Lockheed P-3 Orion

Summary

Category	Other aircraft
Origin country	🇺🇸 United States
First flight	19 August 1958
Year of introduction	1962
Number produced	757 units
Average unit price	$36 million

Description

In the early 1950s, the US Navy commissioned Lockheed to develop an aircraft to replace the P-2 Neptune. Based on the ground, the P-3 Orion conducts surveillance and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missions.

The P-3 Orion is equipped with sensors for anti-submarine warfare that can detect periscopes and small targets, enable navigation, weather control, and long-range searches. It allows for the detection, identification, and classification of stationary, surface, and underwater targets. For self-protection, the Orion is equipped with a missile detection system coupled with electronic countermeasures. Patrol missions are typically long and can last up to 14 hours.

The P-3 Orion has a payload capacity of approximately 9 tons, allowing it to carry AGM-84D Harpoon missiles, AGM-84E SLAM missiles, AGM-65 Maverick missiles, MK-46/50 torpedoes, rockets, mines, depth charges, probes, and submerged sonars, etc. It is worth noting that 87 submerged sonars can be carried, as well as 8 conventional or nuclear depth charges. The weaponry can be carried internally (in the cargo bay or on launchers) or under 10 hardpoints on the wings.

In the 1990s, its capabilities also made it suitable for battlefield surveillance, both maritime and terrestrial. It was used to provide intelligence to Marine troops during the "Iraqi Freedom" operation. There is also a P-3A EW&C version operated by the US Customs to combat drug trafficking. The EP-3E Aries conducts ship detection missions equipped with a radome and specific antennas.

The P-3 Orion has also distinguished itself during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, and more recently in Somalia by protecting the US embassy and in Rwanda by participating in refugee protection. During Operation Desert Storm, the Orion conducted 12,000 flight hours in 1200 missions.

Since its entry into service in 1962, the P-3 Orion has undergone numerous upgrades, with one of the most significant improvements being the P-3C version, delivered from 1969. However, production of the Orion was definitively halted in April 1990, after over 700 units were built and operated by about fifteen countries. The remaining aircraft remained in service until 2012-2013, ultimately being replaced by the P-8 MMA (Multimission Maritime Aircraft).

Technical specifications

Version: P-3C
Crew	5 to 21
Operational range	9000 km (5592 mi)
Maximum speed	750 km/h (466 mph)
Wing area	121 m² (1302.4 sqft)
Wingspan	30.4 m (99.7 ft)
Height	11.8 m (38.7 ft)
Length	35.6 m (116.8 ft)
Service ceiling	8626 m (28301 ft)
Empty weight	35017 kg (77199 lbs)
Max. takeoff weight	64410 kg (142000 lbs)
Climb rate	16.0 m/s (52.5 ft/s)
Powerplant	4 × turboprops Allison T56-A-14 delivering 3430 kW