Boeing's P-8I built for the Indian Navy completed First Flight in Seattle

Boeing's first long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft P-8I for the Indian Navy completed its initial flight on 29 September 2011 at the Boeing Field in Seattle, USA.

Test pilots performed airborne systems checks including engine accelerations and decelerations and autopilot flight modes during the flight. The plane was taken to an altitude of 41,000 ft and stayed airborne for two and half hours.

India awarded a $2.1-billion (around Rs9450 crore) contract to Boeing in January 2009 for eight such planes to replace the ageing fleet of Soviet-era Tu-142s.

A military derivative of Boeing's 737 commercial plane, the P-8I submarine hunter is the Indian Navy's variant of the P-8A Poseidon being developed for the US Navy.

Poseidon is internationally acknowledged as the benchmark in maritime patrol. It marries a tried and tested sensor and weapons suite with a specially developed Boeing 737 aircraft. Given that  reliability and endurance are crucial, it was logical to base the Poseidon on the world’s most widely flown airliner (a 737 lands or takes off somewhere in the world every three seconds). The Poseidon is a 737-800, specially modified with a 737-900 wing.
The P-8I is built by a Boeing-led industry team that includes CFM International, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Spirit AeroSystems, BAE Systems and GE Aviation.

The CFM-56 engines power the Poseidon. These are modified with larger generators that churn out the power needed for the MMA’s sensors and control systems. In addition, there is an auxiliary power unit that provides electricity even when the main engines are switched off.

Boeing was instructed by the Indian Navyto install certain capabilities not provided for the P8A.
This includes aft-looking radar, custom-designed by US company Telefonic, which functions like an electronic rearview mirror, scanning the water behind the aircraft.

The P-8I is the first of eight long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft Boeing is building for India as part of a contract awarded in January 2009.