--- title: "The Mad Foxes Take Us to the Middle East in Their P-8 Poseidons" description: "All the P-8 can do is win lately, and VP-5 brought the jet’s unique capabilities to one of the most complex security environments in the world for the very first time." date: "2016-12-14" modified: "2016-12-14" authors: - name: "Tyler Rogoway" job_title: "Editor-in-Chief" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/tyler-rogoway" url: "https://www.twz.com/6504/the-mad-foxes-take-us-to-the-middle-east-in-their-p-8-poseidons" categories: - "Air" - "Around The Globe" - "Maritime Patrol" - "Middle East" - "Navies" - "News & Features" - "P-8" - "Sea" - "U.S. Navy" tags: - "ASuW" - "ASW" - "Mad Foxes" - "Maritime Patrol" - "P-8" - "persian gulf" - "Poseidon" - "Triton" - "VP-5" --- # The Mad Foxes Take Us to the Middle East in Their P-8 Poseidons ![]() *www.twz.com* The P-8 Poseidon is not only a big success within the US Navy, but it is also becoming a serious export success. In spite of [increasing foreign competition,]() Boeing has [secured orders from India, Australia](), the UK and [now Norway has ordered the jet](). This is pretty remarkable considering these aircraft are definitely on the high-end of maritime patrol aircraft spectrum price-wise, but the customer gets a lot of bang for their buck. Sure the P-8 is a very capable maritime patrol aircraft, used for sea control, surface surveillance, search and rescue, anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare, but it can also provide electronic intelligence and communications intelligence gathering capabilities. Additionally, seeing how the [Poseidon can carry large to small weapons]() on its wing hardpoints and [in its weapons bay](), it could also be adapted for other kinetic roles, such as a cruise missile carrier or even as an overland surveillance and precision strike asset. Other more shadowy high-end capabilities are also developed or in development for the jet. These includes being able to carry the super-capable, [canoe-like Littoral Surveillance Radar System]() and an exotic communications [node pod like the one seen here]() to name a couple. Because of the P-8’s open-architecture computer system design and user interfaces, new capabilities can easily be added to the type in the decades to come. For countries who either have a lot of water to keep an eye on, or have deep pockets, [the Navy’s MQ-4C Triton]() version of the [Q-4 Global Hawk ]()was built to work as a team with P-8. This dynamic duo drastically increasing the reach and fidelity of a military’s maritime surveillance capabilities, and does so in a highly persistent nature. ![landing\_page\_photo\_resized.jpg]() *The Mad Foxes out of NAS Jacksonville, Florida, are blazing the way for the P-8 community by executing deployments to new area of operation for the jet, each with their own unique challenges. , *VP-5** Even with all this development and export success, the P-8 is still very much a new frontier for squadrons who fly it, and VP-5, the Mad Foxes, have pioneered a lot of that frontier. In 2014 they were the first unit to take the P-8 to the vastness of the increasingly volatile eastern Pacific and Southeast Asia regions. There they did everything from [challenge China’s claimed territory ]()in the South China Sea to [searching for MH370](). They even found a [bunch of castaways on a deserted island](). The deployment was a massive success to say the least. Last year the Mad Foxes were tasked with blazing yet another trail for the burgeoning Poseidon community—taking the P-8 to Middle East, including the traffic packed and tense waters of the Persian Gulf. Putting the P-8 to test in some of the most complex littoral waters on the planet was just another growth milestone for aircraft and its crews. And just like [VP-5 did for the type’s inaugural tour ]()to Asia, they made an awesome video to commemorate the Poseidon’s first time in “the sand box.” https://youtube.com/embed/q0hTNGre09E With any luck we will have one of the Mad Foxes join us for an in-depth interview all about what the P-8 can do and how its crews, many of which came from t[he venerable P-3C Orion](), are taking to their new mount. Last time we [talked with an experienced maritime patrol pilot ]()who had flown both types, it was clear that there was some disagreement as to how the aircraft would be used—as a traditional maritime patrol aircraft as it was intended or as a much more versatile “sensor and weapons truck” that can take on additional non-traditional roles. It will be interesting to find out where this debate sits after a couple years of P-8 operations abroad. *Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com* ## Author Tyler’s passion is the study of military technology, strategy, as well as foreign policy, and he has fostered a dominant voice on those topics in the defense and national security space. Tyler was the creator of the hugely popular defense site *Foxtrot Alpha* before developing *TWZ*, which he continues to lead as the Editor-In-Chief to this day. ### Author social links [Twitter]()