<p> The Indian Navy Wednesday received the first of eight Boeing P-8I long range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare (LRMRASW) aircraft at the INS Rajali naval air Station in Tamil Nadu, giving a major fillip to its capabilities.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Vice Admiral Bimal Kumar Verma, chief of staff of the Eastern Naval Command received the aircraft in a function at INS Rajali.<br /><br />Seven more P-8Is will be delivered over the next two years. The aircraft, based on the Boeing 737-800(NG) airframe, is the Indian variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing has developed for the US Navy. India has the option of procuring four additional aircraft.<br /><br />The aircraft is equipped with foreign and indigenous sensors for maritime reconnaissance, anti-submarine operations and electronic intelligence missions. The release said the aircraft is fully integrated with state-of-the-art sensors and highly potent anti-surface and anti-submarine weapons, a defence ministry statement said.<br /><br />The aircraft have been procured under a contract signed in 2009.<br /><br />The P-8I aircraft would greatly enhance India's maritime surveillance capabilities in the Indian Ocean Region, the statement said.<br /></p>
<p> The Indian Navy Wednesday received the first of eight Boeing P-8I long range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare (LRMRASW) aircraft at the INS Rajali naval air Station in Tamil Nadu, giving a major fillip to its capabilities.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Vice Admiral Bimal Kumar Verma, chief of staff of the Eastern Naval Command received the aircraft in a function at INS Rajali.<br /><br />Seven more P-8Is will be delivered over the next two years. The aircraft, based on the Boeing 737-800(NG) airframe, is the Indian variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing has developed for the US Navy. India has the option of procuring four additional aircraft.<br /><br />The aircraft is equipped with foreign and indigenous sensors for maritime reconnaissance, anti-submarine operations and electronic intelligence missions. The release said the aircraft is fully integrated with state-of-the-art sensors and highly potent anti-surface and anti-submarine weapons, a defence ministry statement said.<br /><br />The aircraft have been procured under a contract signed in 2009.<br /><br />The P-8I aircraft would greatly enhance India's maritime surveillance capabilities in the Indian Ocean Region, the statement said.<br /></p>