Germany to purchase three additional P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircrafts

Germany plans to bring its fleet of P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) to eight aircrafts, with the purchase of three additional units.

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Last Thursday (November 16) the Bundestag’s powerful Budget Committee released necessary funds (€1.1 billion) for the purchase of three additional P-8A Poseidon multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft. The money will come from the Bundeswehr special fund, a €100 billion one-off item created in 2022 for the re-equipment of the German Armed Forces in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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Following this purchase, Marineflieger’s (German naval aviation) Poseidon fleet will consist of eight aircraft, although earlier German media had stated that up to seven more aircraft could be added for a total fleet of 12.

The first five P-8A Poseidon were procured via FMS (Foreign Military Sales) in September 2021, and are due to start being delivered to Germany by the end of October 2024, where they will replace the Marinefliegergeschwader 3’s aging Lockheed P-3C Orions.

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Farewell to MAWS?

While the first acquisition of P-8A aircraft was presented as an «interim solution», this second order seems to definitively seal the fate of the Franco-German cooperation project MAWS (Maritime Airborne Warfare System), or at least part of it.

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The MAWS [Maritime Airborne Warfare Systems] program, was launched in 2018 following the signing of a letter of intent between France and Germany, with the aim of developing a European manned aircraft for maritime patrol missions, to fly in 2035, to replace the French Atlantique 2 and the German P-3C Orion. The proposed aircraft were based on the Airbus A320neo and Dassault offered both the Falcon 8X and the larger 10X.

It also includes the development of a «system of systems» to complement manned aircraft with a network of satellite-based sensors, coastal radars and drones. This part of the MAWS could still become a reality, despite Berlin’s predilection for a proven aircraft of American origin. Time will tell.