Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects the nine Boeing P8 Poseidon aircraft to (a) be delivered and (b) come into service.
The Ministry of Defence is procuring nine P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft via a Foreign Military Sale arrangement from the US Government. Under the agreed schedule, the first UK aircraft is due to be delivered in 2019, and the final one is expected in 2021. It is anticipated that the first aircraft will begin to operate from RAF Lossiemouth in 2020.