SEATTLE, July 26 (UPI) -- Boeing announced completion of the final design review for the P-8I, India's long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
The company said Indian navy officers met with Boeing representatives from its Defense, Space & Security and Commercial Airplanes unit for five days this month to review relevant design information and performance against specifications.
Successful completion of the design review locks in the design for the aircraft, its radar, communications, navigation, mission computing, acoustics and sensors and sets the stage for aircraft assembly.
The P-8I is based on the Boeing 737 commercial airplane and is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon being developed for the U.S. Navy.
"For P-8I, we are incorporating not only India-unique design features but also India-built subsystems, so this agreement that the design addresses all customer requirements is a huge milestone," said Leland Wight, P-8I program manager for Boeing. "It also leads us to the program's next stage: We are on track to start fabricating the P-8I's empennage section before the end of this year."
