United States surveillance plane gets test run in S’pore military exercise

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http://www.todayonline.com/world/asia/us-poseidon-plane-gets-test-run-spore-military-exercise

A United States surveillance plane is joining Singapore’s military in exercises as the navy tests the aircraft’s capabilities. The Pentagon had previosuly found it ineffective at some tasks.

The P-8A Poseidon, a Boeing 737-800 modified with radar and sensors, is conducting anti-submarine and surface warfare sorties as part of the CARAT Singapore manoeuvres that end on Aug 8, said mission commander Lieutenant-Commander Colette Lazenka.

The aircraft, still in its testing phase, is faster and has more advanced systems than the Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion, Lt-Cmdr Lazenka said.

Flaws in the US$35 billion (S$43.6 billion) P-8A programme included radar performance, sensor integration and data transfer, said a Pentagon report obtained by Bloomberg News in January.

Six Poseidons have participated in exercises in Malaysia, Thailand, Guam, the Philippines and Japan and helped in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

The plane’s primary missions include tracking Chinese submarines as President Xi Jinping expands the reach of the navy and the country asserts claims to large parts of the East and South China Seas.

China is ratcheting up pressure on neighbours, including Japan and the Philippines, as the US seeks to reassure allies that it remains committed to an economic and strategic rebalancing to the region.

“The new P-8A is part of the navy’s commitment to the Pacific rebalance, bringing newer and more capable aircraft to the 7th Fleet to ensure the navy is best postured to honour its security commitments to the Indo-Asia-Pacific,” the navy said in a March 19 statement.