Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Long-range maritime reconnaissance bomber

Power Plant:

Four 3,663 kw (4,910 eshp) Allison T56-A-14W turboprops

Specifications:

Armament:

Weapons bay can house two Mk 101 depth-bombs, and four Mk 43, 44 or 46 torpedoes; or eight Mk 54 bombs. External ordinance load up to 6,220 kg (13,713 lb). AGM Harpoon long-range anti-shipping missiles

History:

In 1970 the Model P-3C appeared with new technology weapon systems, and a digital computer to ease the workload for the ten man crew, five of whom were housed in the tactical compartment. Production of this model continued up to the 1990s, when 650 aircraft in the series had been completed.

In December 1981 ten P-3C Orions were ordered, being the model P-3C-180-LO (A9-751 to A9-760 – c/ns 5657 to 5666). These aircraft equipped No 10 Squadron at RAAF Edinburgh, SA. One P-3C (A9-754) was lost when it landed in the sea after take-off at Cocos Island on 26 April 1991. Later, in June 1982, a further ten P-3C-225-LOs (A9-656 to A9-665) were ordered to replace the P-3Bs of No 11 Squadron.  Over the years the P-3C Orions were subject to continuous upgrading, an aircraft delivered to the Boeing facility at Avalon, VIC in 1998 for upgrade to AP-3C standard, the Sea Sentinel upgrade including new Elta radar, MAD and processing equipment. Eighteen were upgraded to AP-3C standard, one which was not upgraded being used as a trials aircraft. It is also understood three were extensively modified for electronic intelligence (ELINT) duties, and there has been conjecture that in fact all AP-3C aircraft had this capability.

In late 2002 the RAAF commenced to take delivery of its upgraded AP-3C aircraft, the “A” being added to the designation to indicate “Australia only systems and modifications.” The new systems were installed by L-3 Communications Integrated Systems. Entailed was the replacement of the old 1970s systems and sensors, this involving a full suite of electro-optic sensors, including cameras and infra-red imaging devices, through to inverse synthetic aperture radar. These were integrated via a 1553 databus. This permitted the aircraft to gather more information and do more in terms of the speed with which it could be processed and the accuracy with which contacts could be identified, the main benefit overall being in terms of better effectiveness.

The AP-3C was fitted with what has been described as an ‘on-line’ variant of the Harpoon missile which could accept targeting information from the aircraft’s data management system. There was also an upgrade of the airframe which included the removal of 1,500 kg (3,307 lb) of weight to reduce airframe fatigue, the aircraft thus being able to fly from Adelaide, SA  to Perth, WA and return with a full crew and a full load of torpedoes and sonobuoys.

Work on the new systems took place at the contractor’s facility at Greenville in Texas, and further testing took place at the Company’s facility at Avalon, VIC. The RAAF carried out an evaluation program for role certification and developed tactics and procedures for the operation of the aircraft.

Over the years Australia’s aircraft upgrade programmes involved increased computer memory, more sensitive acoustic processing equipment, and upgraded navigation equipment. Others involved the introduction of infra-red detector sets and provision to carry the AGM-84 Harpoon long-range anti-ship missile. Upgrade III involved an improved IBM Proteus acoustic processing system and a new sonobuoy signal receiver. A further upgrade was to involve enhanced processing capability, more sensitive acoustic sensors and better electronic support measures but this was cancelled in October 1992 in favour of looking at a replacement aircraft, as had been planned in the United States, the expected replacement to be a variant of the Boeing 737, which was eventually ordered as the P-8 Poseidon.

Over the years the Orion fleet changed from a grey and white colour scheme to an overall grey paint scheme. They have seen widespread service north of Australia and examples have operated in the Middle East in support of Australian Navy ships. The RAAF had two P-3Cs dedicated to electronic warfare. These aircraft (A9-657 and A9-660) are known as the AP-3 (EW) and were expected to remain in service until 2023 when they would be replaced by the Northrop MQ-3C Triton. They differed from the other Orions in having the external sonobuoy tubes removed.

Drawdown of the RAAF fleet of 19 AP-3C Orions commenced late in 2014, the first aircraft to be broken up being A9-663, this aircraft being the only aircraft in the P-3C fleet which was not upgraded, having been used for trials and system development. Other aircraft in the fleet broken up in October and November 2014 were A9-755 and A9-758. Others were sold or broken up and plans were for the fleet to be withdrawn from service by June 2019 when the fleet of Boeing P-8A Poseidons entered service.

A few were donated to museums in Australia as they were retired, some equipment being removed from them before being placed in museums. One was donated to the South Australian Aviation Museum, the major part of this aircraft (A9-756) being delivered to Port Adelaide on 10 December 2017.

Another was donated to the Historic Aircraft Restoration Society at Albion Park, NSW, this AP-3C aircraft (A9-753 – BuAer 160753 – c/n 5660) being delivered in December 2016 and officially handed over to HARS in a ceremony in early November 2017.  Described on the Australian Civil Aircraft Register as a Lockheed L-285D, this aircraft was registered as VH-ORI on 25 January 2018. It has since been kept airworthy and in late 2019 attended an air event at RAAF Edinburgh.  A9-751 was delivered to the RAAF Museum at Point Cook, VIC on 16 April 2017. Early in 2018 another was delivered to the HARS annexe at Parkes, this aircraft (A9-759) joining a fleet of aircraft on static display at the museum.