The US Navy's P-8 Poseidon Helps Hunt Down Subs



Business Insider: These US Navy planes help hunt down one of the greatest threats to American aircraft carriers — here's how they do it

* As US aircraft carriers operate around the world, the Navy often relies on aerial assets to find and track submarines, one of the greatest existential threats to a carrier and its strike group.
* P-8A Poseidon maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft can operate at higher altitudes and longer ranges than some other assets, allowing them to search broad areas for potential undersea threats.
* "Our main mission is patrol and deterrence," a US Navy officer recently told Insider, explaining that when it comes to submarines, "we want to know where you are" and sometimes, "we want you to know that we know where you are."

US aircraft carriers operate around the world, sometimes in unfriendly waters, and one of the greatest threats to these symbols of American military might is enemy submarines. That's where the sub hunters come in.

"In some parts of the world, we do armed patrol and escort for our carriers," US Navy Capt. Erin Osborne, the commodore for Wing Ten who oversees training, manning, and equipping of Navy P-8A squadrons, told Insider recently, explaining that if there are submarines out there, "we want to know that."

Rivals are challenging American military advantages through increases in undersea warfighting capacity and capability, "but we're keeping right up with them," Osborne said, pointing to the relatively new P-8 as a key increase in lethality. "I think we are staying ahead of the threat."

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WNU Editor: The above video provides a good explanation on why the P-8A Poseidon is a formidable war plane.

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