P-3 Orion

The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a maritime patrol aircraft used by numerous navies and air forces around the world, primarily for maritime patrol, reconnaissance, anti-surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare.

The P-3 Orion, originally designated P3V, is based on the same design philosophy as the Lockheed L-188 Electra. It is not the same plane structurally; it has had seven feet of fuselage removed fore of the wings, as well as myriad internal, external, and airframe production technique enhancements. The prototype YP3V-1/YP-3A BuNo 148276 was in fact modified from the third Electra airframe c/n 1003. The P-3 Orion served as the replacement for the postwar era P-2 Neptune and P-5 Marlin. The Orion is powered by four Allison T56 turboprops which give it a speed comparable to fast propeller powered fighters, or even slow turbofan jets such as the A-10. Many other countries have seen the value of this platform design and have developed similar patrol aircraft based on this model, with the Soviets adapting their own counterpart to the Orion, the Ilyushin Il-38. The P-3 also competes with the British Hawker Siddeley Nimrod adaptation of the de Havilland Comet and the French Breguet Atlantique.

The first production version, designated P3V-1, first flew 15 April 1961. Initial squadron deliveries to VP-8 and VP-44 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland began in August 1962. On 18 September 1962, the U.S. military transitioned to a unified designation system, making the aircraft the P-3A. Paint schemes have changed from an early 1960s blue and white scheme, to a mid 1960s white and grey, to 1990s low visibility gray. Over the years more than 40 combatant & noncombatant variants of the P-3 have been developed due to the rugged reliability displayed by the platform flying 12 hour plus missions 200 feet (61 m) over salt water while maintaining an excellent safety record. Versions have been developed for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for research and hurricane hunting/hurricane wall busting, for U.S. Customs for drug interdiction and aerial surveillance mission with a rotodome adapted from the E-2 Hawkeye or an AN/APG-66 radar adapted from the F-16 Fighting Falcon, and for NASA for research and development.

There have also been unconfirmed claims of the CIA operating three P-3As, alternatingly described as having been painted all black or in the markings of the Taiwanese Air Force (RoCAF), for aerial surveillance and agent/leaflet delivery in the vicinity of the People's Republic of China. The veracity of these claims remains suspect.

The United States Navy's P-3s are slated for replacement between 2010–2013 by the Boeing P-8 Poseidon, which is based upon the Boeing 737-800 series airliner.