Minister for Defence and Minister for Defence Industry – Australia’s first P-8 Poseidon touches down

PRIME MINISTER
THE HON. MALCOLM TURNBULL MP

MINISTER FOR DEFENCE
SENATOR THE HON. MARISE PAYNE

MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY
THE HON. CHRISTOPHER PYNE MP

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION
THE HON. PETER DUTTON MP

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE

AUSTRALIA’S FIRST P-8A POSEIDON TOUCHES DOWN

Australia’s newest addition to our airforce, the P-8A Poseidon, is a cutting edge surveillance and anti-submarine aircraft which will dominate the skies around the nation’s coastline.  It will greatly enhance Australia’s ability to keep our borders secure and guard our maritime approaches.

The Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull MP, the Minister for Defence Industry the Hon. Christopher Pyne MP and the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection the Hon. Peter Dutton MP, together with the Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Leo Davies, welcomed the new Poseidons in Canberra today.

These new aircraft will strengthen our existing comprehensive maritime surveillance capability, helping secure Australia’s borders, play a vital role in the fight against people smugglers and providing state of the art anti-submarine defences.

The P-8A Poseidon is a modern, highly reliable aircraft based on the commercially-proven Boeing B737, modified to incorporate the latest maritime surveillance and attack capabilities.

This aircraft has been designed by the US Navy to dominate in Anti-Submarine Warfare and will work closely with existing Australian Border Force assets to protect our border.

This is the first of 15 aircraft the Government committed to in the 2016 Defence White Paper, with 12 already contracted to be delivered by March 2020.

These aircraft will be based and sustained at Edinburgh, creating over 30 direct jobs.

The acquisition includes development and sustainment cooperation with the United States Navy and will keep the RAAF P-8A at the forefront of maritime patrol aircraft innovation for years to come.

The 15 P-8A Poseidons and up to seven MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft will together provide an advanced maritime surveillance capability to replace the ageing AP-3C Orion platform.

Media note:
Imagery of the P-8A arriving in Australia can be found at http://images.defence.gov.au/S20162831

Contacts:
Prime Minister’s Office:  Caitlin Keage 0427 729 987
Minister Payne’s Office:  Henry Budd 0429 531 143
Minister Pyne’s Office:    Rory Grant 0409 517 669
Minister Dutton’s Office:   John Wiseman 0417 498 570