German Navy maritime patrol planes to receive upgrades
The programme will upgrade the mission system processing suites on the fleet of eight P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft.
Lockheed Martin has announced it has received a $158.5-million contract for the second phase of the German Navy P-3C Mission System Refresh Program. The programme will upgrade the mission system processing suites on the fleet of eight P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft to support operations until 2035, said Lockheed Martin.
The Mission System Refresh is part of an overall fleet upgrade that includes structural mid-life upgrades as well as an upgrade to the instrument flight rules cockpit capability. The Program will include the design, development, manufacture, integration, installation and test of the Lockheed Martin Airborne Tactical Mission System. Lockheed Martin said the majority of the hardware and software design, manufacture and upgrades will be performed its US sites in Owego, New York, Manassas, Virginia and Marietta, Georgia.
The Germany P-3 Orion Mission System Refresh Program began in 2016 when the US Navy awarded Lockheed Martin an initial Foreign Military Sales contract for $54.9 million for design and development work through Preliminary Design, Lockheed Martin explained. This current contract award of $158.5 million takes the programme from Preliminary Design Review through to completion in 2022. The eight aircraft operated by the German Navy were procured in early 2006 from the Royal Netherlands Navy.