Boeing contracted for P-8A research and sustainment

Feb. 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy awarded Boeing a $68.6 million task order to conduct research, development, integration and testing to support the P-8A Poseidon aircraft.

The task order includes software updates, acoustics system and subsystem software sustainment, defect correction, and additional modernization services for the naval plane.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the work will be conducted in Huntington Beach, Calif., and Patuxent River, Md., with an estimated completion date of January 2022.

Boeing received $6 million in fiscal 2017 research, development, test and evaluation funds at the time of the contract award. The Naval Air Systems Command is the contracting activity.

The P-8A Poseidon is an aircraft developed for the U.S. Navy to conduct long-range anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare missions. The plane can also support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations.

In addition to the Navy, the aircraft has also been procured by armed forces in India, Australia and Britain.