P-8A Spiral 2 Development
The P-8A Increment 3 program consists of incremental enhancement Engineering Change Proposals (ECPs) to system capabilities that will retain cost-wise effectiveness for major combat operations. Increment 3 will incorporate improvements to aircraft systems including significant war-altering Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) capabilities of Enhanced Multi-Static Active Coherent (MAC-E) and ASW Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) which are enabled by the incorporation of Combat System hardware and architecture improvements, ASW and Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) sensor improvements, communication capability upgrades, ASuW Net Enabled Weapon (NEW), Higher-Than-Secret (HTS) security capability, and associated pre/post-flight ground system development to support Increment 3 aircraft and Increment 3 ground system requirements. These capabilities will be developed as a series of ECPs for the P-8A and are as follows: - ECP 6 - ASW SIGINT, Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) capability, Wide Band SATCOM, Higher Than Secret (HTS) processing, Enhanced track management (Minotaur), Applications Based Architecture (ABA) and Combat System. - ECP 7 - Enhanced Multi-Static Active Coherent (MAC-E). ECP 7 software are being integrated concurrently on to the platform. ECP 7 is reliant on ECP 6's Combat System hardware and architecture to operate on the P-8A. ECP 6 integration activities began in FY 2019 with initiation of the Government Lead Capability Integrator (LCI) integration and award of the Platform Integration (PI) contract to Boeing. ECP 7 integration activities began in FY 2021. ECP 6/7 Integrated Flight Test & Evaluation began 3Q FY 2022. Enhanced MAC-E (ECP 7) is developed within Program Element (PE) 0604261N and integrated via the Platform Integration contract within this PE. - Pre/Post-Flight Ground System Development - System upgrades to the associated ground support system and Tactical Operations Center (TOC)/Aircraft Media Gateway (AMG) systems.
Continue ECP 6 and ECP 7 integration including correction of deficiencies. Continue Government-led LCI efforts including correction of deficiencies, associated ground support system development, TOC/AMG systems, training systems upgrades, and Integrated Flight Test and Evaluation efforts.
Read the FY2027 plan →Continue associated in-house government LCI/T&E/management activities. Continue associated ground support system development, training systems upgrades, operational testing, and Integrated Flight Test and Evaluation efforts.
Read the FY2027 plan →