South Korea mulls purchase of four Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft, says report

[Zarvan]

South Korea may buy four Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft (similar to this one) to counter North Korea's growing submarine threat, according to a media report. Source: Boeing
The South Korean military may buy four Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft in the wake of the successful test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) by North Korea on 24 August, the Korea JoongAng Ilbo newspaper quoted a senior government official as saying on 1 September.


"North Korea is preparing a number of strategic ways to attack the South using its submarine fleet on top of the SLBM development," said the official.

"We are discussing whether to purchase the latest maritime patrol aircraft to detect North Korean submarines to prevent surprise attacks from under water," he added.

The official told the paper that South Korea needed to expand the reach of its maritime surveillance, given "the limits of the outdated anti-submarine patrol aircraft currently operated by the navy".

The Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) currently operates 16 Lockheed Martin P-3C/CK Orion maritime patrol aircraft.

"We need to detect an enemy submarine when it surfaces in our waters," an RoKN official was quoted by the paper as saying. "Doing so requires anti-submarine aircraft with wide surveillance coverage and high speeds. The P-8 Poseidon equipped with the latest detection technology can enhance our operational capability," the official added.

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