Boeing is offering a derivative of its 737-based P-8A maritime patrol and ASW aircraft as a replacement for the US Navy’s ageing EP-3E Aries II Sigint aircraft.
Paul Summers, Boeing’s director of airborne Sigint campaigns expresses quiet confidence that the company’s submission to meet the US Navy’s EPX requirement will be successful.
“We think that the Boeing approach is consistent with what the Navy has purchased in the P-8A, and that should position us very well in terms of cost and risk.”
Following the cancellation of the joint US Army/Navy ACS programme, the Navy was left with an urgent need to find a replacement for the EP-3E, which will run out of life by 2017, and Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have submitted proposals.
Boeing believes leveraging the P-8A airframe and established ITAR-compliant production will give it a decisive edge. The EP-8, as any EPX derivative would be designated, would use the same core avionics architecture, and would share 85% of the P-8’s software. Some sensors, perhaps including the APY-10 radar and the EO/IR turret, may be carried over. There is also the promise of real cost savings through common maintenance, flight crew training and logistics with the 108-strong P-8A fleet.
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Boeing estimates a requirement for between 19 and 26 EPX aircraft to replace the 12 EP-3Es now in service, as well as a number of other ‘special’ P-3 configurations, including P-3s equipped with the secretive EO reconnaissance and Littoral surveillance radar.
The EP role is being expanded, too, and the aircraft will carry under-wing weapons and expendables. The forward under-fuselage weapons stations are deleted and replaced by a ventral canoe fairing. The bomb bay, which imposes an estimated 4,000lb weight penalty, could be deleted.
While the EP-3E carries a crew of 24, including 16 operators, the EP-8 would have a crew of up to 17, with no navigator, no flight engineer and no need for dedicated maintenance technicians. Boeing believes 12-14 operator stations, all fully reconfigurable, allowing any crew function at any station, is more than enough, Boeing could offer up to 19 operator stations if a non-US Navy customer wanted more. This could make the aircraft attractive as an RC-135V replacement for the USAF, or as a Nimrod R1 replacement for Britain’s RAF.
Source: Flight International
