Navy’s P8I dedicated to nation

 

Parrikar himself flew into INS Rajali on board a Boeing P-8I from Port Blair and described the aircraft as one of the best for surveillance. During the flight, Parrikar was given an exposure to various sensors and other sophisticated state-of-the-art equipment and their capabilities. 

 

“The aircraft will provide Indian Navy the necessary reach and flexibility to undertake extensive surveillance as also to respond swiftly and effectively to contingencies in our areas of interest.”

 

Parrikar, also complimented the Navy and its air arm for expeditiously inducting and operationalising this force multiplier, which would enable the armed forces to dominate the future battle space. 

 

Taking note of the efforts put in by INS Rajali and its personnel, the minister praised the fact that even in the short phase of trials and testing, the P-8I aircraft had achieved a number of operational milestones which includes participation in the search effort for Malaysian Airlines Flight MH 370.  The P-8I aircraft is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon aircraft that Boeing developed as a replacement for US Navy’s ageing P-3 fleet. 

 

Indian Navy became the first international customer for the P-8 aircraft with the conclusion of the nearly US $ 2.1 billion contract on January 1, 2009, for a total of eight aircraft. The first aircraft arrived in India on May 15, 2013 and as of date; all eight aircraft have been inducted into the Indian Navy and are fully integrated into its operations.  The aircraft is based at INS Rajali and operated by Indian Naval Air Squadron 312A under the command of Commander Venkateshwaran Ranganathan.