Indian Navy’s first P-8I to fly this month

It doesn’t seem long since Spirit AeroSystems started cutting the metal for the Indian Navy’s first Boeing P8-I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft.

And now, courtesy of aviation photographer Andrew Sieber, we hear the metal sits, fully formed and painted, on the Boeing flightline at Renton, near Seattle.

We’ve also heard that the aircraft is expected to make its first flight later this month, on or about the 29th. Needless to say this is pretty cool. We wish Boeing was more forthcoming about this flight. So far they’ve said they can’t say. To make up for it, we expect some good pictures out of Renton.

Meanwhile, check out a video of the production of the P-8.