German Navy weighs Joint Strike Missile for its P-8A Poseidon fleet

The German Navy is weighing whether to arm its P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft with the Norwegian Joint Strike Missile, according to Capt. Broder Nielsen, commander of German naval aviation. In remarks reported on September 17, 2026, Nielsen called the missile a viable armament option for the Poseidon.

Fitting the weapon would restore a long-range maritime strike capability the Marineflieger has lacked since its Tornado interdictor and strike aircraft were transferred to the Luftwaffe more than 20 years ago. It would also give the service a weapon against maritime threats in the High North, Russia among them.

Germany received its first P-8A in November 2025. Three have been delivered so far, all assigned to Naval Air Wing 3 "Graf Zeppelin", according to Boeing. Berlin has ordered eight of the type and has considered buying four more, which would bring the fleet to 12.

The German government has already ordered an undisclosed number of Joint Strike Missiles from Kongsberg for its F-35 Lightning II fleet. No contract or public budget allocation for putting the missile on the P-8A has been announced. Nielsen's comments followed an appearance at the 2026 Farnborough International Airshow, where he said the navy needed more P-8As and a long-range anti-ship capability.