PHOTOS: "Marlins" visit NASNI
VIRIN: 170412-N-CL765-341
SAN DIEGO — (April 12, 2017) — Aviation Electronics Technician Airman Nathan McDaniel from the “Marlins” of VP-40 salutes a P-3C Orion as it taxis to the runway onboard NAS North Island. VP-40 has detached aircraft and personnel to NASNI to support Carrier Strike Group 11 in their Joint Task Force Exercise. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jakoeb VanDahlen/Released)
A much larger, high-res version can be viewed or downloaded here:
=======================
VIRIN: 170411-N-CL765-097
SAN DIEGO — (April 11, 2017) — Aviation Electronics Technician 1st Class Thomas Wells (left) and Airman Aviation Electronics Technician Nathan McDaniel, both from the “Marlins” of VP-40, inspect the AN/ASX-4 Advanced Imaging Multi-Spectral Sensor Turret on a P-3C Orion. VP-40 has detached aircraft and personnel to NASNI to support CSG-11 in their Joint Task Force Exercise. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jakoeb VanDahlen/Released)
A much larger, high-res version can be viewed or downloaded here:
=======================
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Operation IMPACT Long Range Patrol surpasses 700 missions
Operation IMPACT Long Range Patrol surpasses 700 missions
Article / March 17, 2017
By: Major Paul Doucette
Joint Task Force- Iraq Public Affairs Officer
Joint Task Force Iraq’s Long Range Patrol Detachment reached a major milestone last month when it carried out its 700th mission since beginning operations in the region in late 2014.
The detachment has two CP-140 Aurora long-range patrol aircraft that conduct Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance missions over points of interest in Iraq and Syria. A point of interest is a specific location that may be assessed as useful or of interest in the identification of a potential legitimate military target and which may or not become a target itself.
While all possible measures to mitigate risk are taken, any mission over enemy territory is not without risks. For the CP-140 crews, their missions take them over a variety of potential Daesh targets. The work is meticulous and can be painstaking with each mission lasting for hours as information on particular points of interest is collected for further analysis. The end state comes when an enemy target is clearly identified and, after all due process is followed, then engaged by coalition assets.
“These flights show the resilience and versatility of the CP-140 and its crews,” said Colonel Luc Guillette, Commander of Operation IMPACT’s Air Task Force. “By flying these demanding missions on a daily basis, we have denied Daesh freedom of movement and helped to wear them down to the point where they are today.”
Since October 30, 2014, the coalition has employed two CP-140 Aurora aircraft. Flying within the area of operations, the aircraft employs electro-optic sensors, as well as various other sensors to provide ISR imagery for coalition strike assets and target development. The CP-140 aircraft and crews generally fly six or seven days a week.
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Saab positions Swordfish MPA for New Zealand requirement
Note info on NZ's plans for their P-3 fleet...
Saab positions Swordfish MPA for New Zealand requirement
Jon Gravatt
IHS 闯补苍别’蝉 Defence Industry
10 March 2017
Bangkok — Saab is positioning its Swordfish maritime patrol aircraft to meet a requirement in the Royal New Zealand Air Force for a future air surveillance capability, the company has confirmed to 闯补苍别’蝉.
A Saab spokesperson said that the company has already briefed New Zealand procurement officials about the strengths of the Saab Swordfish system as the RNZAF prepares to replace its six existing Lockheed Martin P-3K2 Orion MPAs, which have been in service for several decades.
Jane's understands that the New Zealand Ministry of Defence issued a request for information to support the procurement in 2016.
The spokesman confirmed that the Saab offer is based on the Bombardier Global 6000 long-range business jet integrated with the Saab Swordfish mission system. He added that this will “ensure the full spectrum of MPA and multi-mission capabilities (over water and over land) including anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare” capabilities.
Extolling the virtues of the Swordfish, the spokesperson added, “The Swordfish equals, and in several cases exceeds, the capabilities of larger platforms but delivers a significant advantage in terms of acquisition and long-term life-cycle costs.”
The spokesperson also confirmed that Saab has already commenced discussions with New Zealand industry about how the Swordfish can be supported locally if the system is procured by the RNZAF. “Saab is also working with New Zealand industry to ensure that New Zealand has a sovereign capability to adapt, modify, and support its Swordfish fleet throughout its entire service life,” he said.
According to New Zealand’s Defence Capability Plan 2016, which outlines military requirements over the coming 15 years, the RNZAF will replace its Orions in the mid-2020s at a cost of more than NZD1 billion (USD700 million). The DCP said the investment is required in light of growing strategic drivers including the growth of submarine fleets in East Asia.
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Re: Fw: Last 3 planes from Navy patrol squadron to leave this week
Thanks. Great shot of the Airdrome and "Cockpit". Great?memories of a Great era.?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: P-3_Orion@... on behalf of John Lozon jbl14848@... [P-3_Orion]
Sent: Sunday, March 5, 2017 4:21 AM
To: P-3 Orion Group; navairgp@...; usnusmcvintageaircrafgt@...
Subject: [P-3_Orion] Fw: Last 3 planes from Navy patrol squadron to leave this week
?
?
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Coronet
To: Undisclosed-Recipient@
Sent: Saturday, March 4, 2017 3:00 AM
Subject: Last 3 planes from Navy patrol squadron to leave this week
Last 3 planes from Navy patrol squadron to leave this week
More than a dozen P-3 Orion aircraft stand aligned on the tarmac at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in July, 2012. The final three planes of Patrol Squadron 9 are expected to wing away
from Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, by week’s end as the squadron wraps up moving to its new home at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash.
| Published: March 3, 2017
It’s the end of an era for Navy patrol squadrons that have flown the sub-hunting and surveillance P-3 Orion out of Hawaii for more than half a century.
The final three planes of Patrol Squadron 9, or VP-9, are expected to wing away from Kaneohe Bay by week’s end with about 60 crew and maintainers on a deployment that started in
Hawaii but will end at the squadron’s new home at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington.
Until recently the “Golden Eagles” of VP-9 had eight of the turboprops with the distinctive stinger tail (a magnetic anomaly detector) and about 360 personnel, the Navy said.
The unit is the last of three regular patrol squadrons — VP-9, VP-4 and VP-47 — that were based in Hawaii but have been reassigned to Whidbey.
In a larger sense it’s a precursor to the expected May shutdown of Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing Two, which has roots in Hawaii back to the 1930s, a famous chapter involving PBY
patrol planes on Dec. 7, 1941, and the Cold War P-3s that have spanned more recent decades.
That sense of history could be felt Thursday in Hangar 104 as Aviation Machinist Mate 3rd Class Blake Young, 21, hand-sanded a P-3C propeller to remove a small crack so the plane
could head to Japan. Problems with all three planes temporarily delayed their departure.
Aircrew members assigned to the "Golden Eagles" of Patrol Squadron (VP) 9, prepare for landing at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, during
a training flight on May 28, 2015.
NAVY MEDIA CONTENT SERVICES
“This is an old bird, and I think we’re lucky that we’re catching and being able to be a part of this, because the new P-8s and new aircraft that are coming out now, they tell
you what’s wrong through a computer,” said Young, who’s deploying with VP-9. He said he likes the fact that the P-3 is “old-school. It’s mechanical.”
The P-3s are being replaced in the Navy maritime inventory by the jet-engined P-8A Poseidon, based on the Boeing 737-800.
At varying times extending back to 1964, at least seven squadrons flew the Orion out of Hawaii. At their peak there were probably about 50 P-3s at Barbers Point Naval Air Station,
said retired Master Chief Douglass Gillet, who was with patrol squadrons here from 1967 to 1998.
Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing Two is the evolution of Fleet Air Wing Two, established at Pearl Harbor in 1937 and with later service at Kaneohe Bay, Barbers Point and Kaneohe
Bay again.
Barbers Point was famous for its “Rainbow Fleet” — the patrol squadrons that routinely deployed with P-2 and later P-3 aircraft to the northern and western Pacific, Indian Ocean
and Arabian Gulf, according to the Navy.
The squadrons tracked Soviet subs patrolling off the western coast of the mainland and supported operations in the Vietnam and Gulf wars. In 1999, when Barbers Point was shuttered,
nearly 2,300 Navy personnel were transferred to the Marine Corps base at Kaneohe Bay with 29 Orions and nine SH-60 helicopters.
Developed as a Cold War sub hunter, the P-3 turned out to be useful over Iraq and Afghanistan after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The planes have powerful radars and an electro-optical
surveillance system. At sea they hunt with sonobuoys and torpedoes. The Golden Eagles launched an AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile in 2001. Later missions would include missile launches against enemy forces in Afghanistan.
In 2015 the “Golden Swordsmen” of VP-47 returned from a seven-month deployment and missions that spanned an area north of the Arctic Circle to south of the equator and stretching
across the Mediterranean and into the Black Sea. The squadron operated from sites in Iceland, Norway, Poland, Italy, Greece and Djibouti and hunted submarines while flying 200 feet above the North Sea.
Brad Hayes, director of Naval Air Museum Barbers Point, which has two P-3s in its inventory, said the squadrons’ contributions were huge.
“All of our surveillance of all the navies in the Pacific region, it’s pretty much P-3s,” he said.
Running a museum that includes two P-3s puts him in regular contact “with veterans that are telling you the stories of flying these things out to these countries … and the hairy
stories of going up against the Russians and the Chinese and the Iranians,” he said.
One of the Hawaii squadrons lost two P-3s to enemy ground fire while flying enemy supply interdiction missions during the Vietnam War, Hayes said.
“There’s stories like that, and then there’s the really cool ones — like guys putting whiskey and Playboys in the sonobuoy (tubes) and dropping them to the Soviet submarine guys,”
he said.
Gillet, 69, who lives in Waipahu, said he was pretty lucky all the years he flew, but he remembers heading out of Okinawa in 1972 and an oil leak developing in engine No. 2.
“When we shut the engine down, we had a ball of flame come out of the tailpipe of No. 2, and we had to dive from 28,000 feet down to 16,000 feet and blow it out,” Gillet said.
The entire crew had their parachutes on and was “ready to go out the door if we had to,” but it didn’t come to that, he said.
The P-3 Orion, which first entered Navy service in 1962, is described as being a hands-on and user-intensive plane, while the replacement P-8 Poseidon uses more automation.
“They (the P-3s) are getting old. They’ve been good airplanes, (and) they’ve done the job in the past, but I think we’re moving on to bigger and better things with the P-8,” said
Senior Chief David Pras, 40, a maintenance control supervisor with VP-9.
The Navy decided to base 18 P-8A Poseidons at Kaneohe Bay as replacements for the P-3s, but in 2012 the service said it was reconsidering, and ultimately decided to place the planes
at Whidbey to save $300 million.
Another P-3 squadron of several planes actually exists at Kaneohe, “special projects” VPU-2, which has highly secretive missions. The planes are often gone, but the unit will remain
in Hawaii into the near future.
Eventually, Hawaii will have a permanent detachment of two P-8A Poseidons that will perform a homeland defense mission. In the meantime the first detachment of one P-3 from VP-40
based at Whidbey already is on-island with 11 air crew and about 20 maintainers.
“The detachments will continue flying the P-3 until the Whidbey squadrons complete the transition to the P-8A,” Cmdr. Jeannie Groeneveld, a Naval Air Forces spokeswoman, said in
an email. “We currently have construction planned and budgeted to be built at Marine Corps Base Hawaii to support two P-8As and three crews, which will be used by future P-8A detachments.”
|
Fw: Last 3 planes from Navy patrol squadron to leave this week
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Coronet <rolima@...> To: Undisclosed-Recipient@ Sent: Saturday, March 4, 2017 3:00 AM Subject: Last 3 planes from Navy patrol squadron to leave this week
Last 3 planes from Navy patrol
squadron to leave this week
More
than a dozen P-3 Orion aircraft stand aligned on the tarmac at Marine Corps Base
Hawaii in July, 2012. The final three planes of Patrol Squadron 9 are expected
to wing away from Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, by week’s end as the squadron wraps up
moving to its new home at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island,
Wash.
|
Published: March 3, 2017
It’s
the end of an era for Navy patrol squadrons that have flown the sub-hunting and
surveillance P-3 Orion out of Hawaii for more than half a
century.
The
final three planes of Patrol Squadron 9, or VP-9, are expected to wing away from
Kaneohe Bay by week’s end with about 60 crew and maintainers on a deployment
that started in Hawaii but will end at the squadron’s new home at Naval Air
Station Whidbey Island in Washington.
Until recently the “Golden Eagles” of VP-9 had eight of the
turboprops with the distinctive stinger tail (a magnetic anomaly detector) and
about 360 personnel, the Navy said.
The
unit is the last of three regular patrol squadrons — VP-9, VP-4 and VP-47 — that
were based in Hawaii but have been reassigned to Whidbey.
In a
larger sense it’s a precursor to the expected May shutdown of Patrol and
Reconnaissance Wing Two, which has roots in Hawaii back to the 1930s, a famous
chapter involving PBY patrol planes on Dec. 7, 1941, and the Cold War P-3s that
have spanned more recent decades.
That
sense of history could be felt Thursday in Hangar 104 as Aviation Machinist Mate
3rd Class Blake Young, 21, hand-sanded a P-3C propeller to remove a small crack
so the plane could head to Japan. Problems with all three planes temporarily
delayed their departure.
Aircrew members assigned to the
"Golden Eagles" of Patrol Squadron (VP) 9, prepare for landing at Kaneohe Bay,
Hawaii, during a training flight on May 28, 2015.
NAVY MEDIA CONTENT
SERVICES
“This is an old bird, and I think we’re lucky that we’re catching
and being able to be a part of this, because the new P-8s and new aircraft that
are coming out now, they tell you what’s wrong through a computer,” said Young,
who’s deploying with VP-9. He said he likes the fact that the P-3 is
“old-school. It’s mechanical.”
The
P-3s are being replaced in the Navy maritime inventory by the jet-engined P-8A
Poseidon, based on the Boeing 737-800.
At
varying times extending back to 1964, at least seven squadrons flew the Orion
out of Hawaii. At their peak there were probably about 50 P-3s at Barbers Point
Naval Air Station, said retired Master Chief Douglass Gillet, who was with
patrol squadrons here from 1967 to 1998.
Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing Two is the evolution of Fleet Air
Wing Two, established at Pearl Harbor in 1937 and with later service at Kaneohe
Bay, Barbers Point and Kaneohe Bay again.
Barbers Point was famous for its “Rainbow Fleet” — the patrol
squadrons that routinely deployed with P-2 and later P-3 aircraft to the
northern and western Pacific, Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf, according to the
Navy.
The
squadrons tracked Soviet subs patrolling off the western coast of the mainland
and supported operations in the Vietnam and Gulf wars. In 1999, when Barbers
Point was shuttered, nearly 2,300 Navy personnel were transferred to the Marine
Corps base at Kaneohe Bay with 29 Orions and nine SH-60
helicopters.
Developed as a Cold War sub hunter, the P-3 turned out to be
useful over Iraq and Afghanistan after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The
planes have powerful radars and an electro-optical surveillance system. At sea
they hunt with sonobuoys and torpedoes. The Golden Eagles launched an AGM-84E
Standoff Land Attack Missile in 2001. Later missions would include missile
launches against enemy forces in Afghanistan.
In
2015 the “Golden Swordsmen” of VP-47 returned from a seven-month deployment and
missions that spanned an area north of the Arctic Circle to south of the equator
and stretching across the Mediterranean and into the Black Sea. The squadron
operated from sites in Iceland, Norway, Poland, Italy, Greece and Djibouti and
hunted submarines while flying 200 feet above the North Sea.
Brad
Hayes, director of Naval Air Museum Barbers Point, which has two P-3s in its
inventory, said the squadrons’ contributions were huge.
“All
of our surveillance of all the navies in the Pacific region, it’s pretty much
P-3s,” he said.
Running a museum that includes two P-3s puts him in regular
contact “with veterans that are telling you the stories of flying these things
out to these countries … and the hairy stories of going up against the Russians
and the Chinese and the Iranians,” he said.
One
of the Hawaii squadrons lost two P-3s to enemy ground fire while flying enemy
supply interdiction missions during the Vietnam War, Hayes
said.
“There’s stories like that, and then there’s the really cool ones
— like guys putting whiskey and Playboys in the sonobuoy (tubes) and dropping
them to the Soviet submarine guys,” he said.
Gillet, 69, who lives in Waipahu, said he was pretty lucky all the
years he flew, but he remembers heading out of Okinawa in 1972 and an oil leak
developing in engine No. 2.
“When we shut the engine down, we had a ball of flame come out of
the tailpipe of No. 2, and we had to dive from 28,000 feet down to 16,000 feet
and blow it out,” Gillet said. The entire crew had their parachutes on and was
“ready to go out the door if we had to,” but it didn’t come to that, he
said.
The
P-3 Orion, which first entered Navy service in 1962, is described as being a
hands-on and user-intensive plane, while the replacement P-8 Poseidon uses more
automation.
“They (the P-3s) are getting old. They’ve been good airplanes,
(and) they’ve done the job in the past, but I think we’re moving on to bigger
and better things with the P-8,” said Senior Chief David Pras, 40, a maintenance
control supervisor with VP-9.
The
Navy decided to base 18 P-8A Poseidons at Kaneohe Bay as replacements for the
P-3s, but in 2012 the service said it was reconsidering, and ultimately decided
to place the planes at Whidbey to save $300 million.
Another P-3 squadron of several planes actually exists at Kaneohe,
“special projects” VPU-2, which has highly secretive missions. The planes are
often gone, but the unit will remain in Hawaii into the near
future.
Eventually, Hawaii will have a permanent detachment of two P-8A
Poseidons that will perform a homeland defense mission. In the meantime the
first detachment of one P-3 from VP-40 based at Whidbey already is on-island
with 11 air crew and about 20 maintainers.
“The
detachments will continue flying the P-3 until the Whidbey squadrons complete
the transition to the P-8A,” Cmdr. Jeannie Groeneveld, a Naval Air Forces
spokeswoman, said in an email. “We currently have construction planned and
budgeted to be built at Marine Corps Base Hawaii to support two P-8As and three
crews, which will be used by future P-8A
detachments.”
|
No longer bombing, Canadian planes identifying ISIL targets in Syria
No longer bombing, Canadian planes identifying ISIL targets in Syria
It's uncertain what role Canadian troops will play when the current mandate expires in March.
Lee Berthiaume
The Canadian Press
Sun Feb 19 2017
PERSIAN GULF — Canadian military aircraft are once again over the skies of Syria, helping to identify targets in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant months after the Liberals pulled fighter jets from the mission.
It has been one year since Canadian CF-18 fighter jets flew their last mission over Syria after the Liberals withdrew the planes in favour of a mission to train local forces and help rebuild areas affected by fighting.
While the revamped mission against ISIL includes a mandate to operate over Syria, military officials have been reluctant to confirm whether Canada’s surveillance and refuelling planes are operating over the country.
Two Canadian surveillance planes have flown hundreds of sorties to identify potential targets for coalition airstrikes, the majority of which have been in Iraq.
On Sunday, a senior Canadian commander revealed that the aircraft have also quietly flown dozens of times over Syria in recent months.
“We have done work in Syria,” Brig.-Gen. Shane Brennan, commander of Canada’s Joint Task Force-Iraq, told reporters during a media tour of the mission, though he added, “There's lots of work to do in Iraq. We are looking at all of the areas.”
Brennan spoke at an airfield, the location of which the military didn’t want revealed for security reasons, where reporters were given an exclusive tour of one of the surveillance planes.
The CP-140 Aurora was originally designed during the Cold War to detect Soviet submarines, but has since been upgraded to provide enhanced photos and other imagery of ground targets as well.
Canadian military intelligence officers at the base carefully review the images for targets, as well as schools, hospitals, mosques, and other structures considered too sensitive to hit. When officers identify a target, they pass the information to coalition forces for additional verification before a strike mission is assigned.
The flights over Syria have also included another Canadian plane that has been refuelling coalition aircraft directly responsible for bombing ISIL forces and other targets.
The increased Canadian military activity over Syria, which Brennan described as between 20 and 30 missions in the past few months, is one indication that the war against ISIL is shifting into a new phase.
As Brennan heaped praise on the work of Canadian and Iraqi troops, Iraqi forces were launching their long-awaited assault on western Mosul.
The battle, which comes about a month after Iraqi forces declared the eastern part of the city free of ISIL, has been billed as a defining moment in eventually freeing Iraq from the extremist group’s grip.
While the fight for the city’s western half is expected to be much harder than what came before, Brennan was adamant that victory was a certainty.
“There is a battle that is ongoing and will be won,” Brennan said. “It’s an inevitable event.”
Less certain is what role Canadian troops will play when the current mandate, which also includes a military hospital, special forces troops, and a helicopter detachment in northern Iraq, expires in March.
More than 800 service members are currently deployed in half-a-dozen locations across the Persian Gulf region after the Liberal government revamped Canada’s contribution to the American-led war against ISIL last year.
Military commanders are drawing up options based on a number of factors, including the expectation that ISIL will become a traditional insurgency in Iraq, which would require more police and counter-terrorism forces.
Canadian Brig.-Gen. David Anderson, who is leading an international team of military advisers in Iraq’s defence ministry, said his group recently submitted a two-year plan focused on exactly that.
There are also concerns that the group will try to spread outside Iraq and Syria, which is why Canada is helping to strengthen border security in Jordan and Lebanon.
The military will present three options for the government to choose from in the coming weeks in deciding the future of the mission.
Yet one big wild card is what direction the U.S. military will go after President Donald Trump blasted the slow progress of the fight against ISIL and ordered a 30-day review to consider new options.
U.S. Defence Secretary James Mattis is expected to visit Iraq in the next week or so before presenting his recommendations later this month.
Exactly what Mattis will recommend, both in Iraq and Syria, is wide open for speculation.
Brennan said the results could have a big impact on what Canada decides to do given the need to ensure a unified and co-ordinated international effort in the fight against ISIL.
“It does depend what happens,” Brennan said. “We are waiting as well. I think the question is: What else needs to be done, or could be done?”
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158563 RD-563 P-3C-AIP_ Orion VP-47
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Richard To:?John Lozon <jbl14848@...>
Sent: Wednesday, February 8, 2017 8:48 PM
Subject: P-3
|
|
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U.S., Chinese aircraft in "unsafe" encounter in South China Sea
U.S., Chinese aircraft in “unsafe” encounter in South China Sea
By: Mike Yeo
Defense News
February 9, 2017
MELBOURNE, Australia — The U.S. Pacific Command detailed what it called an “unsafe” close encounter between a U.S. Navy P-3 Orion aircraft and a Chinese aircraft Wednesday.
The two planes reportedly flew within 1,000 feet of each other in the general vicinity of the contested Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.
Maj. Rob Shulford, a spokesman for PACOM, told Defense News that “on Feb. 8 (local), an interaction characterized by U.S. Pacific Command as ‘unsafe’ occurred in international airspace above the South China Sea between a Chinese KJ-200 aircraft and a U.S. Navy P-3C aircraft.”
He also said that “the U.S. Navy P-3C was on a routine mission operating in accordance with international law,” adding that the “Department of Defense and U.S. Pacific Command are always concerned about unsafe interactions with Chinese military forces.”
There have been no other details about the relative flight paths of both aircraft at the time of the encounter, which has been described as “inadvertent”, although other reports said that the American P-3 had to alter course to avoid an aerial collision.
The Chinese aircraft involved has been identified as a Shaanxi KJ-200 Airborne Early Warning aircraft, which suggests this was unlikely to be an intercept of the P-3 by the Chinese.
The KJ-200 carries a phased array radar inside a long, rectangular housing mounted on struts on top of its fuselage. The aircraft is used by both the People’s Liberation Army Air Force and the air arm of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN, to provide air surveillance.
It is unclear to which branch of China’s armed forces the aircraft involved in this latest encounter belongs, although PLAN KJ-200s have been known to operate from air bases on China’s southern Hainan Island, 530 miles from Scarborough Shoal.
The aircraft are usually on temporary rotations to Hainan, being normally assigned to the PLAN’s 2nd Air Division, 4th Regiment based at Laiyang in Shandong Province, northern China.
-------------------------------------
A PLAAF Shaanxi KJ-200 AEW aircraft. (Photo Credit: Allen Zhao via Wikimedia Commons)
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Norway plans $1.15 billion order for five Boeing Poseidon military aircraft
Norway plans $1.15 billion order for five Boeing Poseidon military aircraft
Reuters
Nov. 28, 2016
Norway plans to order five Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol planes to maintain its surveillance capacity and meet future security challenges, the NATO country’s Defence Ministry said.
Following an agreement in Norway’s parliament to boost long-term military spending, the 9.83 billion Norwegian crowns ($1.15 billion) purchase will likely face only minor political opposition.
Norway’s long maritime border with neighboring Russia has become a renewed focus for the country’s military planners following the Russian annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region. Norway’s territorial waters also stretch far into the Arctic.
Neighboring Sweden and Finland, which are not in the NATO alliance, have also expressed concerns about incursions by Russian submarines and other naval vessels.
“The new security situation increases our demand for situational awareness in our own vicinity. The ability to handle current and future challenges must therefore be strengthened,” Defence Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide said.
“The introduction of the Poseidon aircraft is crucial for Norway to maintain a leading position and expertise on strategic conditions in northern areas,” she said in the statement released late on Friday. The statement did not specifically mention Russia.
The submarine-hunting patrol planes will replace Norway’s current fleet of six P-3 Orion and three DA-20 Jet Falcon aircraft and are expected to be delivered in 2021 and 2022. Norway will also buy related intelligence equipment, the ministry said.
(Reporting by Joachim Dagenborg; Editing by Terje Solsvik and Alison Williams)
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Canadian military sends surveillance aircraft to Arctic to investigate mysterious pinging sounds
Canadian military sends surveillance aircraft to Arctic to investigate mysterious pinging sounds
David Pugliese
Ottawa Citizen
November 3, 2016
The Canadian Forces has sent a surveillance aircraft to the Arctic to investigate a pinging sound that appears to be coming from the ocean floor, but the military is no closer to solving the mystery of what could be making the noise.
The government of Nunavut asked Ottawa to investigate the sounds, prompting the decision to send a CP-140 Aurora to conduct surveillance of Fury and Hecla Strait, northwest of the hamlet of Igloolik.
Descriptions of the noises range from pings to beeps or a hum. They have been reported by hunters in the region, who worry they are driving away animals.
Paul Quassa, a member of Nunavut’s legislative assembly, told lawmakers last month the sounds are coming from the sea floor. “The sound that has been heard in the area seems to be emitted from the seabed and underwater,” Quassa said in an October 25 statement. “Our constituents as well as hunters and boaters have reported that the area in question is almost devoid of sea mammals and that hunting has been poor in the area for quite some time.”
According to Department of National Defence spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier, the Aurora’s crew “performed various multi-sensor searches in the area, including an acoustic search for 1.5 hours, without detecting any acoustic anomalies. The crew did not detect any surface or subsurface contacts.”
The Aurora crew did observe two pods of whales and six walruses in the area of interest, Le Bouthillier added.
Residents have speculated about various theories for the sounds, including that a mining company may be conducting sonar surveys or that environmentalists may be using some kind of device to scare away animals so they can’t be hunted.
Nunavut’s government provided the Forces with information about the noises. “We appreciate the information provided by the government of Nunavut and will follow up with the premier’s office once the investigation has concluded,” Le Bouthillier said.
Over the years, there have been various reports of sightings of mysterious objects in Canada’s Arctic waters. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, there were at least a dozen sightings of unusual objects moving along or just below the surface of the water, mostly around Baffin Island, according to Canadian Forces records.
Inuit hunters and members of the Canadian Rangers reported what they believed were foreign submarines checking out Canada’s Arctic territories. Many of the sightings took place near Pond Inlet on Baffin Island.
One sighting in particular was well-documented: an RCMP officer and several area residents saw an object just below the surface, producing a three-metre bow wave as it moved through the water. Several weeks later, a group of hunters saw the object again.
The Canadian military conducted an investigation into the various sightings, but concluded strong currents or the wind could have caused the unusual waves reported by the officer and Inuit. At the time, the Canadian military said it could not find any evidence of foreign submarines operating in the area.
Fury and Hecla Strait (Google Maps)
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AP-3C Orion A9-658 Final Flight
AP-3C Orion A9-658 Final Flight
A crew from RAAF Base Edinburgh’s No 292 Squadron took AP-3C Orion A9-658 on her last flight on 21st October 2016 before it’s decommissioned from service. No 92 Wing’s fleet of Orions are gradually being phased out by 2018-2019, with the arrival of the first P-8A Poseidon in November 2016. Along with the MQ-4C Triton, an unmanned aircraft system, the two aircraft will eventually replace the existing Air Force maritime patrol capability.
The first Orion AP-3B aircraft was introduced into the RAAF in 1968, later to be replaced with the upgraded AP-3C variant in 1978. Fitted with a variety of sensors, including digital multi-role radar, electronic support measures, electro-optics detectors, magnetic anomaly detectors, friend or foe identification systems, and acoustic detectors, the AP-3C has completed thousands of missions. In 2012, the AP-3C completed ten years of operational service in the Middle East, flying 2400 missions with more than 3500 personnel deployed during this period alone.
The AP-3C Orion fleet is currently supporting Operations RESOLUTE, GATEWAY, and SOLANIA in support of Border Protection and Fisheries patrols within the South East Asia and Pacific regions. Due to the aircraft’s excellent surveillance capabilities, it is often called upon by civilian authorities for assistance with search and rescue missions, including the heavily-documented missing Malaysian airliner, MH370. (RAAF photos by CPL David Cotton, 28SQN AFID-EDN)
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20161021raaf8540618_0100
Aircraft Fitter Aircraftman Anthony Harrod from No 10 Squadron gives a thumbs-up during engine start to the No 292 Squadron personnel who will be taking AP-3C Orion A9-658 on its final tactical training sortie from RAAF Base Edinburgh.
A larger, high-res version can be viewed or downloaded here:
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20161021raaf8540618_0111
Aircraft Fitter Aircraftman Anthony Harrod from No 10 Squadron gives a thumbs-up during engine start to the No 292 Squadron personnel who will be taking AP-3C Orion A9-658 on its final tactical training sortie from RAAF Base Edinburgh.
A larger, high-res version can be viewed or downloaded here:
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20161021raaf8540618_0123
RAAF AP-3C Orion A9-658 takes off from RAAF Base Edinburgh for its final tactical training flight, prior to being decommissioned from service.
A larger, high-res version can be viewed or downloaded here:
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Lockheed AP-3C Orion
s/n A9-658
FMS BuNo 162658
c/n 5782
(First P-3 built in Palmdale.)
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Navy’s MQ-4C Triton community gets its very first squadron
Navy’s MQ-4C Triton community gets its very first squadron
By: Mark D. Faram
Navy Times
November 2, 2016
The Navy’s first unmanned aviation unit formally became the Navy’s first UAV squadron during an October 28 “assumption of command” ceremony at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida.
The unit officially formed in 2013 in Jacksonville and formally became a commissioned squadron as Cmdr. Benjamin Stinespring became the unit’s first commanding officer.
The unit has no aircraft yet, but is slated to begin delivery of their MQ-4C Triton UAVs late in 2017 and begin flight operations. The squadron is currently scheduled for an inaugural deployment to 7th Fleet in 2018.
“As the Navy’s first MQ-4C Triton squadron VUP-19 will operate and maintain the MQ-4C Triton to support overseas operations beginning in fiscal year 2018,” said Cmdr. Dave Hecht, spokesman for Naval Air Forces, Atlantic. “The squadron consists of 130 members that have been rotating through NAS Patuxent River, Maryland to train with test pilots.”
In January 2017, a Triton mission systems trainer is scheduled to open at NAS Jacksonville across the street from the current P-8 simulation facility.
This will give the officer and enlisted operators a jump start on mission training before their aircraft arrive.
The squadron’s members are formed into crews, just as any other Navy patrol squadron, but the P-8A pilots, naval flight officers, and aviation warfare operators don’t fly, instead controlling the aircraft from a mission control system.
The squadron’s mission and aircraft are designed to complement the Navy’s P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft, which are currently being phased into the fleet, replacing the P-3 Orion.
With a 130-foot wingspan, the Triton aircraft is expected to have a maximum flight endurance of up to 28 hours, giving it the ability to cover up to 1 million square miles of ocean in a single patrol mission.
Though the aircraft is usually flown from a ground control station like its Global Hawk sister, the hope is that eventually it could also be controlled from a P-8, but that capability has yet to be officially developed.
VUP-19’s operators will be in on the ground floor of that effort, helping the Navy develop the operational techniques and procedures for operating the two together, USN sources tell Navy Times.
That effort will use the lessons gained from another twin-aircraft effort, the teaming of the MH-60 helicopter and the MQ-8 Fire Scout while taking the capability into long-range, fixed-wing maritime patrols.
VUP-19 was named after Patrol Squadron 19, which was in service from 1946 until 1991. It takes on the squadron’s name and nickname of “Big Red”. Its unit patch is also a nod to the former P-3 Orion squadron, but has been updated to reflect the unit’s new mission.
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I included VP-19’s patch for comparison.
Here's its history:
Not to be confused with Flight 19, of course:
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VIRIN: 030322-N-3658D-002
Central Command Area of Responsibility — (Mar. 22, 2003) — Aviation Ordnancemen assigned to the “Grey Knights” of VP-46 prepare to load AGM-65 Mavericks on a P-3C Orion. VP-46 is deployed conducting missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Operation Iraqi Freedom is the multi-national coalition effort to liberate the Iraqi people, eliminate Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, and end the regime of Saddam Hussein. (U.S. Navy photo by Photographers Mate 1st Class Brad C. Dillon/Released)
A much larger, high-res version can be viewed or downloaded here:
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VIRIN: 030322-N-3658D-003
Central Command Area of Responsibility — (Mar. 22, 2003) — Aviation Ordnancemen assigned to the “Grey Knights” of VP-46 prepare to load AGM-65 Mavericks on a P-3C Orion. (U.S. Navy photo by Photographers Mate 1st Class Brad C. Dillon/Released)
A much larger, high-res version can be viewed or downloaded here:
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VIRIN: 030322-N-3658D-004
Central Command Area of Responsibility — (Mar. 22, 2003) — Aviation Ordnancemen assigned to the “Grey Knights” of VP-46 prepare to load AGM-65 Mavericks on a P-3C Orion. (U.S. Navy photo by Photographers Mate 1st Class Brad C. Dillon/Released)
A much larger, high-res version can be viewed or downloaded here:
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The “Grey Knights” Participated in Valiant Shield 2016
The “Grey Knights” Participated in Valiant Shield 2016
Story Number: NNS161027-16
Release Date: 10/27/2016 1:22:00 PM
By Petty Officer 3rd Class Alexander J. Cole
Patrol Squadron 46 Public Affairs
GUAM (NNS) — The “Grey Knights” of Patrol Squadron 46 participated in exercise Valiant Shield 2016 from September 12 to 23.
VS16 is a 12-day biennial exercise focusing on integrated joint training among U.S. forces to produce proficiency in detecting, locating, tracking, and engaging units at sea, in the air, on land, and in cyberspace.
“It's exciting to be in an all-U.S. exercise where we try things we normally don’t have the opportunity to try in other exercises,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Jordan Mayer, a VP-46 air crewman.
The squadron’s aircraft is the P-3C Orion, a multi-mission-capable aircraft that specializes in anti-submarine warfare (ASW); intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR); and anti-surface warfare (ASUW).
Having the ability to use the P-3C Orion in this exercise gave it and its crew valuable, high-tempo training in each of those mission areas, according to Lt. Cmdr. Mathew C. Moeser, officer-in-charge of VP-46’s detachment and a pilot.
“We were able to conduct all of our mission sets while we were out at Valiant Shield and practice those skill sets, as well as display those skills for the rest of the joint community to see,” said Moeser.
VS16 also gave the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force the opportunity to show other communities what MPRF brings to a real-world training scenario.
“We helped develop and increase awareness for the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force,” said Moeser. “Everyone now understands what we bring to the fight.”
According to Petty Officer 2nd Class Chad M. Zandi, a Sailor in VP-46’s Intelligence Department, the squadron not only displayed its skills to the other branches of the U.S. military, it showed its Sailors how they affect the battlespace when it comes to ISR.
“Valiant Shield gave us another opportunity to show how important MPRF ISR is in a large-scale operation,” said Zandi.
VS16 didn’t come without challenges, though. VP-46’s Maintenance Department kept the aircraft flying through the exercise, allowing the aircrew to meet every mission.
The squadron had a chance to participate in a sinking exercise (SINKEX) which provided service members the opportunity to gain proficiency in ASUW — which involved tactics, targeting, and live-firing against surface targets at sea.
Now that VS16 is complete, VP-46 will continue preparing for deployment during its inter-deployment readiness cycle at NAS Whidbey Island.
For more news from Patrol Squadron 46, visit .
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VIRIN: 160914-N-EP641-014
GUAM — (Sept. 14, 2016) — A P-3C sits on the flightline of Andersen AFB during Exercise Valiant Shield. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Alexander Cole/Released)
A larger, high-res version wasn’t available.
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Fw: Canada Specials #9 & 10
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Richard <rkarbows@> To:?John Lozon Sent: Monday, October 24, 2016 12:20 PM Subject: Fw: Canada Specials #9 & 10
Two?CP-140s.?One?celebrates?75th
Anniversary of 405 Pathfinders?Squadron.
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PHOTOS: Neptune and Orion
20161015raaf8540618_0104
A Lockheed Neptune and an AP-3C Orion participate in a flypast during the T150 Townsville Defence Force Air Show. (RAAF photo by CPL David Cotton, 28SQN AFID-EDN)
A larger, high-res version can be viewed or downloaded here:
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20161015raaf8540618_0108
A Lockheed Neptune and an AP-3C Orion participate in a flypast during the T150 Townsville Defence Force Air Show. (RAAF photo by CPL David Cotton, 28SQN AFID-EDN)
A larger, high-res version can be viewed or downloaded here:
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20161013raaf8558864_160
A Lockheed SP-2H (P2V-7) Neptune operated by the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society taxies after arriving at RAAF Base Townsville in the lead-up to the T150 Defence Force Air Show and Open Day. (RAAF photo by CPL Oliver Carter, 28SQN AFID-RIC)
A larger, high-res version can be viewed or downloaded here:
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Lockheed SP-2H (P2V-7) Neptune
s/n A89-273
c/n 726-7273
VH-IOY
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IMP Aerospace awarded Chilean Navy Orion III (P-3 modernization) contract
IMP Aerospace awarded Chilean Navy Orion III (P-3 modernization) contract
HALIFAX, Oct. 17, 2016 /CNW/ — IMP Aerospace announced that it has been awarded a contract by the Chilean Navy (ACH) following an international competitive bidding process for the service life extension, depot maintenance, and avionics upgrade of their P-3 Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft. The ACH P-3 Orion aircraft play a critical role in detecting submarine threats, search and rescue, littoral/overland surveillance, and economic zone and shipping lane protection.
The ACH Orion III Program entails the embodiment of the Lockheed Martin P-3 Structural Mid-Life Upgrade modification on two ACH P-3A aircraft, as well as the design and installation of a state-of- the-art “glass cockpit”, installation of upgraded engines, and a Phased Depot Maintenance inspection package. The aircraft work will be completed within IMP's Halifax, Nova Scotia facilities and will be preceded by work on the avionics installation design, avionics kit procurement, and aircraft nacelle refurbishment.
Tom Galley, IMP Aerospace Executive VP and COO, stated, “We are very pleased to be awarded this contract for the Chilean Navy to modernize their P-3 Orion fleet with advanced avionics and a full structural upgrade. IMP Aerospace has a well-established capability in performing extensive aircraft modifications of this nature and we are proud to support the Chilean Navy on this important upgrade to their strategic fleet of maritime patrol aircraft. This award further cements our reputation as a world-class provider of in-depth aircraft services of this type.”
About IMP Aerospace
IMP Aerospace, one of Canada’s largest Canadian-owned aerospace and defence contractors, provides a full range of technical services including aircraft In-Service Support, engineering, aircraft repair, overhaul, and modification services to domestic and international military and commercial customers. IMP Aerospace is one of six independent operating units of IMP Aerospace & Defence, which is a business unit of IMP Group, a Halifax-based company focused on global sustainable growth with over 4,400 experienced people delivering service, quality, and value to customers across diverse sectors, such as aerospace, aviation, healthcare, information technology, hospitality, and property development.
SOURCE: IMP AEROSPACE
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Valiant Shield sinking exercise concludes
Valiant Shield sinking exercise concludes
By Sgt. Jessica Quezada
III Marine Expeditionary Force
September 14, 2016
PACIFIC OCEAN, Guam — Live fire from ships and aircraft participating in the Valiant Shield 2016 exercise sank the decommissioned USS Rentz (FFG-46) about 3 p.m. Tuesday, September 13 in waters 30,000 feet deep, 220 nautical miles northeast of Guam.
Units from the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps participated in the sinking exercise, which provided them the opportunity to gain proficiency in tactics, targeting, and live firing against a surface target at sea.
“This exercise provided an important opportunity for realistic at-sea training with live ordnance in a blue water environment,” said U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Brian S. Hurley, the U.S. Pacific Fleet Valiant Shield exercise lead. “This event refined our ability to work together seamlessly as a joint force to achieve a very specific training objective.”
Former Navy vessels used in all SINKEXs are prepared in strict compliance with regulations prescribed and enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency under a general permit the Navy holds pursuant to the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act.
Each SINKEX is required to sink the hulk in at least 6,000 feet and at least 50 nautical miles from land.
Surveys are conducted to ensure that humans and marine mammals are not in an area where they could be harmed during the event.
Prior to the vessel being transported for participation in a SINKEX, each vessel is put through a rigorous cleaning process, including the removal of all polychlorinated biphenyls, transformers, and large capacitors; all small capacitors to the greatest extent practical; trash; floatable materials; mercury or fluorocarbon-containing materials, and readily-detachable solid PCB items. Petroleum is also cleaned from tanks, piping, and reservoirs.
A Navy civilian environmental, safety, and health manager and a quality assurance supervisor inspect the environmental remediation conducted in preparation of a vessel’s use in a SINKEX. Upon completion of the environmental remediation, the manager and supervisor provide signed certification of the work in accordance with EPA requirements.
Additional aircraft was present during the SINKEX to ensure safety precautions were taken for other potential aircraft and boats within the range area.
“Today, we were range clearing for the SINKEX, making sure no one was in the way and everyone involved stayed safe,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Carid Stovill, a patrol wing commander for VP-8. “We are here as a safety observer. Everything we talk about doing we are doing here and when we practice with multiple services together and practice communication...this is how it is going to be in real-world scenarios.”
Rentz was the 40th ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigates and was named after Chaplain George Snavely Rentz, who gave his life during the Battle of Java Sea when the USS Houston (CA-30) was struck by a barrage of enemy torpedoes and sunk. The ship was home-ported at San Diego for nearly 30 years and conducted countless operations along the west coast of the United States with regular, extended deployments to the U.S. Seventh Fleet, U.S. Fifth Fleet, and U.S. Fourth Fleet areas of operation. In her nearly 30 years of service, Rentz performed superbly and is credited with assisting in the interdiction of 14,000 pounds of cocaine in 2003 during counter-narcotics operations, saving 90 Ecuadorian citizens from a distressed vessel in the eastern Pacific in 2005, and supporting multiple operations including Operation Earnest Will, Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines, Operation Ultimatum, and the Global War on Terrorism. Rentz was decommissioned on May 9, 2014.
Sponsored by U.S. Pacific Command, Valiant Shield is a U.S.-only, biennial field training exercise with a focus on integrated joint training among U.S. forces that increases participants' ability to plan, communicate, and conduct complex maritime operations. This training enables real-world proficiency in sustaining joint forces through detecting, locating, tracking, and engaging units at sea, in the air, on land, and in cyberspace in response to a range of mission areas.
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VIRIN: 160913-M-QA315-139
U.S. Navy sailors of VP-46 load a P-3C Orion with AGM-65F Maverick air-to-surface missiles prior to a SINKEX on September 13, 2016 at Andersen AFB during Valiant Shield 2016. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Justin Fisher/Released)
A much larger, high-res version can be viewed or downloaded here:
Lockheed P-3C-220-LO Orion; upgraded to P-3C CDU Nov 1997; upgraded to P-3C AIP Jan 2004
BuNo 161766
RC-766
c/n 285G-5781
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VIRIN: 160913-M-QA315-135
U.S. Navy sailors of VP-46 load a P-3C Orion with AGM-65F Maverick air-to-surface missiles prior to a SINKEX on September 13, 2016 at Andersen AFB during Valiant Shield 2016. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Justin Fisher/Released)
A much larger, high-res version can be viewed or downloaded here:
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VIRIN: 160914-N-EP641-014
GUAM — (Sept. 14, 2016) — A P-3C sits on the flightline of Andersen AFB during Exercise Valiant Shield 2016. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Alexander Cole/Released)
A larger, high-res version can be viewed or downloaded here:
Lockheed P-3C-220-LO Orion; upgraded to P-3C CDU Nov 1997; upgraded to P-3C AIP Jan 2004
BuNo 161766
RC-766
c/n 285G-5781
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Re: Fw: Greenwood Military Aviation Museum adds three new aircraft
ok group CP-140A Arcturus 140119 is the one in picture 140120 wfu 8 Feb 2011 at AMARG D-MAFB,AZ 140121 wfu 1 Mat 2011 at AMARG D-MAFB,AZ
the CC-130E is 130328 visible on a/cs nose the CC-144 is 144616 former 4312 Sdn
From: "Jeff Rankin-Lowe siriusproductions@... [P-3_Orion]"
To: p-3_orion
Sent: Friday, September 9, 2016 10:37 PM
Subject: Re: [P-3_Orion] Fw: Greenwood Military Aviation Museum adds three new aircraft
?
No serials? I thought you complained that any photos without serials are just "nothing" (but you put it in bold, all caps, and a 36-point blue font)?
Also, credit where it's due: the article and photos are by Ben Forrest and were published in Skies magazine. There's no excuse for deleting credit info.
Jeff
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