In 2012, the P-8I being built for the Indian Navy was transitioned in to flight testing by Boeing. With a committed delivery date set, the program was suddenly required to do additional flight testing, including weapons separation testing; and all this without adding any additional time to the schedule. Boeing was required to drop simulated weapons from the wing of a commercial airplane, something no one has ever done before in The Boeing Company.
A military derivative of the Next-Generation 737-800, the P-8I is a sister ship to the P-8A, the United States Navy’s maritime surveillance and submarine hunter. The P-8 is designed to carry weapons both under the wing and in a weapons bay.
Watch this almost four minute video to see how the P-8I team achieved the requirements, much to the astonishment of the Indian Navy program managers and colleagues within the company