Airforces

ircraft and systems

manufacturers from around the

world have entered a wide

range of platforms in New Zealand’s

Future Air Surveillance Capability

(FASC) competition. The winner

will replace the Orion, the first of

which – a P-3B – was delivered

to No 5 Squadron at Whenuapai

Air Base near Auckland in

October 1966. Since then, Royal

New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF)

Orions have flown more than 150,000

hours and countless miles around the Pacific

and the rest of the world. Most recently, in

February 2017, one P-3K2 and 55 personnel

were deployed to the Middle East on

anti-smuggling and anti-piracy duties

with the Combined Maritime Force.

The oldest P-3s still in frontline

service, the RNZAF’s Orions have

been upgraded several times

over the years, most recently

under a NZ$377m systems

upgrade programme completed

in 2016. Each successive

upgrade reflected the need

to meet a broader spectrum of

tasks than was envisaged when five

P-3Bs (NZ2401-2405) were bought from

Lockheed in the mid-1960s as primarily anti-

submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. They

Orion adventureOrion adventureOrion adventure

Beyond the

Orion adventure

Beyond the

Orion adventure

The Royal New Zealand Air

Force’s six venerable Lockheed

P-3K2 Orions are approaching

their twilight years after more

than half a century of service.

Jim Winchester looks at the

long process to replace them.

A

Above: P-3K2 NZ4203 at Whenuapai. The most

visible change from the P-3K to the K2 is the

replacement of the Boeing Infrared Detection

System (IRDS) turret under the nose with the

Wescam MX-20 electro-optical/infrared system.

Jim Winchester Right: The P-3K2 upgrade included

a BAE Systems digital autopilot with new

fl ight director, and a dual LN-100 GPS/inertial

navigation system. RNZAF

RNZAF Maritime Patrol

92 // JANUARY 2018 #358 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com