Naval Air: <b>June 25, 2005</b>

June 25, 2005

Recently, a Royal Thai Navy P-3T arrived in the U.S. for what is likely to be the first radar upgrade of the small Thai P-3 fleet. The US Navy is managing the upgrade. The refit includes replacing the APS-80 radar system the original P-3A/B radar in use since the 1960s -- with the Sea Vue radar. The Thai Navy is particularly concerned with the considerable advantage the new radar will afford in monitoring small surface targets in and around Thailands waters. The P-3T performs maritime surveillance, counter-drug operations, anti-piracy operations, and ferrying of senior personnel.

Sea Vue Radar is based on commercial radars. It provides night vision, as well as weather detection and features a 100-target track-while-scan (TWS) function. It provides far superior performance to the APS-80 with the employment of high-resolution pulse compression, scan-to-scan video integration, and a fast-scanning antenna all optimized for enhanced detection of small targets in high sea states. The refit was to have been completed in June.

In 1994, Thailand got five P-3As bought from the US up from three initially ordered in 1989. Four remain flying, with the fifth used for parts. The 1989 date slipped because of financial problems and governmental changes in Thailand. The P-3T is essentially the same as the US Navys Tactical Navigation Modification (TACNAVMOD), which was performed on US Navy P-3Bs in the 1980s to upgrade that model to P-3C Update 1 standards with the addition of the ASA-66 tactical display, LTN-72 inertial navigator, Omega Navigation Receiver, and other improvements. Before purchasing P-3s, the RTN had been using the Grumman S-2A/G Tracker. Once they return to Thailand, the P-3Ts will serve along side the Fokker F-27 Maritime Enforcers.

After this first aircraft is upgraded, there is a likelihood that in late CY05 PMA-290 will receive a Letter of Request to have a second RTN aircraft modified. Details about the third aircraft are unknown at this time. It has not yet been determined at what location the second and third aircraft are likely to be modified. The dollar value of the work has not yet been made public. However, a 2002 sale of five Sea Vue radar sets to another ally carried a price tag of $5.7 million.

Pakistan has also been seeking to upgrade its maritime patrol aircraft capabilities. Last fall, Portuguese aircraft refitter OGMA was chosen by Lockheed Martin to refit for service Pakistans two P-3C Update II.5 Orions (one was lost in an accident), purchased between 1991 and 1996. Last fall, Pakistan was reported ready to buy eight P-3B aircraft from the US through the Foreign Military Sales Program.

In May, 2005, Pakistan placed, instead, an order for eight US Navy surplus P-3C aircraft, six Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems, and at least 60 Harpoon Missiles, worth a total of $1.3 billion. The Pentagon reported the sale of the aircraft and equipment to Congress which was expected to approve it quickly.

Pakistan publicly noted that the new Orions will be used not only for maritime air patrol but for their command-and-control capabilities in controlling its littorals and coasts. While the aircraft will be from the US P-3C inventory, as part of the deal, they will be upgraded to US AIP and BMUP standards. The P-3C Update III Anti SUrface Warfare Improvement Program (AIP) provides the following: the IR Maverick Missile; AN/AAS-36A Infrared Detecting Set [IRDS]; AN/AVX-1 Electro-Optical Sensor System [EOSS]; AN/APS-137B(V)5 SAR/ISAR Radar; EP-2060 Pulse Analyzer/ AN/ALR-66C(V)3 set; Color High Resolution Displays [CHRD]; Over-the-Horizon Airborne Sensor Information System [OASIS] III; OZ-72(V) Multi-Mission Advanced Tactical Terminal [MATT] system; AN/USC-42(V)3 Miniaturized Demand Assigned Multiple Access [Mini-DAMA]; AN/AAR-47 Missile Warning System [MWS]; AN/ALE-47 Countermeasures Dispensing System [CMDS]; and AN/ALR-66C(V)3 Electronic Support Measures Set. The BMUP mod includes a data processing subsystem based on the CP-2451/ASQ-227 digital computer and an acoustic subsystem based on the USQ-78B display and control unit, plus the capability to carry the Standoff Land Attack Missile - Expanded Response.

While Pakistans reason for buying the P-3C vs. the P-3B was not made public, the fact that Pakistan already has several P-3Cs that will be upgraded to the same standard makes the decision understandable. The aircraft will be drawn from excess US Navy assets. Approximately 140 P-3Cs have been prematurely retired by the US in the past two years as the result of both wear-and-tear and in an attempt to save money while the P-8A Multimission Maritime Aircraft is developed for introduction to the US fleet in 2012-2014. The new P-3C aircraft will be paid for in part through US military assistance for Pakistan as part of the war on international terrorism and the total cost for the eight airplanes plus upgrades is initially estimated to be $970 million. The upgrades will be done through depot level maintenance overhaul and mission systems upgrades in the US and Pakistan, although the locations have yet to be determined. The contract is expected to be signed by the end of 2005 and the aircraft will be completed and delivered to Pakistan between 2006 and 2009. As previously noted, Pakistans two existing P-3Cs will also be upgraded to the same standards. Dollar value for their upgrade was previously estimated at $9.8 million, not including unspecified spare parts. K.B. Sherman