Goodbye to RNoAF P-3 Orion

On 30 June 2023, the Luftforsvaret (RNoAF, Royal Norwegian Air Force) will officially withdraw the Lockheed P-3C Orion from active service. On this date, (one of) the last operational aircraft will make its final flight.

The retirement of the Orion fleet will be marked by a ceremony at Andøya Air Station, where the aircraft were based. This ceremony will serve a double purpose as it also marks the decommissioning of the Andøya Air Station in northern Norway.

The unit, 333 skvadron For Konge og Fedreland (For the king and fatherland), still has two active Orions. On 3 and 4 June 2023, P-3C with serial 3299 Ulabrand, made its final public appearance overflying the Sola Airshow. On its way to and from the airshow, the aircraft made a flypast over Rygge Air Station.

So, after 54 years of service, the era of the Orion in Norwegian service will come to an end. The RNoAF replaced the Orion with the Boeing P-8A Poseidon, of which the fifth and last aircraft was delivered on 27 May 2022. Norway ordered five P-8A Maritime Multimission Aircraft (MMA) in a USD 1,2 billion Foreign Military Sale (FMS) contract in March 2017. The MMAs were purchased as a replacement for the Orions as well as the two Dassault Falcon 20ECM surveillance aircraft.

On 18 March 2023, Scramble Magazine first reported that Argentina was in negotiations with the Norwegian government for the possible purchase of three or four Lockheed P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft. According to our knowlede, a final contract has not been signed yet.

Overview of the RNoAF P-3 Orion fleet:

P-3B Orion
156599/KK-L (c/n 5301), delivered jan69, reregistered 599 on 01sep72, sold to Spain as P.3-9
156600/KK-M (c/n 5302), delivered jan69, reregistered 600 on 01sep72, sold to Spain as P.3-10
156601/KK-N (c/n 5303), delivered feb69, reregistered 601 on 01sep72, sold to Spain as P.3-11
156602/KK-O (c/n 5304), delivered feb69, reregistered 602 on 01sep72, sold to Spain as P.3-12
156603/KK-P (c/n 5305), delivered mar69, reregistered 603 on 01sep72, modified to P-3N in 1991 and registered 6603
576 (c/n 5257), ex US Navy BuNo 154576, delivered jan80, modified to P-3N in 1991 and registered 4576
583 (c/n 5264), ex US Navy BuNo 154573, delivered mar80, sold to Spain as P.3-8
P-3C Orion
3296 (c/n 5817), delivered dec89, reported wfu by early 2021
3297 (c/n 5818), delivered jul89
3298 (c/n 5819), delivered aug89, wfu and flown to 309th AMARG, Tucson (AZ) mar23
3299 (c/n 5820), delivered feb90
P-3N Orion
4576 (ex 576), wfu 11nov21, flown to 309th AMARG, Tucson (AZ) sep22
6603 (ex 603), wfu by aug21, stored at Andøya, to become a gate guard

Photo by Frederik Edvardsen Photography