P-3C MLD
Valkenburg, 28 August 2003.
P-3C 301 on the flightline of Valkenburg a few years before the base closed (July 2006). It looks factory fresh after the major CUP-update it received in Portugal.
This Lockheed Orion was sold to Germany and carried on as 60+01. In March 2020 the plane was severely damaged during refuelling. A fuel tank exploded damaging the plane beyond economical repair.
The other seven P-3C's are now set to be retired by 2025 instead of 2035. Possible successors are the Boeing P-8 Poseidon, Airbus C295 Persuader and RAS-72 Sea Eagle (in fact an ATR-72).
P-3C MLD
Valkenburg, 28 August 2003.
P-3C 301 on the flightline of Valkenburg a few years before the base closed (July 2006). It looks factory fresh after the major CUP-update it received in Portugal.
This Lockheed Orion was sold to Germany and carried on as 60+01. In March 2020 the plane was severely damaged during refuelling. A fuel tank exploded damaging the plane beyond economical repair.
The other seven P-3C's are now set to be retired by 2025 instead of 2035. Possible successors are the Boeing P-8 Poseidon, Airbus C295 Persuader and RAS-72 Sea Eagle (in fact an ATR-72).