALQ-218 RWR/ESM/ELINT system, AN/ALQ-213 ( V ) EWMS, hydrocarbon detection arrangement, and AN/AQQ-24 DIRCM .

About the P-8A MPA

Australian P-8 Poseidon with anti-ship missiles. Source: Boeing

The P-8A is a long-range multi-mission nautical patrol aircraft capable of broad-area, maritime and littoral operations. A military derivative of the Boeing Commercial Next-Generation 737 airplane, the P-8A combines lake superior performance and dependability with an advanced mission system that ensures maximum interoperability in the conflict distance .

The P-8A is militarized with nautical weapons, a modern open mission system computer architecture, and commercial-like support for affordability. The aircraft has been modified to include a bomb calorimeter bay and pylons for weapons – two weapons stations on each wing – and can carry 129 sonobuoys. The aircraft is besides fitted with an in-flight refuel system. With more than 180,000 fledge hours to date, P-8 variants, the P-8A Poseidon and the P-8I, patrol the globe performing anti-submarine and anti-surface war ; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ; humanitarian ; and research and rescue missions .

Germany is the latest nation to have acquired the P-8, joining the United States, Australia, India, the United Kingdom, Norway, Korea and New Zealand. The U.S. Navy is on contract to receive 111 with the likely for extra quantities based on the fleet ’ south needs. As a cooperative spouse with the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Program Office, Australia began receiving their P-8A aircraft in 2016 ; both New Zealand and South Korea have signed agreements with the U.S. Navy to purchase four and six aircraft respectively. Norway ’ s first Poseidon took flight this Summer.