Washington, Dec 8 (IANS) A Boeing P-8I team has begun fabricating the first part for the Indian Navy’s first long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft in Wichita, Kansas.
The P-8I, based on the Boeing Next-Generation 737 commercial airplane, is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing is developing for the US Navy.
Employees at Spirit AeroSystems – where all Boeing Next-Generation 737 fuselages, nacelles and pylons are designed and built – cut the P-8I’s first part, a bonded aluminum panel that later will be installed on the fuselage’s upper lobe to support an antenna, a Boeing statement said.
The panel and other fuselage components will come together on Spirit’s existing Next-Generation 737 production line.
‘Today marks the P-8I program’s move from the design phase to the build phase,’ said Leland Wight, Boeing P-8I programme manager, adding: ‘We’re on schedule and the Indian Navy is looking forward to receiving its first plane.’
Spirit will ship the P-8I fuselage to a Boeing Commercial Airplanes facility in Renton, Washington, in mid-2011 for final assembly. After that, Boeing Defense, Space & Security employees will install mission systems and complete testing prior to delivery to India.
The first of eight P8Is that India has purchased in a $2.1 billion deal is slated for delivery around 2013, around the time the aircraft will achieve its initial operational capability (IOC) with the US Navy. India is the first international customer for the P-8.
‘P-8I fuselage sections are designed and built using the same processes we use on the commercial 737,’ said Mike King, Spirit AeroSystems Fuselage Segment senior vice president and general manager.
‘We’ve built seven P-8A fuselages to date and continue to increase efficiency as we move forward,’ King added.
‘The P-8I will provide India with speed, reliability, persistence and room for growth to satisfy the country’s maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare requirements now and well into the future,’ the Boeing statement said.
‘The aircraft features open system architecture, advanced sensor and display technologies, and a worldwide base of suppliers, parts and support equipment,’ the statement added.
Boeing, the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft combined, has significantly expanded its footprint in India both in the civil aviation and defence market, the statement said.
‘Boeing is partnering with India’s leading technology and manufacturing companies to build a supply chain out of India. The company also has opened a Research and Technology center in Bangalore to collaborate with India’s technical talent for research in aero structures, materials and network systems,’ the statement added.
