First RAF Poseidon submarine hunter to arrive in Scotland
The first of a new class of maritime patrol aircraft is to arrive at an RAF base in Scotland today (February 4th 2020).
Ten years after the last patrol aircraft called Nimrods were scrapped, the P-8A Poseidons will begin to arrive and operate from a base at RAF Lossiemouth.
The Ministry of Defence has spent £3 billion on nine of the jets, which are tasked with improving the UK's tracking of hostile maritime targets and acting as a nuclear deterrent.
NATO will also use them in a central role in operations across the North Atlantic.
RAF Poseidon crews will work alongside the Royal Navy as submarine hunters, and to identify and track surface vessels. The planes will also be armed with Harpoon missiles and MK 54 torpedoes.
Chief of the air staff Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston said: "Poseidon is a game-changing maritime patrol aircraft able to detect, track and, if necessary, destroy the most advanced submarines in the world today."