P-8 Poseidon Provides Critical “Help” to Missing Sailors in the Pacific

How do you find three missing sailors in the vast Pacific Ocean?

A United States Navy P-8A Poseidon.

While the Poseidon was built primarily to hunt submarines, one deployed from Japan to find three mariners stranded on tiny Pikelot Atoll in Micronesia.

The aircraft used its powerful suite of onboard surveillance and reconnaissance tools, and the sailors did their part with more primitive technology – a “HELP” sign spelled out on the beach in palm leaves. The plane dropped survival packages for the men, and a U.S. Coast Guard cutter rescued them a few days later.

While this sub hunter is always ready to intercept underwater threats, the Poseidon is essential for all kinds of operations on the open seas.

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