The first P-3C Orion purchased from Norway for the Argentine Navy (ARA) is already at the facilities of the MHD Rockland company, in Keystone Heights (Florida), for maintenance and commissioning works prior to its official delivery.
Last step before arriving in Argentina
According to Argendef’s publication, MHD Rockland, a company with extensive experience in repair and obsolescence management of P-3 Orion family aircrafts (they have five P-3s of their own), will carry out the necessary readiness and overhaul works so that the former Norwegian maritime patrol aircraft can make the ferry flight to Argentina.
Desde ayer, el primer P-3C Orion que recibirá la Armada Argentina se encuentra en las instalaciones de la empresa MHD-Rockland en Keystone Heights. La aeronave será sometida a trabajos en sus sensores y acondicionada para el ferry a nuestro país.
Créditos al autor pic.twitter.com/FTzfjUp4JL
— Argendef (@Argendef) July 18, 2024
P-3C Orion main sensor recovery
MHD Rockland will also be responsible for maintaining the aircraft’s radar, the Raytheon AN/APS-137(V)5 radar. It is a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) system designed for anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare. It performs long-range surface search and target tracking, periscope detection, ship imaging and classification using ISAR mode. The SAR capability is used for land surveillance, ground targeting and terrestrial mapping.
Its home base will be in Trelew
The Chief of the General Staff of the Argentine Navy, Rear Admiral Carlos María Allievi, announced that the first P-3C Orion patrol and surveillance aircraft, acquired in October 2023, will arrive in the country in September and will be assigned to the Amirante Zar Naval Air Base in Trelew.
Edición impresa
Escuadrilla de Trelew traerá el nuevo Orion P-3C a la Base Almirante Zar https://t.co/uE4CVOjL2Y— Diario EL CHUBUT (@ElChubut) July 20, 2024
According to the newspaper El Chubut, personnel from the ARA’s Aeronaval Exploration Squadron, based at the Almirante Zar Naval Air Base, will be in charge of flying the P-3C Orion to the United States on a commercial flight, to then fly it to Buenos Aires, where the official presentation will take place. Afterwards, it will be transferred to the home base.
The remaining three planes are expected to arrive in Argentina during 2025.
