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Portuguese Air Force - Força Aérea
Portuguesa Lockheed P-3P / P-3C CUP+ Orion |
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| 03/24 | ||
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The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine
and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States
Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188
Electra commercial airliner. The aircraft is easily distinguished
from the Electra by its distinctive tail stinger or "MAD" boom, used
for the magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) of submarines. Over the years, the aircraft has seen numerous design developments, most notably in its electronics packages. Numerous navies and air forces around the world continue to use the P-3 Orion, primarily for maritime patrol, reconnaissance, anti-surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare. Design: The P-3 has an internal bomb bay under the front fuselage, which can house conventional Mk.50 torpedoes or Mk.46 torpedoes. The P-3 is equipped with a MAD in the extended tail. This instrument is able to detect the magnetic anomaly of a submarine in the Earth's magnetic field. The limited range of this instrument requires the aircraft to be near the submarine at low altitude. Because of this, it is primarily used for pinpointing the location of a submarine immediately prior to a torpedo or depth bomb attack. Due to the sensitivity of the detector, electromagnetic noise can interfere with it, so the detector is placed in P-3's fiberglass tail stinger (MAD boom), far from other electronics and ferrous metals on the aircraft. Portuguese Air Force: P-3P Orion: Six ex-Royal Australian Air Force aircraft originally of P-3B standard but subsequently updated for the Portuguese Air Force. Being replaced by newer P-3C Update II.5s (P-3C CUP) formerly operated by the Royal Netherlands Navy. P-3C Orion CUP+: Five P-3C CUP+ Orion (ex Royal Netherlands Navy) operated by 601 Squadron "Lobos", based in Beja Air Base, all upgraded from 2008 to 2010 with new sensors and a Missile and Laser Warning System. They replaced six former RAAF P-3Bs upgraded to P-3Ps in the late 1980s. The last P-3P flew on 13 October 2011. In 2022 Portuguese Air Force, General Dynamics and Canadian Commercial Corporation signed a contract to modernize the Portuguese P-3C's fleet with new communications, mission electronics and an Mission Management System. In 2023, Portugal bought six additional P-3C CUP+ as well as spares, Mid-Life Upgrade sets, support equipment and flight simulators from German Navy. Specifications (P-3C): Crew: 11 Length: 116 ft 10 in (35.61 m) Wingspan: 99 ft 8 in (30.38 m) Height: 33 ft 8.5 in (10.274 m) Empty weight: 61,491 lb (27,892 kg) Max takeoff weight: 142,000 lb (64,410 kg) Fuel capacity: 9,200 US gal (7,700 imp gal; 35,000 l) usable fuel in 5 wing and fuselage tanks Powerplant: 4 x Allison T56-A-14 turboprop engines, 4,910 shp (3,660 kW) each Maximum speed: 411 kn (473 mph, 761 km/h) at 15,000 ft (4,572 m) and 105,000 lb (47,627 kg) Cruise speed: 328 kn (377 mph, 607 km/h) at 25,000 ft (7,620 m) and 110,000 lb (49,895 kg) Patrol speed: 206 kn (237 mph; 382 km/h) at 1,500 ft (457 m) and 110,000 lb (49,895 kg) Combat range: 1,345 nmi (1,548 mi, 2,491 km) (3 hours on station at 1,500 ft (457 m)) Ferry range: 4,830 nmi (5,560 mi, 8,950 km) Endurance: 17 hours 12 min at 15,000 ft (4,572 m) on two engines / 12 hours 20 min at 15,000 ft (4,572 m) on four engines Service ceiling: 28,300 ft (8,600 m) Rate of climb: 1,950 ft/min (9.9 m/s) Take-off run: 4,240 ft (1,292 m) Armament: 8 internal bomb bay stations and up to 10 wing stations , with provisions to carry combinations of: AGM-65 Maverick missiles AGM-84 Harpoon missiles various torpedoes depth charges, active and passive sonobuoys Avionics: RADAR: Raytheon AN/APS-115 Maritime Surveillance Radar, AN/APS-137D(V)5 Inverse Synthetic Aperture Search Radar IFF: APX-72, APX-76, APX-118/123 Interrogation Friend or Foe (IFF) EO/IR: MX-20HD imaging system ESM: ALR-66 Radar Warning Receiver, ALR-95(V)2 Specific Emitter Identification/Threat Warning Hazeltine Corporation AN/ARR-78(V) sonobuoy receiving system Fighting Electronics Inc AN/ARR-72 sonobuoy receiver IBM Proteus UYS-1 acoustic processor AQA-7 directional acoustic frequency analysis and recording sonobuoy indicators AQH-4 (V) sonar tape recorder ASQ-81 magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) ASA-65 magnetic compensator Lockheed Martin AN/ALQ-78(V) electronic surveillance receiver sources: wikipedia / German Navy / EUNAVFOR |
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seaforces.org
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Portuguese Navy start page
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