ST. LOUIS, Mo., 26 April 2012. The Boeing Co.[NYSE: BA] delivered a second set of P-8A Poseidon training devices to the U.S. Navy on March 29 at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla. The delivery consisted of an Operational Flight Trainer (OFT), a Weapons Tactics Trainer (WTT) and four Electronic Classrooms.
The WTT features five mission-crew workstations and five instructor-operator stations. It will be used to train mission crew members to operate the P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft's sensor and communications systems, as well as to control and deploy its weapons.
The full-motion, full-visual OFT is derived from the commercial Next-Generation 737 full-flight simulator, just as the P-8A Poseidon aircraft is a derivative of the Next-Generation 737 aircraft. It can be used as a stand-alone trainer or be paired with the WTT to comprise a full P-8A Weapons Systems Trainer.
Boeing will deliver seven more OFTs and four more WTTs (for a total of nine and six), plus two Part-Task Trainers and more than two dozen classrooms and attendant courseware, to the Navy's training facility in Jacksonville by the end of 2013. Boeing delivered the first of 13 low-rate initial production P-8A Poseidon aircraft to the U.S. Navy on March 4. The Navy currently plans to purchase 117 P-8A aircraft to replace its P-3 fleet.
The P-8A Poseidon is a long-range aircraft that can perform a variety of missions. It can conduct anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare while acting as an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft.
