CP-140 Aurora
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| Lockheed CP-140 Aurora | |
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| CP-140s and Korean P-3s at Kaneohe Marine Corps Base in Hawaii. | |
| Type | Maritime patrol aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed |
| Introduced | 1980 |
| Primary user | Canadian Forces |
| Developed from | Lockheed L-188 Electra |
| Variants | P-3 Orion |
The Lockheed CP-140 Aurora is a Canadian Forces Air Command (AIRCOM) maritime patrol aircraft (MPA). The aircraft is based on the Lockheed P-3 Orion airframe, but mounts the more advanced electronics suite of the S-3 Viking. Aurora is the Greek goddess who restored Orion's eyesight.
The CP-140A Arcturus is a related version used primarily for pilot training and coastal surface patrol missions.
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[edit] History
[edit] CP-140 Aurora
The aircraft were acquired in the early 1980s to replace the CP-107 Argus and to further support Canada's anti-submarine warfare mission obligations under NATO for the northwest Atlantic sector. However, since the end of the Cold War, they have been used primarily in coastal surveillance and sovereignty patrols. They also assist AIRCOM during search and rescue missions far at sea, providing an all-weather mission control platform and they have been increasingly used in ship surveillance, both for security and counter-terrorism and smuggling, as well as to monitor foreign fishing fleets off Canada's coasts. CP-140 have also been deployed on operations such as Operation Assistance and Operation Apollo.
[edit] CP-140A Arcturus
In 1991 Lockheed shut down the production lines for the P-3 Orion, which shares the same airframe with the CP-140. Three surplus airframes where on hand and were purchased by Air Command but delivered without the anti-submarine fit. These three aircraft were designated the CP-140A Arcturus, and are used primarily for pilot training and coastal surface patrol missions.
Lacking the expensive, heavy and sensitive anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare kit of the CP-140 Aurora, the Arcturus is much more fuel efficient and is used for crew training duties (aka touch and goes), general maritime surface reconnaissance (detecting drug operations, smuggling of illegal immigrants, fisheries protection patrols, pollution monitoring, etc), search-and-rescue assistance, and Arctic sovereignty patrols.
All three aircraft are based at 14 Wing, one of which is currently being used for training with the school on base CFB Greenwood, Nova Scotia. The CP-140A were scheduled to be deactivated in 2004, but this seems to have not been the case as of November 2006.
[edit] Units using the CP-140 Aurora
Canadian Forces Air Command (AIRCOM)
- 404 Maritime Patrol and Training Squadron, CFB Greenwood
- 405 Maritime Patrol Squadron, CFB Greenwood
- 407 Maritime Patrol Squadron, CFB Comox
[edit] Technical Data
- Length: 35.61 m
- Wingspan: 30.38 m
- Height: 10.49 m
- Weight: 27,892 kg
- Power: 4 Alison T-56-A-14-LFE turboprop engines
- Speed: 750 km/h (405 kt)
- Ceiling: 10,700 m
- Range: 9,300 km (5,000 NM)
- Surveillance equipment:
- Sonobuoys, Radar, Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) suite, Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD), Electronic Support Measures (ESM), fixed 70 mm camera, hand-held digital camera, gyrostabilized binoculars.
- Armament:
- Mk 46 Mod V torpedoes, signal chargers, smoke markers, illumination flares, and may be fitted with air-to-surface missiles or conventional bombs if necessary.
- Crew: Minimum mission crew 10, typically 12 to 15
- Year procured: 1980
- Quantity in CF: 18 CP-140 / 3 CP-140A
- Locations:
- 5 at 19 Wing Comox (19 Wing), British Columbia
- 10 at 14 Wing Greenwood (14 Wing), Nova Scotia
- 3 CP-140A at 14 Wing Greenwood (14 Wing), Nova Scotia
[edit] External links
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