1st P-8A Poseidon Moves From Final Assembly to Preflight

Boeing Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) and Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) employees gathered today in Renton, Wash., to celebrate the completion of final assembly on the first P-8A Poseidon for the U.S. Navy and its move to preflight work.

IDS and BCA are building the P-8A, a military derivative of the 737-800, on a third final assembly production line in Renton. The third line takes advantage of the proven efficiencies, manufacturing processes and performance of the highly reliable Next-Generation 737.

IDS will now focus on calibrating the flight-test instrumentation onboard the aircraft before moving it to Boeing Field in Seattle early next year for systems integration and additional testing.

The Navy plans to purchase 108 P-8As to replace its fleet of P-3C aircraft. Initial operational capability is slated for 2013.