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Boeing (BA) Wins Navy Deal to Support P8-A Poseidon Aircraft

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The Boeing Company (BA - Free Report) recently clinched a modification contract to provide support, engineering and procurement services for P8-A Poseidon aircraft. The contract has been awarded by the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD.

Details of the Deal

Valued at $13.5million, the contract is focused on supporting the Increment Three Block One retrofit coupled with procurement, manufacture and assembly of 25 additional retrofit kits. This will provide support in engineering change five for existing P8-A Poseidon aircraft.

The work will be performed in Seattle, WA, and is expected to conclude in December 2023.

Importance of P8-A Poseidon aircraft

The P-8A Poseidon is a multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft, which can perform anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and search and rescue missions. Seven nations across the globe have selected the P-8A as their future maritime patrol aircraft including South Korea and New Zealand.

In September 2021, Boeing won a $757 million worth modification contract for the production and delivery of 12P-8A jets to the German Navy. Further, in April 2021, Boeing won a $1.6 billion contract for the production and delivery of 11 P-8A jets to the U.S. Navy and the government of Australia.

Such developments will aid the United States to continue dominating the global combat aircraft space, with the P8-A Poseidon aircraft being one of the key catalysts.

Looking Ahead

Rising geo-political tensions globally have resulted in countries strengthening their defense system. This has led to a huge demand for defense products. Consequently, combat aircraftshave also recorded a surge in demand over the past few years. The United States, which is the largest exporter of military weaponries worldwide, is thus focused on strengthening its military resources.

This is quite evident from the allotment of a $52.4 billion investment plan, in the U.S. fiscal 2022 defense budget, for combat aircrafts. The plan includes approximately $4.8 billion investment for Boeing’s combat aircraft. So, we may expect a solid flow of contracts from the Pentagon, like the latest one.This,in turn, will boost Boeing’s top-line performance in days ahead.

Growth Opportunities

Per Mordor Intelligence firm’s projections, the global combat aircraft market is expected to witness a CAGR of over 3% over the period of 2021-2030, with North America anticipated to seethe highest growth. Such projections will not only benefit Boeing but other U.S. aerospace majors namely Northrop Grumman (NOC - Free Report) , Lockheed Martin (LMT - Free Report) and Textron (TXT - Free Report) , all of which enjoy a dominant position in the maritime patrolling space in particular.

For instance, Lockheed’s maritime patrol aircraft, P-3 Orion, performs air, surface, and subsurface patrol, and reconnaissance tasks over extended periods and far from support facilities.

Textron’s King Air 260 jets provide the right balance of durability and operating economics for maritime patrol missions.

Northrop Grumman’s MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system provides real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance over vast ocean and coastal regions.

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