Boeing has rolled out the Royal Norwegian Air Force’s (RNoAF) first P-8A Poseidon aircraft from the company’s paint shop in Renton, US.
Norway is one of the eight nations to procure the P-8A multi-mission aircraft as their new maritime patrol aircraft (MPA).
Recently, the RNoAF revealed the names of its five P-8A Poseidon aircraft. The MPAs will be christened as Vingtor, Viking, Ulabrand, Hugin and Munin.
In a press statement, Boeing said that these names are inspired by Norse mythology. It also continues a nearly 80-year tradition with the selection of Ulabrand, Viking and Vingtor names for Norway’s PBY-5 Catalina patrol aircraft in 1942.
Since then, RNoAF’s other maritime patrol aircraft have carried those names, including its current P-3 fleet, which would be replaced by the P-8s.
Norway’s first P-8A aircraft, named Vingtor, will now be readied at the company’s factory floor for flight testing.
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By GlobalDataBoeing noted that the first flight is planned to take place later this month.
Following the first flight, installation of mission systems will take place on the aircraft.
In March 2017, Norway placed an order worth approximately Nkr10bn ($1.17bn) for five P-8A Poseidon aircraft.
The P-8A is a long-range anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare (ASW) aircraft used by the US Navy.
It is a military derivative of the Boeing 737 Next-Generation aeroplane.
The British Royal Air Force operates P-8A Poseidon while the Indian Navy flies the other variant P-8I.
