Center located in Cleveland, Ohio to be
modi ed for research missions. It will join an
S-3 already used by NASA from that facility.
Is there any potential future for more S-3
Vikings to y again? Given the capabilities of
the aircraft, and the low ight hours on many
of the airframes in storage, it seems to be the
perfect option for a potential foreign military
sale.HERCULES AND ORIONS
The squadron uses three KC-130T Hercules
to carry cargo to a variety of locations,
including weekly runs to San Nicolas Island
and San Clemente Island, off the coast of
California, which are controlled by the Navy.
Additionally, these Hercules provide air-to-
air refuelling of other units’ aircraft using the
Sea Range and ensure safety in the areaby monitoring for water or airborne intruders
during hazardous operations.
The Orions own by VX-30 are also used
for surveillance and clearance of the Sea
Range, as well as providing telemetry data
during missile testing. The squadron ies the
only two ‘billboard’ NP-3D Orions in the Navy’s
inventory. The modi cation contains radar that
can provide an over-the-horizon capability. The
phased array telemetry antenna systems can
track up to ve independent, geographically
separated, S-Band telemetry sources
(including Harpoon, SLAM and Tomahawk
missiles), provide recorded data collection in
the same band and can re-transmit six L-band
frequencies to ground stations for real-time
analysis. One of the NP-3D’s is also tted with
Cast Glance, a stabilised photo-optical system.
This provides high-resolution photographic
coverage of test operations.
The squadron also has one specially
con gured NP-3C tted with an E-2C
rotating antenna (rotodome), Hawkeye 2000
airborne early warning (AEW) system and
an Airborne Engagement Capability (AEC)
suite to support the Navy’s future AEW/AEC
programmes. Plus, there are two recently
acquired P-3Cs that came from the eet with
the latest upgrades to replace the Vikings.
In addition to local operations, VX-30
deploys personnel and aircraft worldwide
supporting national-level test events.
Although the squadron is considered a shore
command, the capabilities of its aircraft
and military/civilian workforce ensure they
are always in high demand. In addition to
the aircraft deployments, VX-30’s Airborne
Threat Simulation (ATS) department deploys
worldwide with specialised equipment to
support numerous eet exercises. This
department maintains around 48 different
electronic warfare pods, ensuring optimum
threat simulation and are regularly called
upon to provide electronic attack and active
emitter systems services, simulating aerial
threats to the eet.24 Aviation News incorporating Classic Aircraft May 2016Above: Fire Scouts in VX-30’s UAS hangar. The MQ-8C test programme is a joint effort between
Northrop Grumman, the primary contractor, and VX-30.
Below: Bloodhound 701 was delivered to Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona for storage in
November 2015.One of the squadron’s two NP-3D aircraft returns to the base after a morning sortie over the Sea Range.20-27_vx30DC.mf.indd 24 06/04/2016 17:01