50,000 hours of submarine hunting: Milestone for Indian Navy's P8i fleet

In a first-of-its-kind feat in Indian Naval aviation, the Indian Navy's fleet of P8i aircraft based at INS Rajali in Tamil Nadu has completed over 50,000hours of flying. The fleet of P8i aircraft at INS Rajali is known as the Albatross Squadron and is designated as Indian Naval Air Squadron(INAS) 312. The Boeing Poseidon P8i aircraft is used for diverse roles, including Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance, Anti-submarine warfare, Anti-piracy operations, search and rescue, among others.

The Indian Navy operates a dozen-strong fleet of P8i aircraft (customised military versions of the passenger jet Boeing 737-800) at its frontline Naval air bases INS Rajali in Tamil Nadu and INS Hansa in Goa. Operating from these bases, the P8i fleet monitors and safeguards India's maritime interests in the vast Indian Ocean Region and beyond.

Poseidon P8i uses multiple onboard sensors, systems, and tactics to hunt for submarines at specific regions in the vast ocean. They can drop sonobuoys, which are expendable listening devices that are capable of detecting submarines based on the typical underwater noises emitted. Variants of sonobuoys can also emit sound waves and detect any echo that may be reflected from a potential target submarine. The data collected by the sonobuoys deployed across a wide area are transmitted to the plane that deploys them.

Aircraft like the P8i carry sophisticated imaging sensors that can operate in all-weather conditions, providing conventional imagery or thermal imagery. This is augmented by radars that help detect targets from afar. Further, there are Electronic intelligence gathering systems to detect any communications or signals emitted by submarines.

While flying low and slow, the P8i can use its Magnetic Anomaly Detector(MAD), a protruding device near the plane's tail, which can detect subtle distortions in the Earth's magnetic field caused by a large metallic body such as a submarine.

The Indian Navy has been operating the US-origin P-8i since 2013 and is the first International customer for the Boeing-made aircraft. In addition to the US Navy and Indian Navy, the P-8 aircraft are also operated by the Royal Australian Air Force, the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force, and the Royal Norwegian Air Force.

Sharing his perspective on the INAS 312 Squadron's feat of flying the P8i for over 50,000hours in an incident-free manner, Commodore RS Vasan (Retd), Director General of the Chennai Centre for China Studies, said that this was a phenomenal achievement for any maritime reconnaissance plane. He highlighted that the Indian Navy's Poseidons have been deployed in the Indo-Pacific, and they have visited Australia and the US as part of military exercises and have performed exceptionally well. Kudos to the Indian Navy's Poseidon crew, maintenance teams, planners and strategists, Vasan said, hailing the 50,000 hours of flying as a proud moment in India's Maritime Operations.

This aircraft is most sought after by India's tri-services because of the sensors, weapons capability, and the unmatched reach and range that it offers. Being on our side of the border, it can gather the intelligence that is required for our tri-services. After the Galwan incident with China, India deployed the Navy's P8i along the China border to gather a lot of field Intelligence, he added. Beyond detecting and tracking submarines, the plane can also engage submarines using the Mark 54 torpedo or engage surface ships using the Harpoon missile.

India is reportedly exploring opportunities to procure six more Poseidon aircraft from American plane maker Boeing. Referring to the future deployment of India's Poseidon aircraft, Commodore Vasan (Retd) said that a part of the fleet could be based at Port Blair, in the Andamans off India's East Coast. For now, the P8i fleet is based in Goa and Tamil Nadu in the Indian mainland and they have proven their capability to operate on both seaboards, but in future, they could be based at the Andaman archipelago for monitoring our areas of interest in that region, he explained.

India's P8i aircraft have played a major role in Anti-piracy operations and anti-hijacking operations in the Red Sea, and search and rescue operations in the Indian Ocean region, including the search for the 39-member crew of the sunken Chinese fishing vessel Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028, back in May 2023.