https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... ternative/The United States' State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Germany of five Boeing P-8A Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) and associated support, and related equipment, for an estimated cost of $1.77 billion.
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Question remains however on whether the German MoD has the necessary funding to procure new P-8A MPAs… and whether this will truly be a temporary stop-gap solution or an alternative to MAWS.
On Twitter, ISPK | Center for Maritime Strategy & Security replied to our post:
As of today it is a stop-gap solution. Currently, 1-2
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P3-Cs are operational (average) and the situation will surely not improve. It is agreed, that the MPA capability is desperately needed both, domestically and in an allied context. That's why
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looks for COTS replacement.
Procurement is always sensitive in
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and the commitment to #MAWS adds another complexity layer. However, MAWS will not be operational before 2035(the earliest imo). So we're talking about a 10-15 year gap. The P8 is the natural choice as it is technically matured,
Fulfills all requirements of @CdrDeuNavalAir
and could easily be integrated in
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and NATO ops cos it's operated by close partners like i.a.
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. Given the narrow timeline, it's most important to get
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parliamentary approval before federal elections in September 21.