Official VP-40 Fighting Marlins P-8 Flag Patch — Patrol Squadron 40 Embroidered Patch
Laging Handa—Always Ready—VP-40's Fighting Marlins, patrolling the world's oceans with the P-8A Poseidon and flying the flag wherever the fleet needs eyes on the water.
Patrol Squadron 40 (VP-40), the "Fighting Marlins," is a U.S. Navy maritime patrol and reconnaissance squadron based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington. VP-40 operates the Boeing P-8A Poseidon, the Navy's premier multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft that replaced the venerable P-3C Orion. The squadron's motto, "Laging Handa" (Always Ready), reflects its Filipino heritage—VP-40 traces its lineage to patrol operations in the Pacific and has maintained deep ties to the Philippines throughout its history.
The P-8A Poseidon is a militarized variant of the Boeing 737-800ERX, equipped with advanced multi-static and mono-static sonobuoy processing, magnetic anomaly detection (MAD), an APY-10 multi-mission surface search radar, and weapons capability including the Mk 54 torpedo and Harpoon anti-ship missile. The aircraft represents a quantum leap over its predecessor in range, endurance, sensor capability, and crew comfort. VP-40's crews conduct anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and search-and-rescue missions across the globe.
The Fighting Marlins have deployed to every major theater of operations, conducting maritime domain awareness missions from the Western Pacific to the Arabian Gulf and beyond. This flag patch design celebrates VP-40's identity as a front-line patrol squadron carrying the American flag into every deployment, standing ready to detect, track, and if necessary engage any threat to the fleet or the nation's maritime interests.
Perfect For: VP-40 Fighting Marlins members and veterans, P-8A Poseidon aircrew and maintainers, NAS Whidbey Island community members, maritime patrol and reconnaissance aviators, and Navy patrol aviation enthusiasts.
VP-40 Fighting Marlins—Laging Handa—Always Ready, always watching, always flying the flag over the world's oceans.