According to accounts tracking aircraft activity on Twitter on September 1, the US Navy’s P-8A Poseidon submarine fighter patrol plane was seen taking off from Kadena airbase on the island. from Okinawa (Japan). In particular, this aircraft is equipped with AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
Observers believe the plane may have operated in southern Taiwan and the Ba Si Strait (between Taiwan and the Philippines), allegedly with the intention of sending a message to Beijing amid a Chinese military build-up. military operations and exercises in the area.
Images of the P-8A Poseidon with the number 169337 went viral on September 30. RODN photographer Kadena took a photo of the P-8A Poseidon and reportedly left the Kadena base the same day.
Some accounts tracking aircraft activity on Twitter claim that the P-8A Poseidon could fly over the South China Sea, but no information has been confirmed.
A photo by photographer RODN Kadena posted on Twitter shows the AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile armed with the P-8 Poseidon.
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Currently, the AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile is one of the P-8A Poseidon’s two main weapon options, alongside the air-launched Mk 54 light torpedo for anti-submarine warfare, according to The Drive. .
AGM-84 Harpoon helps equip the P-8A Poseidon with the ability to challenge enemy naval operations, support offensive operations or protect American forces and allies.
The P-8A Poseidon and P-3C Orion aircraft are generally dispatched to gather intelligence from the US Navy and Air Force in the area. In May, the P-8A Poseidon was said to be flying near Hainan Island, where China’s strategic naval base is located in the South China Sea.
