18 November 2021

Boeing delivers first Poseidon for Norway

by Gareth Jennings

Seen here during its earlier roll-out, the first P-8A Poseidon for Norway was officially handed over on 18 November. (Boeing)

Boeing delivered the first P-8A Poseidon maritime multimission aircraft (MMA) for Norway on 18 November.

Named Vingtor after the Norse god, aircraft 9582 was formally handed over to the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) during a ceremony at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington.

The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RoNAF) is to receive five P-8As in total, with the remainder to be named Viking, Ulabrand, Hugin, and Munin (as well as being Norse gods, these names were all previously given to Norway's PBY-5 Catalina maritime patrol aircraft).

Deliveries to the NDMA will be complete in 2022, with the RoNAF receiving its last aircraft sometime in 2023. Once in service with 333 Squadron at Evenes Air Station, the P-8As will replace six ageing Lockheed Martin P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) and two Dassault Falcon DA-20 Jet Falcon surveillance aircraft.

Derived from the Boeing 737, the P-8A Poseidon is built by a Boeing-led industry team that includes CFM International, GE Aviation, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and Spirit AeroSystems. Besides Norway, the P-8 is in service or on order with Australia, India, Germany, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Boeing delivered the first P-8A Poseidon maritime multimission aircraft (MMA) for Norway on 18 Novem...

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