to the production and installation lines are likely, as the P-8 program is “just getting up to speed,” said Detwiler, who added that more customers for the aircraft are coming. “We will ramp up from Low-Rate Initial Production to Full-Rate Production over the next couple of years. Multiple new international customers will join the worldwide fleet, with both Foreign Military Sales and additional direct sales likely,” he said. India ordered its first eight P-8s in 2009. Australia, which has been a development partner on the program since that time, has received government approval to purchase eight P-8s, with an option for four more. Other nations also are considering the P-8. Detwiler said interest has risen since the U.S. Navy’s deployment of the first Poseidon squadron. The aircraft also performed in the air and was on display at this year’s Farnborough International Airshow in the United Kingdom. “We think there’s a pretty significant international market for the P-8, up to 75 aircraft overall,” said Rick Heerdt, vice president and program manager for the P-8 program. “The program’s got a bright future. This aircraft’s going to be around for 30, 40 years.” Boeing employees who put together the P-8 and its systems don’t need to be told of the aircraft’s performance and expected longevity. They increasingly hear about that when U.S. and Indian Navy officials visit the P-8 production and installation facilities, Temeyosa said. “They’ll stop and tell us how great the plane is. It’s really cool to hear their reactions,” he said. Vosburg has been to Naval Air Station Jacksonville to perform in-field modifications and other work for the first P-8 squadron. So she has heard Frontiers November 2014 43 within Boeing, including the new KC-46 tanker, Detwiler said. Even so, there have been improvements since the program launched, said Bill Hull, a P-8 manufacturing representative with Commercial Airplanes in Renton. “Tooling has greatly been improved, as has the build and sequencing process,” Hull said. “The build is getting better every day. We are getting more stable, better quality and more efficient.” The same can be said for the Defense, Space & Security team that installs the airplane’s sophisticated surveillance and detection systems at a Boeing Field facility in Seattle, said Tony Temeyosa, a modification mechanic at the facility. He worked on the first P-8 during his early days on the program. “From that to what we have now, there’s a big difference. It’s definitely streamlining,” Temeyosa said. Stacy Vosburg, a P-8 technician in Seattle, said a small team worked from start to finish on the systems installations on the first Poseidons. Now, with a steady stream of aircraft, the installation line works more like a normal production line. Along the way, ideas from the facility’s employee involvement teams and others have improved the installation process, she said. The result of improved production efficiency isn’t trivial. It has resulted in a nearly 30 percent reduction in the per-aircraft cost since the first model was assembled. More improvements PHOTOS: (Clockwise from far left) In Seattle, Hermon De Leon installs release units in the P-8 weapons bay; Tonia Swenson conducts a functional test at the Boeing Defense, Space & Security mission systems installation and checkout facility; Richard Harrington, left, and Cosme Beltran perform mission console checks. BOB FERGUSON/BOEING
Frontiers November 2014 Issue
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