Boeing launches RAAF P-8A upgrade programme

Australia's 13th Boeing P-8A Poseidon arrives at RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia, in September 2025. (Commonwealth of Australia)

Boeing has announced the launch of a programme to upgrade the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF's) P-8A Poseidon fleet.

The RAAF currently operates 12 P-8A aircraft, with Australia having ordered an additional two in 2020 to raise the fleet's strength to 14. According to Boeing, it has inducted the first of Australia's in-service Poseidon into the upgrade programme. In April 2024, the company received a USD139.5 million contract to upgrade the fleet.

“Under the four-year Increment 3 Block 2 modifications, the RAAF's P-8As will receive new antennas, sensors, and software to improve computer processing and communication systems, allowing aircrews to search for, detect, and target the world's most advanced submarines,” Boeing said in a statement on 30 October.

“Australia is the first global P-8A customer to receive Increment 3 modifications,” Boeing added.

The induction of the first aircraft into the upgrade programme comes as the RAAF begins to integrate its 13th aircraft into the fleet, according to Boeing.

The 13th aircraft was delivered on 29 September, and the 14th is scheduled to be delivered in 2026, the company said.

The US Navy's Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) finalised the configuration of Increment 3 Block 2 modifications in June. According to NAVAIR, the modifications are in line with “full anti-submarine warfare (ASW); anti-surface warfare (ASuW); and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities outlined in the P-8A programme's evolutionary acquisition strategy”.

As part of the upgrade, the airframe and avionics systems of the RAAF's Poseidon will be upgraded. The modifications will include new airframe racks, radome, antennas, sensors, and wiring.