WADDINGTON, England –
One P-8A Poseidon from Patrol Squadron (VP) 4 is participating in the Air Combat Power Visit 2019 in Waddington, England, Oct. 18-24, 2019.
The squadron's participation in the event is providing Royal Air Force (RAF) leadership, who are replacing their Nimrod maritime reconnaissance aircraft with the P-8A Poseidon, a chance to experience the new aircraft first-hand.
“We are excited to provide another opportunity for our RAF counterparts to get more exposure with this exceptional airframe they are about to add to their fleet,” said Lt. Summer Gonzalez, a mission commander assigned to VP 4. “Getting the opportunity to meet with our RAF allies who we coordinate with so frequently, face-to-face, is invaluable.”
The aircraft participating in the visit is one of six P-8As operating throughout the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations, providing enhanced long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities to support our allies and partners in the region.
The P-8A Poseidon improves upon the capabilities of the P-3C Orion with an extended global reach, greater payload capacity, higher operating altitude, and open systems architecture. The P-8A also provides fleet operators the added benefit of interfacing with unmanned aircraft systems when performing operational missions.
U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.