Lockheed Martin has restarted the wing production line for the P-3 Orion aircraft Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) program for Canada and Chile on...
Lockheed Martin has restarted the wing production line for the P-3 Orion aircraft Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) program for Canada and Chile on March 4.
The P-3 wing line was last in production in August 2014. The MLU replaces the outer wings, center wing, horizontal stabilizer and horizontal stabilizer leading edges, extending the aircraft life to another 20-25 years.
All necessary fatigue life-limiting structures are replaced, leading to significantly reduced maintenance and sustainment costs. New alloys are employed that provide a five-fold increase in corrosion resistance.
In addition to Canada and Chile, other MLU customers include U.S. Customs & Border Protection, the U.S. Navy and Norway.
The P-3 Orion plays a vital role in maritime intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, drug interdiction, hurricane hunting, fire-fighting and anti-submarine surveillance.
