Lockheed P-3 Orion

P-3 Orion
A Kawasaki-built P-3C Orion of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
General information
Type	Maritime patrol aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Lockheed Lockheed Martin Kawasaki Aerospace Company
Status	Active
Primary users	United States Navy Republic of China Navy Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Republic of Korea Navy
Number built	Lockheed – 650, Kawasaki – 107, Total – 757[1]
History
Manufactured	1961–1990[2]
Introduction date	August 1962[3]
First flight	November 1959[3]
Developed from	Lockheed L-188 Electra
Variants	Lockheed AP-3C Orion Lockheed CP-140 Aurora Lockheed EP-3 Lockheed WP-3D Orion
Developed into	Lockheed P-7

The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner; it is easily distinguished from the Electra by its distinctive tail stinger or "MAD" boom, used for the magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) of submarines.

Over the years, the P-3 has seen numerous design developments, most notably in its electronics packages. Numerous navies and air forces around the world continue to use the type primarily for maritime patrol, reconnaissance, anti-surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare.^[3] A total of 757 P-3s have been built. In 2012, it joined the handful of military aircraft including the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, and Lockheed C-130 Hercules that the United States military has been using for more than 50 years. In the twenty-first century, the turbofan-powered Boeing P-8 Poseidon began to supplement, and will eventually replace, the U.S. Navy's P-3s.