Boeing has been awarded a $68.4 million contract modification for long lead items for the first two P-8A Poseidons for the U.K. Royal Air Force, according to a Thursday Pentagon contract announcement.
“This modification provides for long-lead parts and efforts associated with the manufacture of two full-rate production 4 Lot 8 P-8A Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft for the government of United Kingdom under the Foreign Military Sales program,” read the announcement.
The RAF will be the third export customer for the surveillance aircraft, based on Boeing’s 737 commercial airframe, following India and Australia.
The aircraft will be likely based in Lossiemouth in Scotland and replace the retired Nimrod MR2 maritime surveillance aircraft and the cancellation of the MR4A follow-on program.
The FMS case is part of a larger $270 billion U.K. defense plan that was rolled out in November. The deal will also include a planned purchase of 138 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighters.
The following is the Aug. 18, 2016 contract announcement for the long lead items for the two U.K. P-8A Poseidons.
The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, is being awarded a $68,409,026 modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N00019-14-C-0067). This modification provides for long-lead parts and efforts associated with the manufacture of two full-rate production 4 Lot 8 P-8A Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft for the government of United Kingdom under the Foreign Military Sales program. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington (82.6 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (6.2 percent); Greenlawn, New York (4.2 percent); North Amityville, New York (3.5 percent); and Cambridge, United Kingdom (3.5 percent), and is expected to be complete by July 2017. Foreign military sales funds in the amount of $68,409,026 are being obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
