The US Navy aircraft do not need aft radars as there are several US surveillance assets, including aircraft and satellites, in the sky at any time. The P-8A however is primarily meant to function in alignment with the unmanned Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) aircraft (designated MQ-4C Triton), which is still under development by Northrop Grumman.
The P8-I has some systems supplied by Indian companies to make its communications secure and compatible with Indian naval and air assets.
They include Data Link II (communication system) from Bharat Electronics, IFF (Identify Friend or Foe system) transponder from HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd), speech secrecy system from ECIL (Electronics Corporation of India Ltd) and mobile SATCOM (satellite communication system) from Avantel. All the P8-Is, as well as other navy aircraft now have net-centric capabilities and interoperability with IAF aircraft and ground stations.
India received the first P8-I when Cmde Alok Bhatnagar, naval attache at the Indian embassy in Washington and other Indian Navy officers received it on-site in Seattle in accordance with the contract awarded in 2009.
Indian naval pilots, systems operators and technicians, some of whom have been stationed there to monitor the progress of the project and some others, will now conduct test and training flights with US Navy assistance before this aircraft is brought home.
India will receive two more fully-equipped P-8Is within 2013, and all the eight by 2015.
A Boeing statement said that the manufacturing programme is progressing on schedule, and that Boeing is already assembling the fourth and fifth P-8Is.
