Germany receives first P-8 sub-hunting plane amid Baltic Sea tensions

MUNICH — The German navy has received its first of eight Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance and counter-submarine aircraft, the country’s military announced on Thursday.

The aircraft, handed over at the manufacturer’s Seattle, Washington, production plant, are meant to strengthen Germany’s maritime surveillance capabilities globally. A special focus will be on detecting and combating enemy submarines, said Vice Adm. Jan Christian Kaack, the navy’s chief of staff.

Germany decided to procure the P-8A Poseidon in 2021 with the intention of replacing Berlin’s aging fleet of P-3C Orion aircraft, which currently serve on naval surveillance and sub-hunting missions.

Initially, officials ordered five P-8 aircraft for a total of €1.1 billion ($1.29 billion), with three further planes procured following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the activation of a special extra-budgetary defense fund to beef up Germany’s military that year.

The navy has indicated it is considering buying four more, which would bring the total to twelve.

Although Boeing, an American company, produces the aircraft, the press release emphasized that maintenance would be done through German partners ESG and Lufthansa Technik.

Concerns about technological independence and military autonomy have risen in Germany and across Europe in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office.

Ten close allies of the United States have placed orders for the Poseidon, including South Korea, Norway, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Together, the global P-8 fleet has logged more than 700,000 flight hours to date, Boeing said.

The aircraft will serve with the Marinefliegergeschwader 3 (naval aviation squadron, in English), which is located in the northwest of Germany, along the country’s North Sea coast.

NATO countries’ abilities to police the North and Baltic seas has come under heightened scrutiny recently as a result of Russian maritime activities in the area, including the passage of military vessels and the movements of the Kremlin’s “shadow fleet” of aging oil tankers used to circumvent Western sanctions.

Kaack called the P-8A a “flying guardian,” saying the planes would provide a “quantum leap” when it comes to range, sensors and duration of missions.

“Our naval aviators are looking forward to the P-8A and I can ensure you, their inspector is, too,” he said, referring to his job title, inspector, in German military parlance.

Editor’s note: This story was corrected after publication by removing Japan from the list of countries that have placed orders for the P-8.

Linus Höller is Defense News' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds master’s degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.

慕尼黑——德国军方周四宣布，德国海军已接收了首架波音 P-8A“海神”海上巡逻和反潜飞机，该机共订购了八架。

这架飞机在制造商位于华盛顿州西雅图的生产工厂交付，旨在加强德国在全球范围内的海上监视能力。海军参谋长扬·克里斯蒂安·卡克中将表示，其重点将放在探测和打击敌方潜艇上。

德国于 2021 年决定采购 P-8A 海神反潜巡逻机，目的是取代柏林老旧的 P-3C 猎户座反潜巡逻机机队，这些飞机目前用于海军监视和反潜任务。

最初，官员们订购了五架 P-8 飞机，总价值 11 亿欧元（12.9 亿美元）。2022 年俄罗斯入侵乌克兰后，德国启动了一项特别的预算外国防基金，以加强当年的军事力量，随后又采购了三架飞机。

海军方面表示正在考虑再购买四艘，这将使总数达到十二艘。

虽然波音公司（一家美国公司）生产该飞机，但新闻稿强调，维护工作将由德国合作伙伴 ESG 和汉莎技术公司完成。

在美国总统唐纳德·特朗普重返白宫后，德国和整个欧洲对技术独立和军事自主性的担忧日益加剧。

美国的十个亲密盟友已订购了“海神”级潜艇，其中包括韩国、挪威、加拿大和英国。

波音公司表示，迄今为止，全球 P-8 机队累计飞行时间已超过 70 万小时。

该飞机将隶属于驻扎在德国西北部北海沿岸的海军航空兵第3中队（Marinefleigergeschwader 3）。

最近，由于俄罗斯在该地区开展海上活动，包括军舰的通行以及克里姆林宫利用老旧油轮组成的“影子舰队”规避西方制裁，北约国家对北海和波罗的海的管控能力受到了更严格的审查。

卡克称 P-8A 为“空中守护者”，并表示这些飞机在航程、传感器和任务持续时间方面将实现“质的飞跃”。

“我们的海军飞行员非常期待 P-8A，我可以向你保证，他们的检查员也一样，”他说道，这里他指的是他在德国军事术语中的职务——检查员。

编者按：本文发表后已进行更正，将日本从已订购 P-8 的国家名单中删除。

林努斯·霍勒是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者和开源情报调查员。他报道影响欧洲乃至全球的军火交易、制裁和地缘政治。他拥有大规模杀伤性武器不扩散、恐怖主义研究和国际关系三个硕士学位，并精通英语、德语、俄语和西班牙语四种语言。