Australia to search ocean the size of Ukraine for missing Malaysian 777

Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has released details of its operation to search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, a Boeing 777 jetliner with 239 passengers and crew on board which mysteriously vanished about an hour into a Kuala Lumpur-Beijing flight on the 8th of March. Satellite data has indicated there was a possibility that MH370's last contact could be in the southern Indian Ocean in what is known as the "southern corridor". An area totalling 600,000 square kilometres (see image below provided by AMSA), or roughly the size of Ukraine - inclusive of Crimea - located 3,200 kilometres (2,000 miles) from Perth has been designated as the search zone. The search area was developed based on information made available to AMSA on Monday, and being will be refined in conjunction with other agencies.

Six aircraft have been allocated to the search; four Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) AP-3C Orion maritime patrol/anti-submarine aircraft, a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P-3K2 Orion and a United States Navy (USN) P-8 Poseidon. All six aircraft are expected to reach Perth tomorrow (19th March) and it is expected that five daylight sorties will be flown on the 19th. One AP-3C has already redeployed to RAAF Base Pearce, north of Perth from the Cocos (Keeling) Island and has already flown a search sortie today with more AP-3Cs being deployed from RAAF Edinburgh in South Australia.

Back-of-envelope calculations show that the Orions will probably take about five hours to transit to/from the search area from Western Australia, which will leave them with at least two hours of fuel available to search the area. By shutting down up to two engines (see photo above of a RAAF AP-3C flying with one engine shut down), the Orions will be able to conserve fuel and extend loiter time over the search zone.

More from Greg Waldron over at Flightglobal

USN, JMSDF P-3 Orions damaged in hangar collapse at Atsugi

A P-3C Orion from the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force alongside a U.S Navy P-3C (US DoD Photo)

It appears Nature is on the warpath against military aircraft. A hangar roof has collapsed at a facility near Naval Air Facility Atsugi where a local contractor carries out maintenance work on P-3 Orions in Japan. It was believed that the collapse was due to the weight from snow which had fallen on it. No one was injured, but the aircraft in the hangar will have suffered varying degrees of damage.

At the time of the collapse there were 10 P-3 (and various sub-types) in the hangar. Four of the P-3s were U.S. Navy aircraft, while Japanese sources have said that the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) had 3 P-3Cs, 1 OP-3C, 1 EP-3 and 1 UP-3D inside the hangar at the time of the incident.

Japanese media have released several photos (and videos) of the collapsed hangar roof, including this one of a P-3 which shows the fin tip and rudder have sustained significant damage:

A quick cross-reference with Google Earth indicates that the hangar pictured below (indicated with the yellow placemark) is the hangar in question. Located at the northeast corner of Atsugi, it is possible to see the contractor's (NIPPI) company logo painted clearly on the hangar roof when zooming in using Google Earth. Click on the thumbnail below for full-sized image.

Asia-Pacific Military Aviation News roundup: 25 Sept 2013

TNI-AU (Indonesian Air Force) Su-30MK2

Indonesia now has a full squadron of Sukhoi Su-27/30s after the last aircraft were accepted into the TNI-AU.

Bernama has reported that the recently unveiled Advanced Super Hornet would be offered for Malaysia's Multi-Role Combat Aircraft competition. However Jane's Malaysia correspondent Dzirhan Mahadzir has said that Boeing has offered the Advanced Super Hornet upgrade if Malaysia wants them down the line after acquiring regular Super Hornet airframes.

The first of 12 Lockheed-Martin P-3C Orions for Taiwan has arrived at Pingtung Airbase from Guam yesterday.

Asia-Pacific Military Aviation News roundup: 24 Sept 2013

Well, this is a surprise. South Korea has decided against acquiring the Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle and will likely restart the fighter competition to select a replacement for the RoKAF's F-4 and F-5 fleets.

Chatter is increasing that budget problems will see the USAF retire its entire A-10 fleet. In the Asia-Pacific region this will affect one squadron based at Osan in South Korea.

The impending delivery of Taiwan's first P-3C Orion has been delayed due to a tropical storm forming in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Various companies are forming teams to offer proposals for Australia's Project AIR 5428 to supply trainers for Australia's fixed-wing pilot training system.

Asia-Pacific Military Aviation News roundup: 23 Sept 2013

Taiwanese F-16B

A bit of Taiwan-centric regional military aviation news roundup today:

Frustrated by American refusal to sell it JDAMs, Taiwan has developed its own smart munitions to equip the RoCAF's fighters.

In an effort to determine the cause, Taiwan has salvaged the wreck of a Mirage 2000 from the sea following a crash in May this year.

Still on Taiwan, the first of 12 P-3C Orions should arrive in Taiwan in the next day or so.

Following a six-month deployment, the F-16s of the USAF's 55th Fighter Squadron has left Osan in South Korea and returned to their base at Shaw AFB.

A Chinese general has reiterated the right of Chinese military aircraft to transit through international airspace between two Japanese islands for training flights into the Western Pacific. He also said that such training flights will continue, irregardless of Japan scrambling interceptors to investigate.

Philippines may ask for USN P-3 patrols over the S China Sea

Not "spy planes" as reported but apparently Philippine President Benigno Aquino has said that the Philippines may ask the United States to P-3 Orions over the South China Sea to help monitor the disputed waters. China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam and Malaysia have competing claims on the sea and the Spratly Islands that dot the area.

US Navy P-8A Poseidon visits RAAF Edinburgh

A US Navy P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft has visited the Royal Australian Air Force base at RAAF Edinburgh, South Australia. RAAF Edinburgh is home to the RAAF's fleet of AP-3C Orion anti-submarine aircraft, which is slated to be replaced by the P-8A in 2019.

Two US Navy Poseidons from VX-1 based at NAS Patuxent River have taken part in TAMEX, a joint US-Australian anti-submarine exercise involving the USN and Royal Australian Navy off the West Australian coast since early June.

Kiwi Orion takes time off from Ex Bersama Shield to locate lost sailor

A sailor who was washed overboard from a merchant vessel 600 nautical miles northwest of Singapore had been found by a P-3K Orion anti-submarine aircraft of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The aircraft was preparing for participation the Five Power Defence Arrangement's Exercise Bersama Shield in Malaysia when it received a mayday call from the merchant vessel reporting a man lost overboard.

VIDEO: P-3 Orion Desert to Delivery

Lockheed-Martin's in-house video team takes us through the process of refurbishing and upgrading ex-US Navy P-3C Orions that have been stored in the desert Boneyard of Arizona. The fuselages are trucked almost 2,000 miles (3,200 km) to South Carolina where they will be mated to new wings that have been built in (relatively) nearby Georgia as part of a Mid-Life Upgrade program for the venerable Orion. In the past few years the Orion has been a popular choice in Asia with countries keen to enhance their anti-submarine and maritime patrol capabilities, with Pakistan and South Korea taking deliveries of refurbished aircraft. Taiwan has similar aircraft on order with deliveries expected in 2012, while Singapore is reportedly also interested in the type.

PHOTO: Taliban infiltrators destroy Pakistani Navy P-3s

(RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP/Getty Images)

(Click on thumbnails to view high resolution images)

A brazen attack by Pakistani Taliban militants on the Pakistani Navy's main airbase at Mehran near Karachi late in the evening of 22 May has resulted in two of Pakistan's newly delivered P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft being destroyed on the ground. The militants reported snuck into the base at night and reportedly launched RPGs at the Orions before engaging personnel at the base with small arms, leaving ten soldiers and at least three attackers dead. Another is believed to be buried under debris and two more are thought to have escaped.

The loss of two P-3Cs and possible damage to others will come as a major blow as the type is the mainstay of the Pakistan naval air arm. Under a 2006 contract with the US government's Foreign Military Sales framework, Pakistan purchased seven former US Navy P-3Cs. The aircraft were fully refurbished by Lockheed with upgraded mission equipment.


(AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

(AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

Via BBC, Flightglobal

First upgraded Orion handed over to Royal New Zealand AF

After the completion of upgrading in the United States, the first of six Royal New Zealand Air Force's P-3 Orions has been handed over to the RNZAF. Designated P-3K2, the upgrade includes improvements to the type's communications, navigation, surveillance and data management systems, and will b capable of supporting overland as well as traditional maritime operations.

Germany's sticker shock over cost of its used P-3s

A damning report has revealed that the German Navy's eight P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft are operationally limited and may cost the military twice as much than budgeted. The 20-year old Orions were purchased from the Netherlands in 2005.

American P-3 Orion, A-10 attack Libyan Coast Guard vessels

After being observed firing on merchant vessels near the Libyan port of Misrata, a Libyan Coast Guard vessel and two smaller craft were attacked by an US Navy P-3 Orion and an USAF A-10 using an AGM-65 Maverick and cannon fire. All 3 Libyan ships were hit, with one sinking and another 2 rendered inoperable.

Tridents fly Battle of Midway CoNA Orion to Florida

As part of the 2011 Centennial of Naval Aviation (CoNA) celebration, the “Tridents” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 26 recently flew a uniquely painted P-3C Orion from Atsugi, Japan to NAS Jacksonville. The Orion, P-3C Bu No. 161591 is painted in the markings of PBY-5A Catalina 44-P-4 of VP-44, which was the first American aircraft to spot the Japanese invasion fleet off Midway on 3rd June 1942.

US Navy takes delivery of upgraded Orions

To bridge the technology gap between the P-3 Orion it's replacement, the P-8A Poseidon, the US Navy has taken delivery of 10 upgraded Orions with an upgraded acoustic system that enhances the aircraft’s ability to receive and analyze sonobuoy data tenfold.

South Korean P-3CK upgrade completed in October

It has been revealed that the upgrading of eight ex-US Navy P-3B Orions by South Korea's Korean Aircraft Industries into P-3CK standard was completed in October 2010. The Republic of Korea Navy's 16-strong Orion fleet operates from bases in Pohang and Jeju Island.

Singapore expresses interest in refurbished P-3s

Lockheed has revealed that Singapore has issued a letter to request to possibly look at acquiring surplus US Navy P-3 Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft. Its expected that Singapore is looking at 4-5 aircraft, in a similar configuration to the P-3s to be delivered to Taiwan in 2012.

P-3C concerns may freeze deliveries from Lockheed plant

Deliveries of P-3C Orion wing components from a major Lockheed Martin aircraft factory may be frozen after the discovery of quality issues. A team of inspectors from the Defense Contract Management Agency and Naval Air Systems Command are assessing Lockheed's plans for fixing the root causes of the issues at the plant in Greenville, South Carolina.

US Navy to keep some P-3Cs beyond replacement date

Despite the planned replacement of the US Navy's P-3C Orion fleet by Boeing's P-8 Poseidon, a small number of Orions will be kept in service for the US Navy's special missions. The Orions were originally planned to by fully replaced by 2019.

US Navy overcomes mass P-3C grounding scare

The US Navy has quietly overcome a grounding scare that programme officials now acknowledge brought the Lockheed Martin P-3C Orion fleet "to its knees" only 12 months ago. Inspections in 2009 had revealed structural damage that led to the grounding of all but 49 of 120 combat-coded Orions by September.