P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft scores new $56M ground systems and fly-away kits

The U.S. Navy is putting another $55.8 million into the ground infrastructure supporting its P-8A Poseidon fleet. Dayton T. Brown Inc. will supply equipment under a modification to its existing Mobile Mission Systems order.

The award covers materials for five P-8 ground systems and 21 fly-away kits. Those systems support modifications, upgrades and integration work around the aircraft’s mission architecture.

The Navy also exercised options that extend DTB’s Mobile Mission Systems support. Work will continue at the company’s facility in Hollywood, Maryland, through March 2027.

Ground systems get upgrades

The P-8A is best known as a maritime patrol aircraft, but its missions extend well beyond the airframe. Ground equipment provides part of the infrastructure needed to prepare, support and manage those missions. That equipment must also keep pace as the aircraft gains new capabilities.

The new funding targets that layer of the P-8A ecosystem. DTB will procure materials needed to modify existing systems and accommodate additional capabilities. Five P-8 ground systems fall under the material portion of the award. The Navy will also receive 21 fly-away kits through the work.

Those kits give crews portable equipment that can support operations away from permanent facilities. Their inclusion adds a mobility element to the broader ground-system effort.

Mobile support follows missions

A fly-away kit can help move mission support equipment closer to where an operation takes place. That capability matters for an aircraft built to conduct missions across wide maritime areas. Supporting infrastructure may need to travel when aircraft operations shift between locations.

The equipment also has to work with existing systems. Integration therefore becomes an important part of introducing upgrades without disrupting the wider mission setup.

The material will support subsystem changes alongside broader modifications. That work can include replacing components, adding new equipment or adapting existing interfaces.

Such changes matter because mission systems rarely operate as isolated pieces of hardware. Communications, data and ground equipment must work together for crews to use the capabilities effectively.

DTB’s Mission Systems Division will handle the work from Maryland. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division at Patuxent River is the contracting activity.

DTB extends Navy support

Jim Kelly, DTB’s president, said the award reflects the Navy’s continued reliance on the company’s engineering support.

“Our team is proud to continue supporting the U.S. Navy’s P-8A Mobile Mission Systems mission,” Kelly said. Kelly said DTB will continue providing engineering and technical support for the program.

The P-8A Poseidon relies on an interconnected set of aircraft and ground capabilities. Changes to one part can require equipment and integration work elsewhere in the system.

That makes the $55.8 million award more than a straightforward equipment purchase. Much of the work centers on keeping supporting infrastructure ready for the next round of mission changes.

The Navy expects DTB’s work under the modification to wrap up in March 2027. The award gives the program additional material capacity as its mission systems evolve.