P-8A Poseidon

In July 2018 the Government announced the purchase of four Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to replace six ageing P-3K2 Orion maritime patrol aircraft we've had since the 1960s.

The second of four P8-A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft arrived in Base Ōhakea today.

Defence Minister Andrew Little joined Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel at Ōhakea to welcome the aircraft. It arrived in the country after flying across the Pacific from the United States.

All four of New Zealand’s new P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol planes should be ready for deployment by the middle of the year.

Our aircrew began training on the P-8A in the United States in 2020. With the aircraft now arriving in the country, training will continue in New Zealand with support from New Zealand companies.

The P-8A Poseidon has been designed and purpose built to patrol maritime environments and monitor vessels on and below the surface. In 2018, the NZDF purchased 4 aircraft. The first was delivered in December 2022.

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The first of our four P-8A Poseidon aircraft took to the skies in the United States today, completing a test flight ahead of systems fitout. This aircraft will be delivered to Aotearoa New Zealand in December.

Today marks another major milestone as the first of our P-8A Poseidon aircraft rolled out of the paint shop in it's military grey livery and featuring our RNZAF Kiwi roundel.

The keel beam for New Zealand’s first P-8A has been laid down at the Spirit Aerosystems facility in Wichita, Kansas.