aritime operations have
always been an important
task for the Luftforsvaret
(Royal Norwegian Air Force, RNoAF),
due to the nation’s strategically
important position on NATO’s
northern flank. Furthermore, as
Norway’s sea territory is seven times
larger than its land mass, a strong
maritime warfare capability is a
must for the Norwegian military.
Today the MPA task is performed
by 333 Skvadron based at Andøya,
located on a small island off the
coastline of northern Norway,
well within the Arctic Circle. The
squadron is organised within the
co-located 133 Luftwing, and is
equipped with four P-3C Update
III and two P-3N Orions. The
squadron has almost 50 years’
experience with the Orion, and
became the first European operator
of the type when five P-3Bs were
delivered in 1969, joined by a further
two former US Navy P-3Bs in- As these began to lag behind
in terms of avionics technology,
the RNoAF purchased four new
P-3C Update IIIs for delivery in
1989 as P-3B replacements.
Five of the old P-3Bs were sold
to the Ejército del Aire (Spanish Air
Force) and the remaining two were
modified to P-3N configuration
(N for Norway) in 1991. During
P-3N modification some of the
anti-submarine warfare (ASW)
equipment was replaced by sensor
systems optimised for maritime
surveillance and environmental
control, but they were also
equipped with 27 seats to be
used for carrying passengers.
The P-3Ns are operated by 333Skvadron mainly on Kystvakt
(Norwegian Coast Guard)
duties, as well as being used for
aircrew proficiency training.
Between 1998 and 2000 the
Norwegian P-3C fleet went through
the Orion Update Improvement
Program (UIP), providing the
aircraft with the latest standards
of avionics, electronic support
measures (ESM), surveillance and
sonic processing equipment. The
UIP upgrade of each P-3C lasted
six months and was performed
by Lockheed Martin in Greenville,Norway
M
56 // FEBRUARY 2018 #359 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com
European MPAs Part 3
Fleet
Survey