CFM awarded $13.2M to provide spare P-8A Poseidon engine for Britain

April 4 (UPI) -- The Defense Department has awarded CFM International a $13.2 million contract to provide one spare engine for the P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft for Britain.

The deal exercises an option on a previously awarded contract, the Department of Defense announced Wednesday.

Fifty-five percent of the work will be performed in Villaoche, France, and 45 percent in Evendale, Ohio. Work is expected to be complete in January 2020.

Foreign military sales funds in the full amount of the contract have been obligated at time of the award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines of France, builds and supports the CFM56 and LEAP series of turbofan engines.

The P-8A, a modification of the Boeing 737-800ERX passenger plane, is the Navy's multi-mission maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft. It is fitted for anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, including torpedoes and missiles, according to the U.S. Navy.

Last October, Boeing built its 100th P-8A in October 2018, and several more on order for the United States and other nations.

On March 19, the Defense Department awarded a $326 million contract to Boeing Co. for upgrades to the P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft.