3A47 - Boeing P-8A Poseidon

RAAF A47 Boeing P-8A Poseidon

P.8A Poseidon A47-001 and P3C Orion A9-664 Edinburgh 17th November 2016 Photo Nathan Rundle

Under Project Air 7000 2B, 8 aircraft were ordered (plus options for an additional 4) for delivery from 2017 with all aircraft to be operational by 2021 to replace the AP-3C Orion. The option was confirmed for an initial buy of 8 airframes.

An order for a an additional batch of airframes was confirmed in the 2016 Defence White Paper. Eight Poseidon aircraft were be introduced in the early 2020s, with seven additional aircraft to be acquired in two tranches to bring the total to 15 aircraft by the late 2020s.

In the event the first 12 aircraft (A47-001 to A47-012) were delivered between November 2016 and January 2020.

In early January 2021, the Australian Government announced that it would purchase an additional two P-8A Poseidons, taking Australia s total fleet to 14.

Aircraft Serial	Aircraft Type.	MSN	Line No.	Test Registration	Aircraft History
A47-001	P-8A 737-8FV	62288	5823	N940DS	25/11/2015 Registered N940DS to Boeing Co, Renton, WA, USA 26/04/2016 Roll Out, Boeing Renton 06/05/2016 First flight 16/11/2016 Arrived Avalon, Vic. 16/11/2016 Arrived Canberra for official ceremonies 17/11/2016 Arrived Edinburgh (in company with Orion A9-664) On Display at Avalon Airshow 2017. (Public debut 03/03/2017)
A47-002	P-8A 737-8FV	62289	5993	N956DS	Arrived at Edinburgh 09/03/2017. In Service 11 Sqn.
A47-003	P-8A 737-8FV	62290	6076	N959DS	Departed the US on delivery flight 12/05/2017. Arrived at Edinburgh 14/05/2017. In Service 11 Sqn.
A47-004	P-8A 737-8FV	62293	6214	N974DS	On delivery flight at Hawaii 04/08/2017. Arrived at Edinburgh 07/08/2017. In Service 11 Sqn.
A47-005	P-8A 737-8FV	63179	6328	N832DS	First flight 16/05/2017 Arrived at Edinburgh 14/11/2017. In Service 11 Sqn.
A47-006	P-8A 737-8FV	63182	6468	N849DS	First flight 25/08/2017 Delivered by USN crew arriving at Edinburgh 15/01/2018. In Service 11 Sqn.
A47-007	P-8A 737-8FV	63187	6623	N862DS	First flight 06/12/2017 04/05/2018 Delivered to 11SQN at Edinburgh. In Service 11 Sqn.
A47-008	P-8A 737-8FV	63191	6750	N872DS	First flight 28/02/2018 Stored at Renton by Boeing prior to delivery, 13/06/2019 Delivered to RAAF In Service 11 Sqn.
A47-009	P-8A 737-8FV	64165	7324	N391DS	18/09/2018 Registered N391DS with FAA, First flight 01/03/2019, 01/08/2019 Arrived at Edinburgh 01/08/2019. In Service 11 Sqn.
A47-010	P-8A 737-8FV	64166	7392	N397DS	24/10/2018 Registered N397DS with FAA, 12/04/2019 First Flight, 29/08/2019 Delivered to RAAF (Callsign POSIDN1), In Service 11 Sqn.
A47-011	P-8A 737-8FV	64167	7427	N398DS	14/11/2018 Registered N398DS with FAA, 30/04/2019 First Flight, 04/10/2019 Delivered to RAAF, RAAF Edinburgh, In Service 11 Sqn.
A47-012	P-8A 737-8FV	64168	7428	N468DS	06/03/2019 Registered N468DS with FAA, 19/08/2019 First flight, 01/2020 Delivery to RAAF.
A47-013	P-8A				On order (Option).
A47-014	P-8A				On order (Option).
A47-015	P-8A				On order (Option).
A47-001*	Systems Trainer				Delivered Adelaide 12/12/2017 by Antonov 224 Reg. UR.80024

The authors of this page are Brendan Cowan and Martin Edwards (further information supplied by Nathan Rundle).

Heading photo by Nathan Rundle

Source: Defence Media Centre, RAAF News, defence.gov.au , Aero Australia Issue 43 July/September 2014 , Australian Aviation Magazine, https://planespotters.net/airline/Royal-Australian-Air-Force , ADF-Serials Telegraph News,

Emails: Gordon Branch, Greg Hyde, Gordon Birkett,

Converted to CMS 26/08/2025

Updated 13 January 2021