Lockheed P-3B/C Orions lined up on AMARC's G-Row on the Process-In ramp. These aircraft have been pulled from long term, Type 1000, inviolate storage to source two Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Pakistan and Republic of Korea. After preparation for flight at AMARC these aircraft will depart for Greenville, SC. and Waco, TX. where they will be upgraded and prepared for their final handover to their new operators.

Picture © 2005 Philip Michaels

The 'R' in 'AMARC' stands for 'Regeneration' and there is no better example of this capability than the work being carried out at the Center in support of two Foreign Military Sales to Pakistan and the Republic of Korea.

Both of these countries have a requirement for additional Lockheed P-3 Orions and the aircraft selected to fill the orders form part of the surplus US Navy stock on the AMARC inventory. The aircraft arrived at AMARC up to ten years ago, since then they have been held in Type 1000 storage and undergone re-preservation at regular intervals to ensure deteriation is kept to the absolute minimum.
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In 2004 the Republic or Korea government approved a defence budget which included the procurement of a substantial number of new aviation assets including Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft, VIP and multirole helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft. The $16.2 billion budget which was passed by the Korean National Assembly included the funding for a second P-3 Orion squadron of eight aircraft to supplement it's existing fleet.

The Republic of Korea Navy purchased their existing P-3C Orion's over 10 years ago, and they are operated by 613 Navy Squadron based at Pohang AB. It is planned that the new squadron will be fully operational during 2006.

On April 28, 2005 L3 Communications, the US based Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Systems provider, announced that they had won a $300 million contract with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to provide system modernization and service life extension for the eight aircraft. After flight preparation work has been completed by the AMARC technicians the aircraft will be flown to L3 Communication's facility at Waco, TX. where systems upgrades will be carried out before the aircraft are officially handed over to the Republic of Korea Navy. The upgrades will ensure that these new aircraft will match, as nearly as possible, the configuration of their existing P-3C fleet.

The nine P-3B Orions selected for the Republic of Korea are detailed below. One of which will not be upgraded and will be used for spares. :-

PCNBuNoC/nArrival
Date		Previous Unit
AN2P0069152721516128-AUG-91VP-93, NAF Detroit, MI.
AN2P0063152723516330-JUL-91VP-93, NAF Detroit, MI.
AN2P0099152725516509-SEP-93NAWC
AN2P0091152726516628-JAN-93VP-69, NAS Whidbey Island, WA.
AN2P0185152728516817-MAR-98
AN2P0084152753519530-SEP-92VAQ-33
AN2P0071152762520620-NOV-91VP-68, NAS Patuxent River, MD.
AN2P0146153416521303-MAY-94VP-94, NAS New Orleans, LA.
AN2P0114153422521915-DEC-93VP-93, NAF Detroit, MI.