I flew for over 20 years as a Flight engineer on the P3 Orion, the predecessor to the P8 Poseidon. Those look like what we called Round Robin flights where junior pilots are taken out with a qualified instructor pilot both before and after major holidays. They would load up the plane with military personnel going home on leave a few days before the upcoming holiday and drop them off at numerous locations across the country close to their home where family lives. Then come back a couple of weeks later and pick everybody up to take them back to base at NAS Jacksonville to go back to work. That simultaneously saved sailors money on plane tickets home and back while also providing critical pilot training to the junior pilots. I did those flights so many times I can't count them on both hands and feet. I guarantee you that is what's going on here. Basically nothing to see here.
I flew for over 20 years as a Flight engineer on the P3 Orion, the predecessor to the P8 Poseidon. Those look like what we called Round Robin flights where junior pilots are taken out with a qualified instructor pilot both before and after major holidays. They would load up the plane with military personnel going home on leave a few days before the upcoming holiday and drop them off at numerous locations across the country close to their home where family lives. Then come back a couple of weeks later and pick everybody up to take them back to base at NAS Jacksonville to go back to work. That simultaneously saved sailors money on plane tickets home and back while also providing critical pilot training to the junior pilots. I did those flights so many times I can't count them on both hands and feet. I guarantee you that is what's going on here. Basically nothing to see here.
Just a tad unusual to see that many launched at once. Not unheard of, but not the norm.
Happens, they take off and fly over my house on the other side of the river. They'll be circling town later.
I'm curious to see where they go.
That's why I'm tracking them, lol.
p8's are spy planes..we build all the camera actuation systems here..