The Indian Navy has inducted two more Poseidon 8I maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft, in a boost to its surveillance capabilities in the Indian Ocean in the face of China’s increasing forays into the region.
The two aircraft, manufactured by US aerospace major Boeing, arrived in India on December 30, officials said on Tuesday.
“The Indian Navy’s Boeing P-8I aircraft commenced operations from INS Hansa, Goa with two aircraft arriving on December 30. The aircraft were inducted after fitment of indigenous equipment and flight acceptance trials,” Indian Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said.
On arrival, the two aircraft were welcomed by a MiG 29K formation, he said. The Indian Navy had acquired the first batch of eight P-8I aircraft in 2013. The aircraft are stationed at INS Rajali, Arakkonam.
“The second batch of four additional aircraft will be based at Indian Naval Air Squadron 316, to be commissioned at INS Hansa,” Madhwal said.
The existing fleet of P-8Is is extensively deployed to keep track of the movement of Chinese ships and submarines in the Indian Ocean region.
The P-8I, based on the Boeing next-generation 737 commercial airplane, is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon used by the US Navy.
