Argentine Navy's First P-3C Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft Arrives in Florida for Upgrades.

On July 20, 2024, the Argentine Navy's first P-3C Orion aircraft arrived at the MHD-Rockland facilities in Florida, where it will undergo sensor upgrades before being transferred to Argentina. MHD-Rockland is recognized for its expertise in maintaining P-3 Orion aircraft.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

Argentina Navy's P-3C Orion aircraft (Picture source: Argentina MoD)

The work on the P-3C Orion includes setting up and calibrating its main sensor, the Raytheon AN/APS-137(V)5 radar. This multimode sensor is designed for detection and navigation, and also operates in weather mode and for long-range searching. It is capable of generating images in SAR/ISAR mode (synthetic aperture and inverse synthetic aperture), making it suitable for detecting, identifying, cracking, and classifying both land and maritime targets. This marks a significant advancement over the obsolete Texas Instruments AN/APS-80 previously used by the older P-3B Orions of the Argentine Naval Aviation.

This development follows the agreement finalized during a ceremony with Argentine Defense Minister Jorge Taiana and Argentine Navy Chief, Admiral Julio Guardia. The purchase was financed by the Argentine National Defense Fund (FONDEF), with Argentine naval aviation pilots currently undergoing training in the United States.

As a reminder, Argentina plans to acquire four P-3C Orions; three will be used for maritime surveillance, anti-submarine warfare, and anti-surface missions, while one P-3N will be dedicated to search and rescue operations. This acquisition aims to enhance Argentina's sovereignty and improve the protection of its natural resources, recognizing the importance of strategic surveillance over resource-rich territories.

The P-3C Orion, developed by Lockheed in the 1960s from the Electra L-188, is a four-engine turboprop aircraft equipped for anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue operations, and maritime surveillance. Its technical specifications include a wingspan of 30 meters, a maximum speed of 411 knots, and a range of over 2,380 nautical miles. The aircraft can accommodate a crew of 11 to 12 people and is armed with sonobuoys, magnetic anomaly detectors (MAD), torpedoes, and an arsenal of missiles, including AGM-84 Harpoon and AGM-65 Maverick.

Negotiations for these aircraft, which began in March 2022, involved senior officials from Argentina and Norway, including Hector Mazzei, Chief of Staff at the Argentine Ministry of Defense, and Magnus Hansvold, director of the NDMA. The new P-3 Orions will primarily serve in the Argentine Navy's surveillance squadron based at Almirante Zar Naval Air Base near Trelew on the southern Patagonian coast. This acquisition builds on Argentina's previous experience with six P-3B Orions received from the U.S. Navy between 1997 and 1999, two of which served as parts reserves.

The sophisticated capabilities of the P-3 Orion include advanced radars and sensors that support its operational roles. The aircraft's MAD boom, located in the tail, is crucial for detecting submarines by sensing anomalies in the Earth's magnetic field. Despite its limited range requiring a low altitude to function, this technology is essential for the precise localization of submarines before launching an attack.

Over the years, the P-3 has seen numerous design developments, most notably in its electronics packages. Numerous navies and air forces around the world continue to use the type primarily for maritime patrol, reconnaissance, anti-surface warfare, and anti-submarine warfare. A total of 757 P-3s have been built. In 2012, it joined the handful of military aircraft including the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, Lockheed C-130 Hercules, and the Lockheed U-2 that the United States military has been using for more than 50 years. In the twenty-first century, the turbofan-powered Boeing P-8 Poseidon began to supplement, and will eventually replace, the U.S. Navy's P-3s.