Canada is negotiating to purchase 14 P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft

the Royal Canadian Air Force It could be the next user plane from Boeing P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrolwhich is already operating or being authorized by several NATO allies.

Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand recently traveled to the United States, where she met with executives from it Boeing In order to discuss the various military programs, the local press reported that one of the main issues dealt with was The possibility of acquiring 14 aircraft P-8A Maritime Patrol Poseidon Its value is estimated at 9,000 million Canadian dollars (6,230 million euros).

Canada published a year ago a request for information or Request for information (RFI) for a new multirole aircraft under the programme Canadian multirole aircraft (CMMA) to replace the current fleet of 14 CP-140 Maritime Patrol Aircraft dawnwhich is how Royal Canadian Air Force This version of the North American Lockheed P-3C pee.

According to the RFI, project definition will begin in 2025 and implementation in 2029, with initial operational capacity expected to be achieved in 2034 and full operational capacity in 2040. Already at that time, Boeing She issued a statement saying she was offered P-8A Poseidon For the CMMA program.

CP-140 Aurora of the Royal Canadian Air Force, which can be replaced by the P-8A. (Photo by John Davies)

One of the advantages of equipping yourself with P-8A Is this the Royal Canadian Air Force Consolidate their materials with the US Navy or American Navy and the air forces of the United Kingdom, Norway, and Germany within NATO. In addition, Poseidon is also being operated or will be operated by Australia, New Zealand, India and South Korea.

For several months, it was rumored that Canada was studying the possibility of acquiring P-8A Exclusively to replace the CP-140, though Canadian airline Bombardier had urged the Ottawa government to call a competition and thus be able to offer its series long-haul commercial jet to the programme. Global 6500 Duly converted to marine patrol aircraft or Maritime patrol aircraft (MPA).

This is not the first time Canada has considered buying P-8A As for Boeing, in the middle of the last decade, it hoped to start replacing its fleet of CP-140s with it. At that time, it was officers Royal Canadian Air Force They claimed a fleet of new Poseidons, but the government didn’t want to provide enough money to start the program. To meet the need, Canada’s Ministry of Defense has outlined a series of avionics, equipment and even structural upgrades to keep a portion of its aircraft in service. dawndesignated CP-140M, which may remain in service until the beginning of the next decade.

In 2018, Canada also joined the Avin Marítimo Multimisión or Multi-role seaplanes (M3A), a NATO effort aimed at sharing resources and knowledge in order to develop new marine protected areas, such as P-8A. However, this agreement did not commit Canada to any acquisition programme.