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	U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon to Support Chilean-led Search for C-130
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        <h1 class="title">U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon to Support Chilean-led Search for C-130</h1>
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            <img src="https://media.defense.gov/2019/Dec/11/2002223156/1920/1080/0/190204-N-UI104-0060R.JPG"
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            <div class="image-title">190204-N-UI104-0060</div>
            <div class="image-caption">File photo of a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon in the Philippine Sea in February 2019. (U.S. Navy photo)</div>
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    <div> <span class="date">/ Published Dec. 11, 2019</span></div>
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    <p>NAVAL STATION MAYPORT, Fla<strong>. – </strong>U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) directed U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command to deploy a P-8A Poseidon multi-mission maritime aircraft to Punta Arenas, Chile, December 10 to support the South American nation’s ongoing search for a Chilean Air Force C-130 Hercules that went missing in the Drake Passage while transporting 38 passengers and crew to the Antarctic.</p>

<p>In response to a request from the government of Chile, the P-8A aircraft and its 20-person crew departed El Salvador’s Comalapa Air Base and arrived in Punta Arenas December 11. The aircraft and crew are expected to begin supporting the ongoing search December 12.</p>

<p>Prior to the P-8A deployment, SOUTHCOM assisted the Chilean search efforts by providing satellite imagery of the search area.</p>

<p>The P-8A Poseidon aircraft was in El Salvador’s Comalapa Air Base supporting counter-illicit trafficking maritime patrol operations as part of a bilateral agreement between the U.S. and El Salvador.</p>

<p>“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Chile and with the families of the missing as we join other regional partners supporting Chile’s ongoing search for the C-130, its crew and their passengers,” said U.S. Navy Adm. Craig Faller, commander of U.S. Southern Command.</p>

<p>The P-8A Poseidon is the Navy’s newest maritime, patrol and reconnaissance aircraft and is configured with state-of-the-art sensors and communications equipment, allowing it to support a wide range of missions over large bodies of water, including sub-surface search-and-rescue operations. It can reach an airspeed of 564 mph, has a ceiling of 41,000 feet and a range of 1,200 nautical miles with four hours on station, allowing it to loiter over search areas.</p>

<p>In 2017, SOUTHCOM deployed two P-8A Poseidon aircraft to Bahia Blanca, Argentina, where they contributed to an internationally supported search for the Argentinean Navy’s submarine A.R.A. San Juan after it went missing in Southern Atlantic waters.</p>

<p>SOUTHCOM is one of the nation’s six geographically-focused unified commands with responsibility for U.S. military operations in the Caribbean, Central America and South America.</p>

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<p>LINKS TO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:</p>

<p>• P-8A Poseidon fact file: http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=1100&tid=1300&ct=1</p>

<p>• P-8A Poseidon video: https://www.dvidshub.net/search/?q=+P-8A+Poseidon+aircraft&filter%5Btype%5D=video&view=grid</p>

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