Boeing Beats Lockheed to replace the P3 Orion with the 737

mpenguin1

mpenguin1

Well-Known Member
Boeing Bests Lockheed for $44 Billion Sub-Hunter Contract

The Navy said today that it had awarded one of the Pentagon's biggest military contracts to the Boeing Corporation, a potential $44 billion project to build a new fleet of antisubmarine aircraft.

The victory is a critical one for Boeing, which beat out its rival, the Lockheed Martin Corporation, in the competition for the contract.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/14/business/14CND-ARMS.html

Lockheed, the nation's biggest military contractor, is the manufacturer of the aging P-3 "Orion" fleet of 196 submarine hunters. Boeing, whose winning bid was slightly less than Lockheed's, pitched the Navy on adapting Boeing's 737 commercial jets for military use.
 
Don't a few countries such as Australia already use the 737 as a platform for ASW? Of course I am sure the electronics on the American ones will be much better.

I think it is sad that all companies have consolidated into 2. Even though I wasn't even around then, I think it is cool when the yhad 10 different aircraft makers with different ideas. Now, everhting leads back to either Boeing or Lockheed Martin.

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Mahesh
 
Beoing, Lockheed, Northrup-Grumman (I THINK they're still around), and Airbus. I might be missing a few. I think Raytheon does some military stuff, but it might just be avionics, etc. Most of the money now is either in developing UAVs or missle technology if you cater to military customers. Stuff we won't hear about until long after the testing phases. A/c have just gotten way to expensive to design/build. In the 1950s, Boeing probably would have attempted a new design for a sub-hunter instead of going with an existing airframe.
 
Have they cut back on P3 flights in the U.S.? I am used to seeing a P3 pretty much daily flying up and down the Maine coast out of NHZ. I dont think I have seen one in Months (perhaps longer).
 
What is to become of the P3? I assume Lockheed will close the line for good. I know that an all-new design costs big $$$ but we're talking about a potential $40Billion dollar contract! Why didn't Lockheed come up with a new design? The P3 is a great plane but it's old!
 
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Don't a few countries such as Australia already use the 737 as a platform for ASW? Of course I am sure the electronics on the American ones will be much better.

I think it is sad that all companies have consolidated into 2. Even though I wasn't even around then, I think it is cool when the yhad 10 different aircraft makers with different ideas. Now, everhting leads back to either Boeing or Lockheed Martin.

mad.gif


Mahesh

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Typical Yanks, everything the Yanks have is always better then the rest of the worlds.....
SO much to learn...
 
I can't imagine loiter time for a 737 at 500' MSL is all that and a bag of chips...but would it be for a turboprop, either?
 
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I can't imagine loiter time for a 737 at 500' MSL is all that and a bag of chips...but would it be for a turboprop, either?

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If I recall corectly, the P-3 would feather two of it's engines while lotiering over the area.

I know ASW requires a lot of endurance. Mostly at low altitude.
 
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I can't imagine loiter time for a 737 at 500' MSL is all that and a bag of chips...but would it be for a turboprop, either?

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We used to send the P3 Orions out on 12 hours missions, on the missions they could shut down engines #1 & #4. On some missions the pilots, at times, would windmill the #3 engine and just go off engine #2.

I have been thinking about the 737 replacing the P3, but I guess with new technology, maybe it is not necessary for the 737 to do everything that the P3 had to do, besides the 737 won't be out till 2012.
 
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besides the 737 won't be out till 2012.

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I thought Boeing had preliminary plans to start production of a replacement 737 by that time.
 
My friends father was a Captain in the Navy and then a Captain in NOAA, he flew P3's for both. I know that NOAA still uses them extensively as hurricane hunters. It really is a great plane, just this past weekend my friend's father gave me all of his flight "stuff." This includes training manuals, instructor manuals, operating manuals and all sorts of stuff for the P3. Kinda neat to look at as I have never seen that kind of detailed information before; the POH for a 152 is as in depth as I have gone so far. It is pretty amazing to hear some of the stories he has about flying those planes both as sub and hurricane hunters. I remember one in which they got stuck in the eye of a hurricane (I believe it was George) due to a lost engine, they then pulled another offline in order to save fuel. He said that they had to circle inside the eye for four and half hours before they could gain enough altitude to punch through the wall (the wall is too strong to fly through at lower altitudes.) He said that they were at a 30 degree bank for most of the four+ hrs. I can't imagine sitting at a 30 degree bank for that long
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as hurricane hunters.

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Okay.. that term has always cracked me up.

"Hurricane Hunters?" ..... as if a hurricane is hard to find? It ain't hidin'from anybody!!!

TODAY ON HURRICANE HUNTER:

"Crikey! I think I see the lit-el nippers eye peekin' out ova theya in the Atlantic, mate. Be very quiet and we'll go rustle up the lit-el bugga.... now, if I weren't a trained hurricane hunter - I'd NEVER do THIS..."

<pokes hurricane in the eye with stick>

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Sorry. I digress..... continue.....
 
Hey since you decided to reply Ready2Fly, do you ever see the P3 "airborne hurricane research labs" flying over near O'Knight? They are based out of MacDill. Another funny story, one day my friend's dad was returning to MacDill and was talking to Tampa Appch. He stated who he was and that he was headed for MacDill. MacDill was shut down at the time due to some sort of nasty storm. Tampa advised him of this and told him that the winds were gusting to 50kts; the controller suggested that he fly north to land somewhere else and wait for the storm to clear. Then the contoller came back on once he realized who he was talking to and said something to the effect of, "NOAA 123, you are the guys that fly into hurricanes correct?".."Affirmative"...."Cleared to land Runway 4." That's the story as best as I remember it.
 
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Hey since you decided to reply Ready2Fly, do you ever see the P3 "airborne hurricane research labs" flying over near O'Knight? They are based out of MacDill.

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I see them occaisionally. I saw one this past Saturday while my wife and I and another couple were at Pass-a-Grille. Thing was heading out into the Gulf to check out that depression that's been causing these storms.

What I dig is when the C130's, Gulfstreams and the KC-135's fly over TPF.
 
I flew over to Whitted a couple of weeks ago, staying just south of the MacDill airspace. It was really neat to watch the KC135's doing touch and go's, I could see pretty much the whole pattern that they were flying. Definately wanted to try to avoid their wake turbulence, I don't think the little 152 would handle it too well.
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Whitted? Someone say Whitted?

Make sure you say hi to my favorite CSR - Julie
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Whitted from the air
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The pier from the 18 run up area
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