Washington, July 31 - India will be the first international customer of the Boeing P-8I Poseidon, a variant of the P-8A Poseidon, US Navy's newest maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft showcased by the Boeing Company.

Ceremonially rolled out Thursday at the Boeing facility in Renton, Washington, the P-8A, a derivative of the Next-Generation 737-800, is a long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft capable of broad-area, maritime and littoral operations.

'The P-8A Poseidon will equip the US Navy with the most advanced multi-mission maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft in the world,' said Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Integrated Defence Systems.

'The Poseidon is also the latest in a decades-long Boeing tradition of working closely with the Navy and other customers to deliver a wide range of platforms that meet their most critical mission requirements.'

As the replacement for the US Navy's P-3C Orion aircraft, the P-8A will provide greater payload capacity, significant growth potential, unprecedented flexibility and interoperability, and advanced mission systems, software and communications, Albaugh added.

'The P-8A programme is an outstanding example of evolutionary acquisition at work,' said Capt.