Indian Navy P8I Poseidon monitors the Gulf of Aden to counter piracy.

The Indian Navy is currently monitoring the high seas of the Gulf of Aden (in Salalah), with its P-8I Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft, in order to help the Indian forces to counter the piracy in this area.

An Indian P-8I Poseidon with its crew (Picture Source: Indian MoD)

This patrol, that began on June 02, is part of the Navy's mission-based deployments to keep the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) safe and free for the navigation of its civilian ships.

The P-8I Poseidon is a long-range anti-submarine warfare (ISW), anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft used for both maritime and littoral operations. A military derivative of the Boeing Commercial Next-Generation 737 airplane, the P-8 combines superior performance and reliability with an advanced mission system that ensures maximum interoperability in the battle space.

The P-8 is militarized with maritime weapons, a modern open mission system architecture, and commercial-like support for affordability. The aircraft has been modified to include a bomb bay and pylons for weapons – two weapons stations on each wing – and can carry 129 sonobuoys. The aircraft is also fitted with an in-flight refuelling system. With more than 180,000 flight hours to date, P-8 variants, the P-8A Poseidon and the P-8I, patrol the globe performing anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; humanitarian; and search and rescue missions.

To keep all the crucial choke-points in the IOR under constant surveillance, the Indian MoD placed an order for 12 P-8 India maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare from the US under a $US 2.2 billion deal in 2012. Later, India ordered four more planes to carry out extensive surveillance of the Indian Ocean region and the country's exclusive economic zone.