P-8 Poseidon - Design
The MMA's key features were expected to be as follows:
- Open Mission System Architecture: reconfigurable and expandable system facilitating easier, more affordable upgrades.
- Sensors: Active multi-static and passive acoustic sensor system, inverse synthetic aperture / synthetic aperture radar, new electronic support measures system, new electro-optical / infrared sensor, magnetic anomaly detector.
- Nine-person crew: dual-pilot cockpit, five mission crew (plus relief pilot and In-flight technician). Workstations with universal multi-function displays, ready accommodation for additional workstation, workload sharing.
- Lethality: internal weapons bay, four wing pylons, two centerline hard points with digital stores management allowing for carriage of joint missiles, torpedoes and mines. Search stores: rotary reloadable sonobuoy launcher.
- Net Ready: Link-16, Internet Protocol, Common Data Link (CDL), FORCEnet.
- Performance based support/logistics with availability a key performance parameter.
The 737-800ERX, as Boeing called the aircraft, was larger than the existing P-3. The budget included about $100 million of MILCON. The Navy would be compelled to make some local modifications to existing hangar space to accommodate. Obviously, given the existing four major operating sites, $100 million was a fairly modest amount.
Initially Boeing was going to take a 737 commercial aircraft and modify it into a naval variant. What would have been involved was the remanufacturing of the aircraft. What Boeing had committed to do, as they do on the commercial 737s, was build in parallel production lines. They would build the fuselage in Wichita. The fuselage would be taken to Renton, Washington where the wings, engines and other components would be added to make the aircraft functional. Then the aircraft would be flown to Seattle to actually install the mission systems and do the checkout and the fly-off at that location.
The P-8A Poseidon program started with a commercial airframe; however, the contractor modified the airframe during engineering and manufacturing development “…for a severe mission usage and loads spectrum to meet the design service life requirement.” Specifically, the contractor had to upgrade and strengthen the commercial airframe to meet the Navy’s more rigorous usage. Program office documentation detailing differences between the P-8A Poseidon airframe and the Boeing 737-800 airframe showed design upgrades to the P-8A airframe that included:
- generally strengthened overall fuselage structure (including floors);
- strengthened wing and tail assembly for increased loads;
- wing to body fairing modifications to accommodate Poseidon mission systems and mechanical subsystem installations; and
- new main landing gear with strengthened gear beam and beam supports.
CFM International, a 50/50 joint company of Snecma Moteurs and General Electric Company, was contracted to provide the CFM56-7 engines that would power the Boeing 737 MMA. This is the same engine that powered the Boeing 737 Airborne Early Warning & Control aircraft, as well as, the C-40 transport then in service with the Navy. The two engines would each provide 27,300 pounds of takeoff thrust. The CFM56-7 was at the time one of the world's most reliable engines. The fleet of engines logged more than 30 million flight hours while maintaining an industry-leading .002 percent in-flight shut down rate per 1,000 hours of flight.
Northrop Grumman's Baltimore-based Electronic Systems sector provides the electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor, the directional infrared countermeasures system, and the electronic support measures system. Northrop Grumman's Mission Systems sector, based in Reston, Virginia, developed data links for MMA. The company's Integrated Systems sector, based in El Segundo, California, supported the mission planning effort.
Raytheon provides an upgraded AN/APS-137 Maritime Surveillance Radar and Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) solutions. Raytheon was also offering its revolutionary GPS Anti-Jam, Integrated Friend or Foe, and Towed Decoy Self-Protection suites, and the aircraft's Broadcast Info System (BIS) and secure UHF Satcom capability.
Smiths Aerospace supplied both the Flight Management and Stores Management systems on the 737 MMA. The Flight Management System provided a truly integrated open architecture that is CNS/ATM compatible along with an inherent growth path for upgrades. The Stores Management System provided a comprehensive system for the electronic control of integrated weapons management.
The P-8A Poseidon Mission Computing and Display System provides control of all aircraft components used for conducting operational missions. The system includes six mission subsystems: Acoustics; Radar; Electronic Support Measures; Electro Optical/Infrared; Early Warning and Self-Protection; and Communications.
The acoustic subsystem provides passive and active search, localization, classification, target detection, tracking, and acoustic intelligence collection capabilities for ASW, as well as environmental data collection. The subsystem generates an ASW tactical picture and provides fire control solutions. The P-8A Poseidon provides the ASW tactical picture to other forces as required in real-time to support working cooperatively with other ASW air and surface resources. The subsystem would receive, process, and display all aircraft-deployable acoustic sensors currently in production and under development, for both U.S. and allied forces.
The radar subsystem is integrated with other aircraft systems and sensors that enable easy analysis of targets and quick updates to data links. Its operating modes include weather radar, surface search, periscope search, navigation, and identification of friend or foe.
The electronic support measures subsystem provides a real-time capability for detecting, measuring and analyzing radio frequency signals and modes, both known and unknown. This capability allows the P-8A Poseidon to identify, classify, and locate radar signals.
The electro-optical/infrared subsystem provides the P-8A Poseidon with the capability to conduct passive, visual searches at ranges well beyond that of the human eye. It detects, identifies, and tracks surface targets in the open ocean, littoral, and overland regions.
The early warning and self-protection subsystem uses infrared countermeasures to protect the P-8A Poseidon from missile attacks. The infrared jammer provides both the mission crew and the pilots with a fused threat picture at all times. The communications subsystem provides for all aspects of internal and external flight crew communications and theater/global network connectivity. Internal aircraft communications include communications among crewmembers and maintenance technicians, as well as selective conference communication. External communication circuits allow the aircrew to exchange information with land-based facilities, other aircraft, and surface and subsurface platforms.
The program planned to field capabilities in three increments. The P-8A program evolutionary systems approach aligns incremental acquisition and development strategies with requirements. Inc 2 activities, providing improvements such as wide area ASW search and high-altitude ASW weapon capabilities, are under way and will integrate mature technologies via multiple Engineering Change Proposals (ECP). Inc 3 will deliver enhanced net-centric capabilities such as a net-enabled weapon via a new open architecture. The P-8A is a member of the MPRF family of systems, which includes the MQ-4C Triton, the EP-3, and the Tactical Operations Center.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
