For muh planefags

and other anons who are wondering.

US Navy approves ground surveillance role for P-8 Poseidon

https://www.flightglobal.com/us-navy-approves-ground-surveillance-role-for-p-8-poseidon/88233.article

The Boeing P-8A Poseidon has secretly acquired a new role for the US Navy that will transform the maritime patrol aircraft into a rival of the US Air Force's Northrop Grumman E-8C JSTARS airborne ground surveillance system.

Details of the new mission have been disclosed by Raytheon, which on 31 July announced the receipt of a multi-year contract to develop an advanced radar for the P-8A programme.

Raytheon says the advanced airborne sensor (AAS) will be a successor to the littoral surveillance radar system (LSRS), which is operational today on a small subset of the USN's Lockheed P-3C Orion fleet.

Capable of tracking moving ground targets, the canoe pod-housed LSRS has allowed some of the navy's P-3Cs to shift into the overland surveillance mission, performing a role normally reserved for the USAF's JSTARS fleet. Moar at the link.