Mission The S-3B Viking is an all weather, carrier-based jet aircraft, providing protection against hostile surface combatants while also functioning as the Carrier Battle Groups’ primary overhead/mission tanker. Extremely versatile, the aircraft is equipped for many missions, including day/night surveillance, electronic countermeasures, command/control/communications warfare, and search and rescue (SAR). Background Derived from the S-3A and …
Mission Four-engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft. Background In February 1959, the Navy awarded Lockheed a contract to develop a replacement for the aging P2V Neptune. The P3V Orion, derived from Lockheed’s successful L188 Electra airliner, entered the inventory in July 1962, and more than 30 years later it remains the Navy’s sole land-based …
Mission Four-engine turboprop signals intelligence (SIGINT) reconnaissance aircraft. Background During the 1990s twelve P-3Cs were converted to EP3-E ARIES II to replace older versions of the aircraft. The original ARIES I aircraft were converted in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The last EP-3E ARIES II aircraft was delivered in 1997. EP-3Es have been heavily …
Mission The Lockheed C-141B Starlifter fulfills the vast spectrum of airlift requirements through its ability to transport combat forces over long distances, inject those forces and their equipment either by airland or airdrop, resupply employed forces, and extract the sick and wounded from the hostile area to advanced medical facilities. Background President John F. Kennedy’s …
Overview Howard Hughes was one of the driving forces behind the design of the Lockheed Constellation commercial transport. During WWII, the USAAF purchased 22 early model Constellations which were designated as C-69s. At the end of the war, the USAAF decided to standardize on the Douglas C-54 as its four-engined transport of choice, and promptly …
