Poseidon P8 aircraft from India and Australia performing maritime surveillance exercises near Chennai

Aerial assets of the Indian Navy (IN) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) are conducting a week-long maritime surveillance exercise in Southern India. The exercise is being carried out from the Indian Naval Air Station INS Rajali, Arakkonam, situated 60 km from Chennai city on the East Coast.Both Quad nations are fielding their respective American-origin Boeing Poseidon 'P8' aircraft for this bilateral exercise that will go on till July 6th.

Being carried out under Australia's regional engagement activity, Indo-Pacific Endeavour(IPE), this initiative is aimed at increasing interoperability and maritime domain awareness between the Indian and Australian Militaries. The RAAF is fielding a P-8A Poseidon aircraft from the No.11 Squadron, whereas the Indian Navy is fielding the P-8I Poseidon aircraft from the INAS 312 Squadron.

"We are excited to return to India and work alongside our top-tier security partner. Our forces are training and exercising together frequently, and routinely conducting deployments from each other's territories. This will ultimately make it easier for us to work together in support of regional security, stability and prosperity," said Air Commodore Tony McCormack, Commander Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2023.

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In recent years, the number of similar military platforms that are operational in both the Indian and Australian forces has been increasing. At present, the forces from both nations operate Boeing C17 Globemaster III strategic airlifters, Boeing P8I maritime surveillance aircraft, Sikorsky MH-60 maritime helicopters, Lockheed Martin C-130J tactical airlifter planes and a host of trainer aircraft.

Operating with the Indian Navy for more than a decade, the Boeing Poseidon P-8I has been a potent platform for Long-range Maritime Reconnaissance(LRMR), Anti-surface warfare and Anti-submarine warfare. Based on the Boeing 737-800 civilian aircraft, the P8I is fitted with various advanced sensors and has the capability of firing anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. As the P8 is fundamentally similar to a passenger aircraft, it can fly for up to 10 hours, while performing its multi-mission role and can be quickly redeployed.

The Indian P8I recently demonstrated its multi-mission capability by participating in a search and rescue operation, rendering Humanitarian aid in the aftermath of the Chinese fishing vessel 'Lu Peng Yuan Yu 28' capsizing in the Indian Ocean region. After initially dropping search and rescue equipment, the Indian Navy P-8I located the sunken fishing vessel, spotted the life raft, and relayed information to the Chinese ships operating in the region.

WION had recently reported from India's largest Naval Airbase INS Hansa, explaining how India operates a fleet of Soviet-origin and American-origin long-range maritime surveillance planes to hunt submarines. Notably, India is the only nation in Asia to operate the American-origin Boeing P8 aircraft.

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