Photo: The Great Green Fleet (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nathan Burke/Released)
Adversarial nations have been building their naval forces. The United States, however, still holds the advantage of a technologically advanced Navy. We must ensure that it remains technically superior by maintaining and improving our ability to respond to threats. That means investing in the equipment our service members need for this fight.
The P-8 Poseidon is an American maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft developed for the Navy. It operates in anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance roles. It is armed with torpedoes, anti-ship missiles and other weapons. It can drop and monitor sonobuoys and operate in conjunction with other assets. The P-8 Poseidon will play a central role in future U.S. naval conflicts.
Airborne systems are critical to finding and neutralizing the submarine threat. The P-3 Orion capabilities were critical to the anti-submarine warfare mission, however that threat has evolved. The P-8A was developed to address the growing threat. Compared to P-3 Orion aircraft, the P-8A is faster, has greater range and can loiter on station longer. It has improved sensors and weapons. It provides the capability we need to counter a submarine fleet.
The P-8A Poseidon offers superior anti-submarine warfare capability and improved intelligence-gathering ability.
In a Newsweek article detailing the growing threat of submarine warfare, a Pentagon official noted that “the P-8 Poseidon is the best capability to … detect and monitor … submarines,” and that “the P-8 is the best answer to countering” adversarial submarine threats.
The platform is so capable that navies worldwide have begun acquiring the aircraft as threats grow. Its variants are being flown by international partners in India, the United Kingdom, Australia, Norway and New Zealand. Germany and South Korea are also moving forward with the P-8 Poseidon.
Erin Wertheim, editor of the Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleet of the World, noted that “the purchase of P-8 maritime patrol aircraft by international partners is as much a testament to the P-8’s multi-role maritime patrol capabilities.”
Despite its manifold benefit to the Navy and international partners, the Navy has not met its warfighting requirement of 138 P-8s. As it stands, Congress has only allocated funding for 128 aircraft, leaving a deficit in the Navy’s operational needs.
As the U.S. faces the real possibility of war in the Indo-Pacific, the need for reliable, capable and effective anti-submarine aircraft is more critical now than ever. We never hope for military engagement, but we must be prepared for it. Bringing our P-8 fleet up to its readiness requirement is one of the best ways to prepare for naval battles, whether they be in 2025 or beyond.
