The Navy's plans to replace its aging land-based maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft appeared last year to be on solid footing. Recently, however, the floor has crumbled beneath the service's feet due to the demise of an Army aircraft development contract. The Navy had a two-stage approach to attain new aircraft for patrol and reconnaissance. First, the Navy, in June 2004, selected a modified Boeing 737 commercial passenger jet as the P-8A Multimission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) to replace its venerable P-3C Orion sub-hunting patrol planes. Second, it joined the Army's Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) development program to acquire a replacement for its EP-3E Aires Ⅱ signals-intelligence electronic-eavesdropping aircraft, which intercepts radar, radio and telephone transmissions.
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