Lockheed P-3 Orion

P-3 Orion
A P-3C of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
Role	Maritime patrol aircraft Type of aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Lockheed Lockheed Martin Kawasaki Aerospace Company
First flight	November 1959[1]
Introduction	August 1962[1]
Status	Active
Primary users	United States Navy Republic of China Navy Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Republic of Korea Navy
Produced	1961–1990[2]
Number built	Lockheed – 650, Kawasaki – 107, Total – 757[3]
Developed from	Lockheed L-188 Electra
Variants	Lockheed AP-3C Orion Lockheed CP-140 Aurora Lockheed EP-3 Lockheed WP-3D Orion
Developed into	Lockheed P-7

The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner; it is easily distinguished from the Electra by its distinctive tail stinger or "MAD" boom, used for the magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) of submarines.

Over the years, the P-3 has seen numerous design developments, most notably in its electronics packages. Numerous navies and air forces around the world continue to use the type primarily for maritime patrol, reconnaissance, anti-surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare.^[1] A total of 757 P-3s have been built. In 2012, it joined the handful of military aircraft including the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, Lockheed C-130 Hercules and the Lockheed U-2 that the United States military has been using for more than 50 years. In the twenty-first century, the turbofan-powered Boeing P-8 Poseidon began to supplement, and will eventually replace, the U.S. Navy's P-3s.