Rajnath undertakes sortie in P-8I anti-submarine warfare aircraft of Indian Navy

New Delhi, May 18 (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh flew a sortie in the P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft of the Indian Navy during his visit to Mumbai, a Navy Spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The defence minister flew the sortie on Tuesday hours after he launched two frontline warships of the Indian Navy at the Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) in Mumbai.

“Defence Minister Singh, during his visit to Mumbai, undertook a sortie on the Indian Navy P8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft,” Navy Spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said on Wednesday.

During the mission, long-range surveillance, electronic warfare, imagery intelligence, ASW missions and Search & Rescue capabilities employing the state-of-the-art mission suite and sensors were demonstrated.

The P-8I aircraft with its superior maritime surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities and operational readiness has proven to be an important asset to the Navy.

The Indian Navy was the first international customer for the P-8 aircraft, which is produced by US aerospace major Boeing.

The aircraft is also operated by the US Navy, the Royal Australian Air Force, the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force and the Royal Norwegian Air Force.