Boeing will further equip the U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Air Force with maritime patrol capabilities, building 20 more P-8A Poseidon aircraft following a $2.5 billion U.S. Navy order. The contract, for Lot 7 of the total P-8A program of record, includes 16 aircraft for the U.S. Navy and the next four aircraft for the RAAF. The RAAF's initial four P-8A aircraft were included in the August 2015 Lot 6 contract award.

This latest award puts the company on contract to build 78 Poseidons for the Navy and eight for the Australian fleet, with 33 Poseidons delivered to the U.S. Navy to date. The Lot 7 aircraft will begin delivery in late 2017. Based on it's Next-Generation 737-800 commercial airplane, the P-8A offers the worlds' most advanced anti-submarine, anti-surface warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.

The Navy has deployed four P-8A patrol squadrons since operations began in 2013.