The German Federal Ministry of Defence intends to terminate the modernization of the P-3C Orion naval aircraft prematurely. The reason for this is that the total costs can no longer be calculated and the technical difficulties that arose at the company during the modernization measures.
The delays in the modernization of the P-3C Orion (detailed information) are already resulting in inadequate material operational readiness without any foreseeable improvement. To make matters worse, the P-3C Orion with the tactical registration “60+01” was severely damaged during a refueling operation at the end of March 2020.
The Federal Ministry of Defence has therefore decided to terminate the P-3C Orion modernization project prematurely on the basis of a capability assessment of the impact on the availability of the P-3C Orion in the navy, a project analysis by the contractor Airbus and an economic feasibility study with risk analysis. More precisely, this means that work on the installation of the mission equipment will be stopped. However, the maintenance measures for the rewinging of two P-3C Orions, which are at an advanced stage, are still to be completed. A capability gap resulting from the loss of the P-3C Orion, in particular for long-range and rapid underwater warfare, cannot be accepted. For this reason, the Bundeswehr is currently conducting a market review that takes into account all platforms available on the market. In addition to covering operational requirements, this analysis is also intended to evaluate all interactions with the Franco-German cooperation project Maritime Airborne Warfare System(MAWS – for more information, see here) .
Further information can also be found in the June 13 edition of the NDR podcast “Armed Forces and Strategies”.
