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#2551· ICAO P8

Boeing P-8 Poseidon

🇺🇸 United States ·first flew 2009· maritime patrol aircraft

🎖️ military 2× jet ✓ still flying
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. P-8A Poseidon VX-20 Squadron: Greg L. Davis· Public domain
  2. 2. 20190401 P-8 Poseidon Tail 169327 Kadena AB-115: Balon Greyjoy· CC0
  3. 3. Boeing P-8A rollout 30 July 2009: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tiffini Jones Vanderwyst/Released· Public domain
  4. 4. First RAF Poseidon: UK Ministry of Defence· OGL v1.0
  5. 5. Operators on Indian Navy's Boeing P-8I search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (2): Indian Navy· GODL-India
  6. 6. Royal Australian Air Force (A47-010) Boeing P-8A Poseidon conducting a touch-and-go at Canberra Airport (3): Bidgee· CC BY-SA 3.0 au
  7. 7. US Navy P-8 Poseidon taking off at Perth Airport: Darren Koch· GFDL 1.2
  8. 8. A P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine warfare patrol aircraft, assigned to the "Golden Eagles" of Patrol Squadron (VP) 9, left, sits on the foggy flight-line (6505072): U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Rashaan Jeffery· Public domain
  9. 9. P-8A Poseidon Departs Kadena Air Base (9644631): U.S. Navy PS26 by Petty Officer 2nd Class William Bennett IV· Public domain
  10. 10. P-8A Poseidon Executes Training Flight (9341121): U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Sara Wedemeyer· Public domain
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
Boeing P-8 Poseidon, photo 1 of 10
1/10 Greg L. Davis· Public domain

what is it?

The Boeing P-8 Poseidon is an American maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. It was developed for the United States Navy as a derivative of the civilian Boeing 737 Next Generation airliner. The P-8 operates in anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) roles.

How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · retractable tricycle gear · 37.6 m wingspan

base stats

  • speed 907 km/htop speed
  • size 85.8 tmax take-off weight
  • built 187made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

  • First flew 17 years ago, in 2009.
  • Top speed is 7.0× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • Wingspan of 37.6 m: about 8 cars parked nose to tail.
  • Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 14 African elephants (~6 t each).
  • Can fly 1.4× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight
2009-04-25
introduced
2013
status
still flying
number built
187
role
maritime patrol aircraft
origin
🇺🇸 United States
makers
Boeing Defense, Space & Security
engines
2× CFM56-7B27A
crew
2
length
39.5 m
wingspan
37.6 m
height
12.8 m
max take-off weight
85.8 t
top speed
907 km/h
cruise speed
815 km/h
range
—
ceiling
12,497 m
landing gear
retractable tricycle gear
ICAO code
P8

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q611401, Wikipedia: Boeing P-8 Poseidon (CC BY-SA 4.0), ICAO code from list of aircraft type designators.Updated 2026-10-24.

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