Boeing Defence Australia (BDA) will conduct deep maintenance of the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) P-8A Poseidon fleet.
The first of 12 maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft is currently undergoing overhaul maintenance tasks required to ensure its continuing airworthiness, local media reported. Checks and repairs are taking place at an upgraded military airbase located in Edinburgh, in South Australia, according to a report by Australian Aviation on August 4, 2022.
The upgraded MRO [maintenance, repair, and operations, ed.-] facility can check up to three aircraft of the type each year.
It will take around three months for engineers to complete all necessary deep maintenance tasks, which includes installing advanced LED lighting, stands and aircraft access docking, with the aim of improving the performance of the P-8A Poseidon.
The scheduled maintenance work is part of a five-year $60 million contract between BDA and the RAAF, which was signed in September 2021.
“The $60 million contract with Boeing Defense Australia to maintain the P-8A Poseidon fleet brings heavy maintenance work to Australia that would otherwise have been performed in the United States,” Australian Minister of Defence Industry Pat Conroy was cited as saying.
As of July 2022, a total of 150 P-8s had been delivered to customers, according to Boeing.