Boeing P-8A Poseidon PATRECONWING ELEVEN, NAS Jacksonville, FL

Patrol Squadron EIGHT (VP-8) was commissioned as Patrol Squadron 201 (VP-201) in September 1942 in Norfolk, Virginia. During World War II, VP-201 flew the sea-based PBM Mariner aircraft, combating German submarines that threatened Allied shipping throughout the Atlantic. In June 1947, the squadron completed a homeport change to Quonset Point, Rhode Island and transitioned to the land-based P-2V Neptune aircraft. The squadron was renamed to VP-8 in September 1948, and in October 1962, VP-8 became the first operational P-3 Orion squadron in the U.S. Navy. Patrol Squadron EIGHT (VP-8) is tasked to undertake maritime patrol, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The P-8A is the newest intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft in the U.S. Navy’s arsenal. It possesses an advanced mission system for maximum interoperability in battle space.  Capable of broad-area, maritime, and littoral operations, the P-8A is expected to influence how the U.S. Navy's maritime patrol and reconnaissance forces train, operate, and deploy. The P-8 conducts anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), and shipping interdiction, along with an electronic signals intelligence (ELINT) role. This involves carrying torpedoes, depth charges, SLAM-ER missiles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and other weapons. It is able to drop and monitor sonobuoys. It is designed to operate in conjunction with the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton Broad Area Maritime Surveillance unmanned aerial vehicle. During mid-2014, a pair of P-8s were dispatched to Perth, Australia for two months as part of an international search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. USN P-8s may routinely rotate through bases of allies. The P-8 is a militarized version of the 737-800ERX, a 737-800 with 737-900-based wings. The fuselage is similar, but longer, than the 737-700-based C-40 Clipper transport aircraft in service with the U.S. Navy. The five operator stations (two naval flight officers plus three enlisted Aviation Warfare Operators/naval aircrewman) are mounted in a sideways row, along the port side of the cabin. In U.S. service, the P-8 fleet will be complemented by around 40 MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance system to provide continuous surveillance. See more.