The Brazilian Government has received US State Department authorisation for the acquisition of 12 maritime patrol Lockheed P-3A and P-3B Orions.
Brazil's requirement dates back to 1994. The air force launched the PX programme to acquire a dedicated shore-based maritime patrol/anti-submarine warfare platform to replace carrier-compatible Grumman S-2Es and complement the Embraer P-95A/B (based on the Bandeirante) maritime surveillance fleet.
Options considered included modified Antonov An-72s, Casa/ IPTN CN235sand other European patrol aircraft, as well as an indigenous solution based on the Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia.
Although the P-3 was selected as the ideal candidate, budgetary constraints and delays in obtaining US approval precluded a swift conclusion to the PX programme. Earlier this year, while negotiations with the US State Department continued, the Brazilian air force selected 12 low-time P-3Aand P-3B airframes from storage at the Davis-Monthan Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center in Arizona.
Following work to return the aircraft to an airworthy state, they will be ferried to Brazil where nine airframes will be modified in a programme supervised by Lockheed Martin to update them to a standard similar to the P-3C Update II.
Work is due to begin in the second half of next year. Embraer is expected to participate in the airframe overhauls, while other work will probably be performed at the Parque de Material Aeronáutico do Galeïo, the air force's Galeïo-based maintenance and logistics centre. A 17-month modification/modernisation programme is forecast for the initial airframes.
Mission systems are to be selected, and prime candidates for the aircraft's surface search radar include Raytheon and Thomson-CSF. A decision on the radar should be reached by year-end.
The first Brazilian P-3 should be handed over in early 2002, with a single squadron eventually receiving eight aircraft.
Source: Flight International
