Portugal's air force has agreed to buy the last remnants of the Lockheed Martin P-3C Orion fleet being disbanded by the Dutch navy. Lisbon is expected to sign a €239 million ($290 million) contract later this year to begin receiving the last five P-3Cs owned by the Dutch, writes Victor Barreira.
Another eight Dutch Orions were sold last month to the German military under a €295 million contract. Portugal is replacing six ageing P-3P Orions operated mainly for patrolling fisheries, monitoring borders, providing search and rescue operations and surveillance of submarines.
The Portugal deal includes two aircraft upgraded to the 2.5 Capability Upkeep Programme and three non-upgraded P-3Cs, plus spares and logistics support.
Source: Flight International
