Fri, Jun 05, 2009
Day and night, there are a number of heroic people and aviation
assets prowling the skies for signs of those that would threaten
America in one of many forms. One of those heroic groups is
employed by US Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, for
short.
CBP is one of the Department of Homeland Security’s
largest and most complex components, with a priority mission of
keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the US. It also has a
responsibility for securing and facilitating trade and travel while
enforcing hundreds of U.S. regulations, including immigration and
drug laws.
One of the most critical tools in the CBP arsenal are the few
Lockheed Orion P-3B AEWs in use around the world. The P-3 Airborne
Early Warning (AEW) Detection and Monitoring (D&M) aircraft are
the only law enforcement AEW aircraft in the world. They were
developed to provide wide area search, increased command control,
and communications capabilities.
CBP Air and Marine’s P-3s are high-endurance, all-weather,
tactical turbo-prop aircraft, which are utilized primarily for
long-range patrols along the entire U.S. border, and in source and
transit zone countries, throughout Central and South America. The
aircraft carries a crew of eight (pilot, copilot, flight engineer,
and radar/sensor operators), are routinely sent on temporary duty
to support the United States and foreign government initiatives to
stem smuggling into the United States. With the escalation of
terrorist threats and the commitment of DoD AEW assets in other
regions of the world, CBP Air and Marine P-3s have also assumed a
significant role in Homeland Security efforts.
Lockheed Orion P-3B AEW has a Vne of 300 knots, a service
ceiling of 26,000 ft., a range of 3000 NM, a potential endurance of
12 hours, and a Max Gross Weight of 135,000 lbs.
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