Here are the first ever photographs by an Indian journalist of the P-8 Poseidon assembly at Renton, Washington. If all goes smoothly, the Indian Navy’s $2.2 billion deal for eight P-8 aircraft will be signed shortly. The aircraft will be built at this facility you’re looking at a few miles outside Seattle. More details on this to follow. Boeing, incidentally, is in various stages of talks with eight Indian private sector firms for outsourcing work that will have them build components and parts for the global P-8 production line — one that will prospectively roll out planes for Australia and at least six other customer countries, apart from 108 for the US Navy.
All photos by Shiv Aroor
Exclusive? Its all over the town. I wonder what is about this “first indian journalist ” thing!
i was with shiv on this visit, and we were indeed the first indian journalists to be allowed inside the p-8 facility. allow me to qualify that further. the only other journalist at all allowed in was dominic gates of the seattle times just two days before our group reached renton, washington. if you saw the level of obsession with which the boeing folks classify their facilities, you’d understand what it meant for journalists to be taken inside. the photos you see all over town are only one or two photos, which if i am not mistaken have already appeared on this blog itself when they were first released.
does US need 108 of this piece ?? What it is going to do ?? Start a airlines ??
Renton is in seattle. Not in arizona as mentioned
Actually no. Boeing is too arrogant, thats why you are not allowed inside. Its nothing to do with security. They are for big for small journalists to get in. But there is “SO” honorable in getting into Boeing factory. its just another shop floor.
Shiv: Nice work! Seems like you have had a productive time abroad. Have these things been fully tested and certified by the US? And although negotiations are miles away from finalising, is there any rumor of potential tech transfers that India might gain from this *huge* deal? I know that Boeing doesn’t do anything without a damn good reason behind it!
Anon@8:16: Do you have *any* idea of how many bases these guys have around the world – and therefore how much actual surveillance space needs to be handled? (And no, satellites are not yet versatile enough to handle *everything*). But yes it is quite redonkulous how many birds they own and fly. And how badly the military machine needs oil to actually work. Sad, really. Would have been much cooler if they could have built on an networked-airship model or a solar-powered flying wing concept.