Following the delivery of the first P-8A Poseidon to the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Boeing has contracted the technical services provider Lufthansa Technik to maintain and repair the country’s planned fleet of four P-8As. According to Boeing and Lufthansa Technik, the Total Component Support (TCS) contract covers more than four hundred commercial components of the Boeing 737, which are also used in its militarised configuration as the P-8A Poseidon.
In July 2018, the New Zealand government had initiated the purchase of four P-8A Poseidon aircraft. The first P-8A for New Zealand was handed over a few days ago. The remaining three aircraft are scheduled for delivery next year.
By tapping into the commercial maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market for the 737, the P-8A’s international customers will have easier access to the global supply chains and spare parts inventories of the over 4,000 Boeing 737 aircraft currently in operation, the companies write. This should result in cost savings and improved operational readiness, through access to the German MRO provider’s global supply chain.
Boeing and Lufthansa Technik previously signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2021 to support the German P-8A Poseidon fleet. In 2022, this MoU was then expanded into a tripartite contract with ESG Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH in 2022. The German Armed Forces ordered five P-8A Poseidons in June 2021, scheduled for delivery in 2024/2025. The purchase of a further three Poseidons is to be financed from the Bundeswehr’s Special Fund.
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