of artificial Naval Fortress Islands in the South China Sea.
The People Republic of China is both a partner and a growing adversary challenging U.S. naval dominance in Asia Pacific. According to published reports, the PRC’s Navy Chief is Admiral Wu Shengli who is one of the architects of “China’s maritime expansion, sending ships and submarines deep into the Indian and Pacific oceans, launching China’s first aircraft carrier and overseeing operations to assert control of waters claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines and other nations.” The irony is that Admiral Wu is seeking help from the U.S. Navy “on help developing aircraft carrier operations and improving education for his naval officers.”
In August 2013, the U.S. Navy awarded Boeing [NYSE: BA] “a $1.98 billion contract for 13 additional P-8A Poseidon aircraft, continuing the modernization of U.S. maritime patrol capabilities that will ultimately involve more than 100 P-8As. The U.S. Defense Department and Congress are focusing budgetary priorities on U.S. Global Naval and Air superiority.
According to Boeing, “the Navy has now ordered 37 of the 117 P-8As it is expected to buy. To date, 10 have been delivered. Based on the Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 commercial airplane, the P-8 provides anti-submarine, anti-surface warfare as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. The P-8 is replacing the Navy’s P-3 aircraft. Boeing’s P-8A Industry team partners includes Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Spirit AeroSystems (American), BAE Systems (British),GE Aviation and CFM International (CFM International is a joint venture between GE Aviation, a division of General Electric of the United States and Snecma, a division of Safran of France). “…Safran has 69,000 employees and logged sales of 15.4 billion euros in 2014...” The French Government holds a majority share in Safran.
