It was these P-81s that were used by our boys in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in 2014.

On December 19, 2012, at Boeing’s Seattle facility, the first P-81 was handed over to the Indian Naval Team. On May 15, 2013, The Indian Navy inducted its first P-8I. The eighth aircraft was delivered in November 2015. INS Rajali carries these P-81 aircrafts. India operates the P-81 in anti-submarine warfare missions and long-range reconnaissance.

The P 81 Neptune ordered by the Indian Navy operates in conjunction with the unmanned vehicle of the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton Broad Area Maritime Surveillance. It has an early warning self-protection ability (electronic support measures) while it conducts shipping interdictions and anti surface and anti-submarine warfare. It carries torpedoes. Depth-charges, anti-ship missiles (Harpoons) and is able to monitor and drop sonobouys.

The P-81 is a custom-made export variant of the P-8A (used by US Navy) suggested by Boeing for the Indian Navy in January 2008. The P-81 has two major abilities which the P-8A does not have—a telephonic APS-43 Ocean Eye aft radar and an MAD (magnetic anomaly detector).
Australia, U.K. and Norway all, use the P-81 but the Indian Navy was the first international customer to order P-81s and this was Boeing’s first military sale to India.

The Indian Navy needed to replace its aged Russian Tupolev Tu-142M turboprops used in maritime surveillance and the contract with Boeing was signed on January 4, 2009 for the delivery of eight P-81s. The entire delivery under the contract was completed in November 2015.

MAKE IN INDIA.

HOW P-81 WORKS:

The P-81 has a integrated IFF system developed by Bharat Electronics Ltd.(BEL) and exchanges tactical data between aircraft, ship and shore through the BEL Data LinkII.