The navy estimates the program could be worth nearly 70 billion dollars over the life of the aircraft if it goes ahead with plans to buy 111 aircraft, assistant secretary of the navy John Young said.

He said the aircraft "offers a modern, highly reliable airframe which will be equipped with improved maritime surveillance and attack capability, allowing a smaller force to provide world-wide responsiveness while potentially on a smaller support infrastructure."

Boeing, which beat out Lockheed Martin for the contract awarded Monday, will build a flying demonstrator model and two other aircraft "stuffed" with mission systems.

In addition, the navy expects to build four more aircraft with which to do the initial operational testing, if the aircraft passes the first design review in 2007, navy officials said.

Young estimated the total development cost at 5.5 billion dollars. Procurement of an estimated 111 aircraft will cost about 20 billion dollars, and lifetime support another 44 billion dollars, he said.

Low rate production would not begin until 2011, and full rate production in 2013, he said.

He said the aircraft will provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare missions.

It also will play a key role in the navy's efforts to develop a "common undersea network" using networks of electronically linked sensors.

"Our P-3 fleet has made major contributions to operations in Afghanistan and Iraq while also performing their core maritime mission," Young said.

"It is becoming urgent to replace the P-3 with a new airframe and the enhanced capability offered by MMA," he said, using the acronym for Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft.

The navy currently has 196 P-3 aircraft.

WAR.WIRE