601 Squadron "''Lobos''" (''Esquadra 601'') is a maritime patrol and

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...

of the

Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...

(PoAF), currently based at

Beja Air Base Beja Air Base ( pt, Base Aérea de Beja; ), officially designated as Air Base No. 11 ( pt, Base Aérea Nº 11, BA11) is one of the most important military airbases in Portugal, northwest of Beja (Portugal), Beja, north of Algarve. It is used by ...

. It operates the Lockheed P-3C CUP+ Orion.

Roles and missions

The squadron's main mission is the maritime patrol, as well as both the anti-submarine (ASW) and

anti-surface warfare Anti-surface warfare (ASuW or ASUW) is the branch of naval warfare concerned with the suppression of surface combatants. More generally, it is any weapons, sensors, or operations intended to attack or limit the effectiveness of an adversary's su ...

(ASuW). It also has assigned

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

(SAR), and mine laying as its secondary missions.

History

Officially formed in March 1986, 601 Squadron's creation originated from the acquisition of six former-

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

P-3B Orion aircraft by Portugal. These six aircraft were upgraded by Lockheed and

OGMA OGMA – Indústria Aeronáutica de Portugal S.A. is a Portuguese aerospace company focused on aircraft maintenance and manufacturing. History OGMA was founded as part of the reorganisation of the Portuguese Army's Aeronautic Service on June 2 ...

and re-designated as aircraft of the P-3P variant. Portugal had lacked a dedicated aircraft for maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare since 1977, when its fleet of Lockheed P-2 Neptune was retired and 61 Squadron was disbanded. As such, until the entry in service of the P-3 Orion, the Portuguese Air Force relied on

CASA C-212 Aviocar The CASA C-212 Aviocar is a turboprop-powered STOL medium cargo aircraft designed and built by the Spanish aircraft manufacturer Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA). It is designed for use by both civil and military operators. The C-212 w ...

aircraft, from

401 __NOTOC__ Year 401 ( CDI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Vincentius and Fravitus (or, less frequently, year 1154 ' ...

and 502 Squadron, and on Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft, from 501 Squadron, for maritime patrol and SAR missions. 601 Squadron is the heir of the traditions of the PoAF's previous maritime patrol squadrons, mainly 61 Squadron, 62 Squadron, and 91 Squadron. On August 7, 1988, the first P-3P was delivered at Air Base No. 6 ( pt, Base Aérea Nº 6, BA6), at Montijo, Portugal, where the squadron was based. For the next two years all of the squadron's activity was dedicated to the training and qualification by Lockheed of the air crews. After 1990 the squadron was certified to instruct and certify as instructors its own personnel. The squadron participated in

Operation Sharp Guard Operation Sharp Guard was a multi-year joint naval blockade in the Adriatic Sea by NATO and the Western European Union on shipments to the former Yugoslavia. Warships and maritime patrol aircraft from 14 countries were involved in searching for a ...

, which occurred from June 1993 to October 1996, in the blockade of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, having performed 576 missions and a total of 3,712 flight hours. In June 1998, with the start of the Guinea-Bissau Civil War, 601 Squadron supported the evacuation of Portuguese and other foreign nationals from

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

by the

Portuguese Armed Forces The Portuguese Armed Forces ( pt, Forças Armadas) are the military of Portugal. They include the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the other unified bodies and the three service branches: Portuguese Navy, Portuguese Army and Portuguese Air F ...

. Since 2003 the squadron also participates in Operation Active Endeavour, in the surveillance and control of illegal shipping in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. In June 2007, a squadron's P-3P operated from

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in support of Frontex. On February 19, 2008, the squadron was relocated to Air Base No. 11 ( pt, Base Aérea Nº 11, BA11), in Beja. From April 22, 2010, to late August 2010, the last operational P-3P of 601 Sqn. operated from Mahé while participating in

Operation Atalanta Operation Atalanta, formally European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia, is a current counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean, that is the first naval operation conducted by the E ...

. During this mission the squadron performed 40 missions and a total of 320 flight hours. In August 2010 the first of five P-3C Orion aircraft purchased from the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

, to replace the six P-3P then in service with the PoAF, arrived in Beja. These aircraft were upgraded by

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

, having been refurbished, received new wings and the Capability Upkeep Program Plus (CUP+) upgrade. On April 17, 2011, the squadron executed its first operational deployment with the new P-3C CUP+ aircraft during Operation Ocean Shield. On October 13, 2011, a P-3P with the serial number 14805 performed its last flight in Beja, thus also performing the last flight of the P-3P fleet in service with the air force. Since the squadron's activation it has also participated in numerous other national and international exercises, most notably: Ocean Safari, Dogfish, Strong Resolve, Linked Seas, Noble Manta, Sharkhunt, Grampus, and Real Thaw.

References

Bibliography

* * {{cite journal , last1=Rebelo , first1=Colonel Hélder Martins , last2=Rocha , first2=Major Rui , last3=Martins , first3=Major Vítor Lazera , date=November–December 2012 , title=ISR - Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance , journal=

Mais Alto ''Mais Alto'' is a Portuguese language aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, ...

, issue=400 , pages=5–16 , location=Lisbon , publisher=Portuguese Air Force , language=pt, url=http://www.emfa.pt/www/po/maisalto/conteudos/galeria/revista400/a_2186.pdf, access-date=February 17, 2014 Portuguese Air Force aircraft squadrons Military units and formations established in 1986 Military of Portugal

Roles and missions

History

See also

References

Bibliography