On June 27, 2023, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) of the US Department of Defense sent a notification to the US Congress about the planned possible sale of 16 Boeing P-8A Poseidon base patrol aircraft to Canada through the US program of intergovernmental Foreign military Sales Foreign Military Sales (FMS). This sale is approved by the U.S. Department of State. The total cost of the proposed delivery is estimated at US$ 5.9 billion, including standard equipment and training and technical support packages. Armament and radio hydroacoustic buoys are not included in the delivery.
Image of the Boeing P-8A Poseidon base patrol aircraft in the Canadian Air Force (c) Boeing paint
Earlier, on March 28, 2023, the Canadian Ministry of Public Services and Procurement sent an official request (LOR) to the US government about the possible acquisition of up to 16 Boeing P-8A Poseidon base patrol aircraft through the American FMS program to replace the CP-140M Aurora base patrol aircraft in the Canadian Air Force by 2030.
The Lockheed CP-140 Aurora is a P-3C Orion turboprop base patrol aircraft modified to meet Canadian requirements. In the first half of the 1980s, the Canadian Air Force received 21 CP-140 Aurora aircraft, of which in 1998-2007, 18 machines were upgraded under the Aurora Incremental Modernization Project (AIMP) program, receiving the designation CP-140M. These 18 aircraft are now part of the Canadian Air Force (as well as one used as an experimental aircraft SR-140).
Formally, the Canadian Ministry of Defense is holding a tender for the replacement of the CP-140M, but the P-8A aircraft is actually an uncontested realistic option for replacing the Aurora. The nominal "paper" competitors of the P-8A in Canada are two proposals for basic patrol aircraft projects based on the Bombardier Global Express - Sentinel large business jet of Raytheon Corporation (RTX) and the P-6 of the Canadian company PAL Aerospace.
At the same time, the replacement period for the CP-140M aircraft has not yet been precisely determined, and is nominally in the range from 2032 to 2040 - however, it is more likely that in the light of the DSCA notification issued, the purchase of the P-8A by Canada will be accelerated.
Image of the Boeing P-8A Poseidon base patrol aircraft in the Canadian Air Force (c) Boeing paint
