The Pakistan Navy has received two of seven upgraded P-3C maritime surveillance aircraft from Lockheed under a US foreign military sales programme.
The P-3C Orion surveillance aircraft will undergo missions including anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare, surveillance and reconnaissance, search and rescue, drug interdiction, economic zone patrol and airborne early warning and electronic warfare.
They will also enhance Pakistan’s ability to conduct maritime surveillance in littoral and deep-water environments.
Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors’ maritime surveillance programmes director Mike Fralen said the aircraft incorporate advanced features including communications, electro-optic and infrared systems, data management, controls and displays, mission computers and acoustic processing.
The 116.7ft-long, 33.7ft-high aircraft have an operational range of 2,380 nautical miles. They can carry a mixed payload of weapons internally and fly at a maximum airspeed of 411k.
