CBP No. 3 Delivered

Posted 23 August 2011

TAGS:

The third US Customs and Border Protection P-3 Orion to go through the Mid-Lift Upgrade, or MLU, program was delivered on 23 August 2011 from the Lockheed Martin facility in Greenville, South Carolina. The MLU kit, which includes new wings, replaces all fatigue-life-limiting structures with new components and incorporates a new corrosion-resistant metal alloy. The MLU kit removes current aircraft flight restrictions and extends the structural service life of the P-3 up to 15,000 hours, adding more than twenty years of operational service. Currently, fourteen of the sixteen Customs P-3s are scheduled to receive the MLU kit. Deliveries will run through 2015. To date, six operators from four nations have ordered seventy-one MLU kits.

Comments

P-3 Articles
P-3 News
P-3 Video
P-3 Photos

View All Articles

Golden Orion
8/22/2012
The P-3 Orion is still going strong fifty years after entering operational service.

Tweak My Ride
3/7/2012
Straightforward improvements to the C-130, P-3, and C-5 such as winglets, microvanes, and other methods to reduce drag should equate to big fuel savings.

Orions On Station
11/5/2011
US Customs and Border Protection P-3 Orion crews are big obstacle in a drug smuggler’s path.

Lockheed Martin Kelly Aviation Center
2/28/2011
The company credited with designing, developing, and manufacturing the U-2 Dragon Lady, C-130 Hercules, C-5 Galaxy, and F-16 Fighting Falcon also maintains, repairs, overhauls, and tests the engines that power these aircraft.

German P-3 Orion Operations
6/24/2010
The German Navy received P-3 aircraft from the Netherlands in 2005 and 2006. By 2007, they were flying operational missions with the Orion for NATO.

P-3 Orion Operations At RAAF Edinburgh
1/1/2009
One of the first things visitors notice at RAAF Edinburgh is the digital clocks. The clocks are an apt symbol for the current dual mission tasking for the RAAF Orion crews.

View All News