Over-hyping the Australian P-3 "replacement"

Interesting over-hype of an aircraft with some concurrency and maturity issues not unlike parts of the F-35 program.

The P-8 also has the advantage that it gets you where you are going faster. Its cruising speed is 440 knots (850km/h) compared with the propeller driven P-3's still impressive 328 knots or 610 km/h.

Just not with all the capability of a P-3 Orion. If anything, the P-8 has the potential to complement P-3 operations.

Interesting too: In 2008, the U.S. Navy deleted the requirement for the P-8A to be equipped with magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) equipment. This was part of an effort to reduce P-8A aircraft weight by 3,500 lb to improve aircraft range and endurance. P-8s for the Indian Navy will continue to retain MAD. Does anyone know if Australia's P-8s will have MAD?

I would also add that for a country the size of Australia, expecting 8 replacement aircraft (plus the blue-sky-marketing dream of UAVs) to do the job of 18 existing and operationally mature aircraft would need some real demonstrated proof.

Lockheed does well with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol P-3 upgrade

Here is a good press release on a much needed effort: refurbishing P-3s.

It would be good if the U.S. Navy would press head and look at the P-8 not as a replacement of the P-3, but to better enhance U.S. Navy ISR. Value-added for the coming thin budget years.

The same could be said for Australian Defence.

New Zealand was pretty smart with P-3 life extension. (H/T-Horde) Project Kestrel involved Hawker Pacific (Aust) and refurbished 6 x NZ P-3K airframes and, in the process, zero houred the principal airframe components (wing, including carry through; empennage; and, engine nacelles) for something like NZ$91M for everything.