For the first time, the German Navy recently entrusted its new Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to Lufthansa Technik Defense for scheduled maintenance. This milestone was celebrated this Monday in Hamburg at a ceremony attended by the First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City and the Commander of German Naval Aviation. The first checks of the state-of-the-art submarine hunters mark a turning point for Lufthansa Technik: for the first time, the company is performing work on potentially armed aircraft.

Dr. Peter Tschentscher, First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg: “Hamburg is a strong aviation hub and can contribute the expertise of its companies to the military sector as well. One example of this is the collaboration between Lufthansa Technik, Boeing and the German Navy in the maintenance and repair of the new P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. It is important that the strengthening of Germany’s defense capabilities involves German companies, thereby also generating positive value creation for our economy. I am pleased that the P-8A Poseidon project with the participation of Lufthansa Technik has come to fruition in Hamburg, and I wish everyone involved great success.”

“Naval aviation is of strategic importance to our security. It represents the capability to monitor large maritime areas quickly and effectively, to detect, track, and – if necessary – engage submarines. With the P-8A Poseidon, we finally have such a long-range, networked, and state-of-the-art airborne submarine hunter at our disposal once again,” said Captain Broder Nielsen, Commander of the German Naval Aviation Command. “This modernization is a security policy necessity and money well spent on our operational and alliance capabilities. But we also need industrial resilience, robust supply chains, and a fast pace across all areas. This includes companies that take responsibility and contribute to our country’s defense out of their own conviction.”

“With the first two successfully completed checks on a P-8A, Lufthansa Technik has proven that the company can also handle naval aircraft,” said Stefan Rauscher, the responsible group leader at the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw). “I am confident that we will establish the same trusting, efficient, and timely collaboration here that we have known and valued for years with the German Air Force’s transport and special-mission aircraft.”

“Military-registered aircraft have long been a common sight in our hangars, and yet the first Poseidon checks represent a novelty for us – for the first time in the company’s history, our employees here are working on potentially armed systems,” said Dr. Janna Schumacher, Chief Human Resources Officer of Lufthansa Technik AG and in the Executive Board responsible for the Original Equipment and Special Aircraft Services segment. “Together with the Navy, we are sustainably strengthening the operational readiness of the German Poseidon fleet and making an important contribution to the success of the German ‘Zeitenwende’– by supporting those who defend our values every day.”

Already in mid-March, the second Poseidon delivered to the German Navy (tactical designation 63+02) arrived at Lufthansa Technik’s base in Hamburg for a so-called 90-day check. Currently, the Navy’s first aircraft (63+01) is undergoing its first 180-day check. As part of these early checks, relatively minor maintenance tasks are being performed on the nearly new aircraft. These include, for example, various visual inspections, the lubrication of landing gear components, and special aircraft and engine washes for the Poseidon, which is regularly deployed in the salty air at low altitudes over the sea.

In November, Lufthansa Technik Defense signed a comprehensive contract with aircraft manufacturer Boeing covering numerous maintenance services for the German Navy’s Poseidon fleet. These extend far beyond the aforementioned aircraft checks and include, for example, component support, engine condition monitoring, as well as operations management and trainings for technical personnel. In Lufthansa Technik, the German Navy has a partner with decades of experience with the Boeing 737, on which the military P-8A Poseidon is based.

Germany originally ordered five P-8As in June 2021 and purchased three additional aircraft of this type in 2023, bringing the total to eight. Currently, three of these are already in service with the German Navy.

 In addition to Boeing and Lufthansa Technik, ESG Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH (now part of the HENSOLDT Group) is also part of the German industrial team that ensures maximum operational readiness for German naval missions. Worldwide, more than 200 Boeing P-8s are in service or on order in nine countries: the United States, Australia, India, the United Kingdom, Norway, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Germany, and Canada.