The Lockheed S-3 Viking is a four-crew,
twin-engine
A twinjet or twin-engine jet is a jet aircraft powered by two engines. A twinjet is able to fly well enough to land with a single working engine, making it safer than a single-engine aircraft in the event of failure of an engine. Fuel efficien ...
turbofan
The turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft engine, aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a portmanteau of "turbine" and "fan": the ''turbo'' portion refers to a gas turbine engine which ac ...
-powered
jet aircraft
A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by jet engines.
Whereas the engines in propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much lower speeds and altitudes, je ...
designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but ot ...
. Because of its characteristic sound, it was nicknamed the "War Hoover" after the
vacuum cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum or a hoover, is a device that causes suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven.
The dirt is collected by either a ...
brand.
The S-3 was developed in response to the VSX program conducted by the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
(USN) to procure a successor
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 ...
(ASW) aircraft to the
Grumman S-2 Tracker
The Grumman S-2 Tracker (S2F prior to 1962) was the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy. Designed and initially built by Grumman, the Tracker was of conventiona ...
. It was designed, with assistance from
Ling-Temco-Vought
Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) was a large American conglomerate which existed from 1961 to 2000. At its peak, it was involved in aerospace, airlines, electronics, steel manufacturing, sporting goods, meat packing, car rentals, and pharmaceuticals, am ...
(LTV), to be a
carrier-based
Carrier-based aircraft, sometimes known as carrier-capable aircraft or carrier-borne aircraft, are naval aircraft designed for operations from aircraft carriers. They must be able to launch in a short distance and be sturdy enough to withstand ...
, subsonic, all-weather, long-range, multi-mission aircraft.
On 21 January 1972, the prototype ''YS-3A'' performed the type's
maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...
. Upon entering regular service during February 1974, it proved to be a reliable workhorse. In the ASW role, the S-3 carried automated weapons and
in-flight refueling
Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft ...
gear. Further variants, such as the ''ES-3A Shadow'' carrier-based
electronic intelligence
Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...
(ELINT) platform, and the ''US-3A'' carrier-based utility and cargo transport, arrived during the 1980s and 1990s. In the late 1990s, the S-3B's mission focus shifted to surface warfare and
aerial refueling
Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft a ...
a
carrier battle group
A carrier battle group (CVBG) is a naval fleet consisting of an aircraft carrier capital ship and its large number of escorts, together defining the group. The ''CV'' in ''CVBG'' is the United States Navy hull classification code for an airc ...
. It saw combat during the
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
of the early 1990s, the
Yugoslav Wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...
of the mid-to-late 1990s, and the
War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC)
*Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...
during the 2000s.
The S-3 was removed from front-line fleet service aboard aircraft carriers in January 2009, its missions having been taken over by the
P-3C Orion
The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop Anti-submarine warfare, anti-submarine and maritime patrol aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed Corporation, Lockh ...
,
P-8 Poseidon
The Boeing P-8 Poseidon is an American maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by Boeing Defense, Space & Security, and derived from the civilian Boeing 737-800. It was developed for the United States Navy (USN).
Th ...
,
SH-60 Seahawk
The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk (or Sea Hawk) is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant modificatio ...
, and
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18E single-seat and F/A-18F tandem-seat variants are larger and more ad ...
. For more a decade after that, some S-3s were flown by
Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Thirty (
VX-30
Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 30 (AIRTEVRON THREE ZERO or VX-30), nicknamed ''The Bloodhounds'') is a United States Navy air test and evaluation squadron based at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California. Using the tail code ''BH'', the squad ...
) at
Naval Base Ventura County
Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) is a United States Navy base in Ventura County, California. Formed by the merger of NAS Point Mugu and CBC Port Hueneme, NBVC is a diverse installation composed of three main locations — Point Mugu, Port Hueneme ...
/
NAS Point Mugu
Naval Air Station Point Mugu was a United States naval air station near Oxnard, California, which operated as an independent base from 1941 to 2000, when it merged with nearby Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme to form Naval Base V ...
, California, for range clearance and surveillance operations at the NAVAIR Point Mugu Range. These final examples in U.S. Navy service were retired in early 2016. The last operational S-3 was used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
) at its
Glenn Research Center
NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is a NASA center within the cities of Brook Park and Cleveland between Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the Rocky River Reservation of Cleveland Metroparks, with a subsidiary facilit ...
until NASA retired it in mid-2021. Mose retired S-3s were placed into storage while options for their future were investigated. During the 2010s, Lockheed Martin proposed to refurbish them for
carrier onboard delivery
Carrier onboard delivery (COD) is the use of aircraft to ferry personnel, mail, supplies, and high-priority cargo, such as replacement parts, from shore bases to an aircraft carrier at sea. Several types of aircraft, including helicopters, have ...
. The
Republic of Korea Navy
The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; ko, 대한민국 해군), also known as the ROK Navy or South Korean Navy, is the naval warfare service branch of the South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and amphibious operations. The ROK Navy in ...
also had plans to operate revived S-3s for ASW; these plans were cancelled in 2017.
Development
![S-3A escape sys China Lake NAN1-72jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/S-3A_escape_sys_China_Lake_NAN1-72jpg.jpg)
In the mid-1960s, the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
(USN) formulated the ''VSX'' (Heavier-than-air, Anti-submarine, Experimental) requirement, which sought a dedicated anti-submarine aircraft capable of flying off of its aircraft carriers as a replacement for its existing inventory of piston-engined
Grumman S-2 Tracker
The Grumman S-2 Tracker (S2F prior to 1962) was the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy. Designed and initially built by Grumman, the Tracker was of conventiona ...
s. The service issued a request for proposals to industry. During August 1968, a team led by Lockheed, as well as a rival team comprising
Convair
Convair, previously Consolidated Vultee, was an American aircraft manufacturing company that later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft. In 1953, it ...
and
Grumman
The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 1994 ...
, were requested to further develop their proposals to meet this requirement.
[Francillon 1982, pp. 455–456.]
At this stage, Lockheed recognised that it had little experience in designing carrier based aircraft, thus the company reached out to the industrial conglomerate
Ling-Temco-Vought
Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) was a large American conglomerate which existed from 1961 to 2000. At its peak, it was involved in aerospace, airlines, electronics, steel manufacturing, sporting goods, meat packing, car rentals, and pharmaceuticals, am ...
(LTV), which joined the team. LTV assumed responsibility for the design of various elements of the airframe, such as the folding wings and tail, the engine nacelles, and the landing gear, some of which had been derived from the earlier
LTV A-7 Corsair II
The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV).
The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...
and
Vought F-8 Crusader
The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) is a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps (replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass), and for the Frenc ...
.
Sperry Univac
UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) was a line of electronic digital stored-program computers starting with the products of the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation. Later the name was applied to a division of the Remington Rand company and ...
Federal Systems was assigned the task of developing the aircraft's onboard computers which integrated input from sensors and
sonobuoy
A sonobuoy (a portmanteau of sonar and buoy) is a relatively small buoy – typically diameter and long – expendable sonar system that is dropped/ejected from aircraft or ships conducting anti-submarine warfare or underwater acoustic resea ...
s.
[Godfrey 1974, p. 6.][Goebel, Greg]
"The Lockheed S-3 Viking."
''Air Vectors'', 1 May 2005. Retrieved: 21 April 2010.
On 4 August 1969, Lockheed's design was selected as the winner of the VSX contest; an order for eight prototypes, designated ''YS-3A'', was promptly received by the company.
[Francillon 1982, p. 457.] On 21 January 1972, the first prototype performed its
maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...
in the hands of military test pilot
John Christiansen.
Flight testing proceeded quickly with no major issues; two years later, the S-3 entered operational service with the U.S. Navy. During the type's production run, which ran from 1974 to 1978, a total of 186 S-3As were constructed.
The majority of the surviving S-3As were later upgraded to the improved ''S-3B'' variant, while 16 aircraft were also converted into ''ES-3A Shadow''
electronic intelligence
Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...
(ELINT) collection aircraft.
Design
The Lockheed S-3 Viking is a conventional
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
with a
cantilever
A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...
shoulder wing
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplane (aeronautics), multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowe ...
, very slightly swept with a leading edge angle of 15° and an almost straight trailing edge. Its twin
GE TF-34 high-bypass
turbofan
The turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft engine, aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a portmanteau of "turbine" and "fan": the ''turbo'' portion refers to a gas turbine engine which ac ...
engines mounted in
nacelle
A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached ...
s under the wings provide excellent fuel efficiency, providing the Viking with the required long range and endurance,
[Elward 1998, pp. 54–55.] while also maintaining relatively docile engine-out characteristics.
[Elward 1998, p. 69.]
The aircraft can seat four crew members (three officers and one enlisted) with pilot and copilot/tactical coordinator (COTAC) in the front of the cockpit and the tactical coordinator (TACCO) and sensor operator (SENSO) in the back.
Entry is via a hatch/ladder folding down out of the lower starboard side of the fuselage behind the cockpit, in between the rear and front seats on the starboard side.
When the aircraft's anti-submarine warfare (ASW) role ended in the late 1990s, the enlisted SENSOs were removed from the crew. In tanker crew configuration, the S-3B typically flew with a pilot and co-pilot/COTAC. The wing is fitted with leading edge and
Fowler flaps
A flap is a high-lift device used to reduce the stalling speed of an aircraft wing at a given weight. Flaps are usually mounted on the wing trailing edges of a fixed-wing aircraft. Flaps are used to reduce the take-off distance and the landing ...
.
Spoilers are fitted to both the upper and the lower surfaces of the wings. All control surfaces are actuated by dual hydraulically boosted irreversible systems. In the event of dual hydraulic failures, an Emergency Flight Control System (EFCS) permits manual control with greatly increased stick forces and reduced control authority.
[Taylor 1976, pp. 315–316.]
Unlike many tactical jets which required ground service equipment, the S-3 was equipped with an
auxiliary power unit
An auxiliary power unit (APU) is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft and naval ships as well as some large land vehicles. Aircraft APUs generally produce 115&n ...
(APU) and capable of unassisted starts. The aircraft's original APU could provide only minimal electric power and pressurized air for both aircraft cooling and for the engines' pneumatic starters. A newer, more powerful APU could provide full electrical service to the aircraft. The APU itself was started from a hydraulic accumulator by pulling a handle in the cockpit. The APU accumulator was fed from the primary hydraulic system, but could also be pumped up manually (with much effort) from the cockpit.
All crew members sit on forward-facing, upward-firing Douglas Escapac
zero-zero ejection seats. In "group eject" mode, initiating ejection from either of the front seat ejects the entire crew in sequence, with the back seats ejecting 0.5 seconds before the front in order to provide safe separation (this was to prevent the pilots, who were more aware of what was happening outside the aircraft from ejecting without the rest of the crew, or being forced to delay ejection to order the crew to eject in an emergency; ejection from either rear seat would not eject the pilots, who had to initiate their own ejections, to prevent loss of the aircraft if a rear crewmember ejected prematurely. If a pilot ejected prematurely, the plane was lost anyway, and automatic ejection prevented the crew from crashing with a pilot-less aircraft before they were aware of what had happened). The rear seats are capable of self ejection and the ejection sequence includes a pyrotechnic charge that stows the rear keyboard trays out of the occupants' way immediately before ejection. Safe ejection requires the seats to be weighted in pairs and when flying with a single crewman in the back the unoccupied seat is fitted with ballast.
At the time it entered the fleet, the S-3 introduced an unprecedented level of systems integration. Previous ASW aircraft like the
Lockheed P-3 Orion
The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner.[Grumman S-2 Tracker
The Grumman S-2 Tracker (S2F prior to 1962) was the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy. Designed and initially built by Grumman, the Tracker was of conventiona ...]
, featured separate instrumentation and controls for each sensor system. Sensor operators often monitored paper traces, using mechanical calipers to make precise measurements and annotating data by writing on the scrolling paper. Beginning with the S-3, all sensor systems were integrated through a single General Purpose Digital Computer (GPDC). Each crew station had its own display, the co-pilot/COTAC, TACCO and SENSO displays were Multi-Purpose Displays (MPD) capable of displaying data from any of a number of systems. This new level of integration allowed the crew to consult with each other by examining the same data at multiple stations simultaneously, to manage workload by assigning responsibility for a given sensor from one station to another and to easily combine clues from each sensor to classify faint targets. As a consequence of this integration, the four-crew S-3 was considered roughly equivalent in terms of capability to the much larger P-3, operated by a crew of 12.
The aircraft has two underwing hardpoints that can be used to carry fuel tanks, general purpose and cluster bombs, missiles, rockets, and storage pods.
It also has four internal bomb bay stations that can be used to carry general-purpose bombs,
aerial torpedo
An aerial torpedo (also known as an airborne torpedo or air-dropped torpedo) is a torpedo launched from a torpedo bomber aircraft into the water, after which the weapon propels itself to the target.
First used in World War I, air-dropped torped ...
es, and special stores (B57 and B61 nuclear weapons). Fifty-nine
sonobuoy
A sonobuoy (a portmanteau of sonar and buoy) is a relatively small buoy – typically diameter and long – expendable sonar system that is dropped/ejected from aircraft or ships conducting anti-submarine warfare or underwater acoustic resea ...
s are carried, as well as a dedicated Search and Rescue (SAR) chute. The S-3 is fitted with the ALE-39 countermeasure system and can carry up to 90 rounds of
chaff
Chaff (; ) is the dry, scaly protective casing of the seeds of cereal grains or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material (such as scaly parts of flowers or finely chopped straw). Chaff is indigestible by humans, but livestock can eat it. In agri ...
,
flare
A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala in some Latin-speaking countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illumination, ...
s, and expendable jammers (or a combination of all) in three dispensers. A retractable
magnetic anomaly detector
A magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) is an instrument used to detect minute variations in the Earth's magnetic field. The term refers specifically to magnetometers used by military forces to detect submarines (a mass of ferromagnetic material crea ...
(MAD) Boom is fitted in the tail.
In the late 1990s, the S-3B's role was changed from anti-submarine warfare (ASW) to anti-surface warfare (ASuW). As a consequence of this role change, the MAD Boom was removed, along with several hundred pounds of submarine detection electronics. As there was no remaining sonobuoy processing capability, most of the sonobuoy chutes were faired over with a blanking plate.
Operational history
![S-2G and S-3A in flight 1976](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/S-2G_and_S-3A_in_flight_1976.jpg)
On 20 February 1974, the S-3A officially became operational with the
Air Antisubmarine Squadron FORTY-ONE (VS-41), the "Shamrocks," at
NAS North Island
Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (NB ...
, California, which served as the initial S-3 Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) for both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets until a separate Atlantic Fleet FRS, VS-27, was established in the 1980s. The first operational cruise of the S-3A took place in 1975 with the
VS-21
Sea Control Squadron 21 (VS-21) was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. It served from 1945 to 2005 and was mainly tasked with anti-submarine warfare while operating from aircraft carriers.
History
VS-21 was previously designated Air Anti- ...
"Fighting Redtails" aboard .
Initial operations of the Viking were somewhat troubled in the carrier environment, its sophisticated mission systems were largely dependent on the mission computer, which would often "dump" during the stress of a catapult-assisted take-off, requiring the crew to restart it and reload the software.
The U.S. Navy had also purchased an insufficient number of spare parts, which negatively impacted the aircraft's mission readiness. Performance improved considerably once an ample supply of spares was provisioned, allowing the S-3 to become a valuable ASW asset as well as a good surface-surveillance platform as well.
Starting in 1987, the majority of S-3As were progressively upgraded to the improved ''S-3B'' standard; the involved the addition of several new sensors, avionics, and weapons systems, which included the capability to launch the
AGM-84 Harpoon
The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile
manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security). The AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) and later AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack Mi ...
anti-ship missile
An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A good ...
.
The S-3B could also be fitted with "
buddy store
Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft ...
s", external fuel tanks that allowed the Viking to refuel other aircraft. During July 1988, VS-30 became the first fleet squadron to receive the enhanced capability Harpoon/ISAR equipped S-3B, based at
NAS Cecil Field
Naval Air Station Cecil Field or NAS Cecil Field was a United States Navy air base, located in Duval County, Florida. Prior to October 1999, NAS Cecil Field was the largest military base in terms of acreage in the Jacksonville, Florida area.
NA ...
in
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
.
Additional, often more specialised variants, were also produced. 16 S-3As were converted to ''ES-3A Shadow''s for carrier-based
electronic intelligence
Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...
(ELINT) duties. Six aircraft, designated ''US-3A'', were converted for a specialized utility and limited cargo
Carrier onboard delivery
Carrier onboard delivery (COD) is the use of aircraft to ferry personnel, mail, supplies, and high-priority cargo, such as replacement parts, from shore bases to an aircraft carrier at sea. Several types of aircraft, including helicopters, have ...
(COD) requirement.
This model played a key role in US military efforts to relieve the
Iran hostage crisis
On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over t ...
of 1979-1981.
Plans were also made to develop the ''KS-3A'' carrier-based
tanker aircraft, but this program was ultimately cancelled after the conversion of just one early development S-3A.
[''Air International'' July 1986, pp. 44–45.]
As a consequence of the collapse of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and the breakup of the
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...
in the early 1990s, the Soviet-Russian submarine threat was perceived as much reduced, and the Vikings had the majority of their
antisubmarine 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 typic ...
equipment removed. The aircraft's mission subsequently changed to sea surface search, sea and ground attack, over-the-horizon targeting, and aircraft refueling.
As a result, the S-3B after 1997 was typically crewed by a single pilot along with a copilot
FO the additional seats remained in place in the S-3B and could be used by additional crew members for certain missions. To reflect these new missions, the Viking squadrons were redesignated from "Air Antisubmarine Warfare Squadrons" to "Sea Control Squadrons".
![S-3A VS-32 1982](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/S-3A_VS-32_1982.JPEG)
Prior to the aircraft's retirement from front-line fleet use aboard US aircraft carriers, a number of upgrade programs were implemented. These include the Carrier Airborne Inertial Navigation System II (CAINS II) upgrade, which replaced older inertial navigation hardware with
ring laser gyroscope
A ring laser gyroscope (RLG) consists of a ring laser having two independent counter-propagating resonant modes over the same path; the difference in phase is used to detect rotation. It operates on the principle of the Sagnac effect which shifts ...
s with a Honeywell EGI (Enhanced
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...
Inertial Navigation System) and added digital electronic flight instruments (EFI). The Maverick Plus System (MPS) added the capability to employ the
AGM-65E laser-guided or AGM-65F infrared-guided air-to-surface missile, and the
AGM-84H/K Stand-off Land Attack Missile Expanded Response (SLAM/ER). The SLAM/ER is a GPS/inertial/infrared guided cruise missile derived from the AGM-84 Harpoon that can be controlled by the aircrew in the terminal phase of flight if an AWW-13 data link pod is carried by the aircraft.
The S-3B saw extensive service during the 1991
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
, performing attack, tanker, and ELINT duties, and launching
ADM-141 TALD
The ADM-141A/B TALD was an American decoy missile originally built by Brunswick Corporation for the United States Air Force and the Israeli Air Force. Later it transitioned to joint US/Israeli manufacture with Israeli Military Industries Advance ...
decoys. One such aircraft, launched from the aircraft carrier , was responsible for the destruction of an Iraqi
Silkworm
The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of ''Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically imp ...
anti-ship missile site, having fired AGM-84 SLAM missiles at it.
It was commonly deployed to hunt for
Scud missile
A Scud missile is one of a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was exported widely to both Second and Third World countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name attached to the mis ...
launcher. The Vikings also identified and targeted numerous Iraqi naval vessels, and even destroyed anti-aircraft gun emplacements and coastal radars.
The Gulf War was the first event in which the type had been employed overland in offensive air strike capacity.
The Viking also participated in the
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...
in the 1990s, and in
Operation Enduring Freedom
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...
in the 2000s. For the latter, the opening phase of the
War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC)
*Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...
in October 2001, many Vikings were deployed as tankers to continuously undertake refueling sorties to support various fighters stationed aboard U.S. carriers, giving them the necessary endurance to fly to and from the conflict zone.
Electronic surveillance
The first ES-3A was delivered during 1991 and entered front-line service after two years of testing. The U.S. Navy established two squadrons, each equipped with eight ES-3As, stationed in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets to provide detachments of typically two aircraft, ten officers, and 55 enlisted aircrew, maintenance and support personnel (which comprised/supported four complete aircrews) to deploying carrier air wings. The Pacific Fleet squadron,
Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron FIVE (VQ-5), the "Sea Shadows," was originally based at the former
NAS Agana
Naval Air Station Agana is a former United States Naval air station located on the island of Guam. It was opened by the Japanese Navy in 1943 and closed by the United States government in 1995. During and after its closure, it was operated alongs ...
, Guam but later relocated to
NAS North Island
Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (NB ...
in
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
, with the Pacific Fleet S-3 Viking squadrons when NAS Agana closed in 1995 as a result of a 1993
Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is a process by a United States federal government commission to increase United States Department of Defense efficiency by coordinating the realignment and closure of military installations following the end o ...
(BRAC) decision. The Atlantic Fleet squadron, the
VQ-6 "Black Ravens," were originally based with all Atlantic Fleet S-3 Vikings at the former NAS Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Florida, but later moved to
NAS Jacksonville
Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville) is a large naval air station located approximately eight miles (13 km) south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25
Location
NAS Jack ...
, approximately to the east, when NAS Cecil Field was closed in 1999 as a result of the same 1993 BRAC decision that closed NAS Agana.
![S-3 Viking in-flight refueling](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/S-3_Viking_in-flight_refueling.jpg)
The ES-3A operated primarily with
carrier battle group
A carrier battle group (CVBG) is a naval fleet consisting of an aircraft carrier capital ship and its large number of escorts, together defining the group. The ''CV'' in ''CVBG'' is the United States Navy hull classification code for an airc ...
s, providing organic 'Indications and Warning' support to the group and joint theater commanders. In addition to their warning and reconnaissance roles, and their extraordinarily stable handling characteristics and range, Shadows were a preferred recovery tanker (aircraft that provide refueling for returning aircraft). They were also deployed to active combat zones, seeing use over
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
to identify targets, as well as to enforce the
no-fly zone
A no-fly zone, also known as a no-flight zone (NFZ), or air exclusion zone (AEZ), is a territory or area established by a military power over which certain aircraft are not permitted to fly. Such zones are usually set up in an enemy power's te ...
over Iraq.
The Shadows reportedly averaged over 100 flight hours per month while deployed. Excessive utilization caused earlier than expected equipment replacement when Naval aviation funds were limited, making them an easy target for budget-driven decision makers. The type was also deemed by some officials to be too costly to continue operating.
In 1999, both ES-3A squadrons and all 16 aircraft were decommissioned and the ES-3A inventory placed in
(AMARG) storage at
Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona.
Iraq War
The S-3 was an active participant in
Operation Iraqi Freedom
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
, the US invasion of Iraq; it largely performed intelligence and reconnaissance missions in support of other coalition assets.
On one occasion, in March 2003 a single S-3B Viking from Sea Control Squadron 38 (The "Red Griffins"), piloted by Richard McGrath Jr., from the aircraft carrier successfully executed a time-sensitive strike, firing a laser-guided Maverick missile that neutralized a significant Iraqi naval and leadership target in the port city of
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
.
This was the first time an S-3 launched a laser-guided
Maverick missile
The AGM-65 Maverick is an air-to-ground missile (AGM) designed for close air support. It is the most widely produced precision-guided missile in the Western world, and is effective against a wide range of tactical targets, including armor, air ...
in combat.
As the conflict progressed, S-3s were regularly used as surveillance aircraft, often to identify
improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...
s (IEDs) and the insurgents who planted them.
![Navy One](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Navy_One.jpg)
On 1 May 2003, US President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
flew in the co-pilot seat of a
VS-35
Sea Control Squadron 35 (VS-35), known as the ''Boomerangers'' was an anti-submarine/surface squadron of the United States Navy. Established on 3 January 1961, at Naval Air Station Los Alamitos, California, it was disestablished on 30 June 1973.
...
Viking from
NAS North Island
Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (NB ...
, California, to the aircraft carrier off the California coast; while the carrier was well within range of helicopters, it is believed that the S-3 was used as a means of setting a desired tone.
Aboard the carrier, he delivered his "
Mission Accomplished" speech announcing the end of major combat in the
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
.
During the flight, the aircraft used the presidential
callsign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...
of "
Navy One
Navy One is the call sign of any United States Navy aircraft carrying the president of the United States.
There has only been one aircraft designated as Navy One: a Lockheed S-3 Viking, BuNo ''159387'', assigned to the "Blue Wolves" of VS- ...
". The aircraft that President Bush flew in was retired shortly thereafter and on 15 July 2003 was accepted as an exhibit at the
National Museum of Naval Aviation
The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.
Founded in 1962 and moved to its curr ...
at
NAS Pensacola
Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...
, Florida.
Between July and December 2008, the
VS-22
Sea Control Squadron 22 (VS-22) ''Checkmates'' was a carrier-based United States Navy squadron based out of Naval Air Station Jacksonville in Florida. The squadron flew the Lockheed S-3B ''Viking'' and their mission was mining, undersea and sur ...
Checkmates, the last sea control squadron, operated a detachment of four S-3Bs from the
Al Asad Airbase
Ayn al Asad is an Iraqi Armed Forces base located in Al Anbar Governorate (also called Anbar province) of western Iraq. It was originally known as Qadisiyah Airbase.
It was the second largest US military airbase in Iraq during Operation Iraqi ...
in
Al Anbar Province
Al Anbar Governorate ( ar, محافظة الأنبار; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, ...
, west of Baghdad. The planes were fitted with
LANTIRN
LANTIRN (Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night) is a combined navigation and targeting pod system for use on the United States Air Force fighter aircraft—the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon (Block 40/42 C & D mo ...
pods and they performed non-traditional intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
After more than 350 missions, the Checkmates returned to NAS Jacksonville, Florida, on 15 December 2008. The squadron was disestablished on 29 January 2009.
Final years and retirement
![NASA Glenn Research Center S-3B](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/NASA_Glenn_Research_Center_S-3B.jpg)
A proposed airframe known as the
Common Support Aircraft
The Common Support Aircraft (CSA) was a proposed concept, which has been considered by the United States Navy since at least the early 1990s, to replace a number of different fixed-wing aircraft capable of operating from an aircraft carrier and w ...
was advanced as a successor to the S-3,
E-2, and
C-2, but this initiative failed to materialize. In 1998, the U.S. Navy awarded a $40 million contract for Lockheed Martin to perform a full-scale
Fatigue testing
Fatigue testing is a specialised form of mechanical testing that is performed by applying cyclic loading to a ''coupon'' or structure. These tests are used either to generate fatigue life and crack growth data, identify critical locations or de ...
of the existing S-3s; these tests, which commended in June 2001, were aimed at extending the viable service life of each remaining aircraft, which had originally been certified for a structural life of 13,000 flight-hours. It was hoped that this could be extended to as much as 17,750 hours.
The final carrier-based S-3B squadron, VS-22, was decommissioned at NAS Jacksonville on 29 January 2009. Sea Control Wing Atlantic was decommissioned the following day, along with the last S-3s in frontline fleet service.
[ ]
In June 2010, the first of three S-3s to patrol the
Pacific Missile Test Center
Pacific Missile Test Center (PMTC) is the former name of the current Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division. The name of the center was the Naval Air Missile Test Center prior to PMTC. It is located at Naval Base Ventura County/Naval Air Stat ...
's range areas off of California was reactivated and delivered. The jet aircraft's higher speed, ten-hour endurance, modern radar, and a LANTIRN targeting pod allowed it to quickly confirm the test range being clear of wayward ships and aircraft before tests commence.
These S-3Bs are flown by Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Thirty (
VX-30
Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 30 (AIRTEVRON THREE ZERO or VX-30), nicknamed ''The Bloodhounds'') is a United States Navy air test and evaluation squadron based at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California. Using the tail code ''BH'', the squad ...
) based out of
NAS Point Mugu
Naval Air Station Point Mugu was a United States naval air station near Oxnard, California, which operated as an independent base from 1941 to 2000, when it merged with nearby Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme to form Naval Base V ...
, California. By late 2015, the U.S. Navy were operating a total of three Vikings in support roles. One was relocated to
The Boneyard
''The Boneyard'' is a 1991 American direct-to-video horror film directed by James Cummins and starring Ed Nelson, Deborah Rose, Norman Fell, James Eustermann, and Phyllis Diller.
Plot
The film plunges into the nightmarish experiences of a de ...
in November 2015, while the final two were retired, one being stored and the other transferred to
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
, on 11 January 2016, officially retiring the S-3 from Navy service.
During 2004, NASA arranged the acquisition four of the withdrawn S-3Bs for use at its
Glenn Research Center
NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is a NASA center within the cities of Brook Park and Cleveland between Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the Rocky River Reservation of Cleveland Metroparks, with a subsidiary facilit ...
.
In 2009, one of these aircraft (USN BuNo 160607) was given the civil registration ''N601NA'', it was involved in numerous tests conducted by the agency. For over a decade, this aircraft was flying almost every day in support for various research programs;
one such initiative was the definition of new
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
communication standards for
unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
s operating in US airspace. However, a lack of spare parts and increasing difficulty supporting the type meant their use could not continue in the long term. The last of the NASA's S-3Bs, which were the final working members of the type in existence with any operator at that point, were retired on 13 July 2021.
Naval analysts have suggested that the U.S. Navy return to service an unspecified quantity of the stored S-3s in order to fill gaps that were left in the carrier air wing when it was retired. This move was promoted as a response to the realization that the
Chinese navy
The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN; ), also known as the People's Navy, Chinese Navy, or PLA Navy, is the maritime service branch of the People's Liberation Army.
The PLAN traces its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chine ...
is producing increasingly capable weapons that can threaten carriers beyond the range their aircraft can strike them. Against the
DF-21D
The Dong-Feng 21 (DF-21; NATO reporting name CSS-5 - Dong-Feng () is a two-stage, solid-fuel rocket, single-warhead medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) in the Dong Feng series developed by China Changfeng Mechanics and Electronics Technology A ...
anti-ship ballistic missile
An anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) is a military ballistic missile system Anti-ship missile, designed to hit a warship at sea.
Due to the often hypersonic flight speed of ballistic missiles an ASBM's kinetic energy alone may be sufficient t ...
, carrier-based
F/A-18 Super Hornet
The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18E single-seat and F/A-18F tandem-seat variants are larger and more adv ...
s and
F-35C Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide elect ...
s have about half the unrefueled strike range, so bringing the S-3 back to aerial tanking duties would extend their range against it, as well as free up Super Hornets forced into tanking. Against submarines armed with anti-ship cruise missiles like the
Klub
Potetball (also known as ball, klubb, kumle, komle, kompe, raspeball) is a traditional Norwegian potato dumpling. A similar German dish is called '' Kartoffelklöße''.
The main ingredient is peeled potatoes, which are grated or ground up and ...
and
YJ-18
The YJ-18 (, NATO designation CH-SS-NX-13) is a Chinese family of anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles.
Description
The United States Department of Defense believes the YJ-18 is similar to the Russian 3M-54 Klub, with a subsonic cruise m ...
, the S-3 would restore area coverage for ASW duties. Bringing the S-3 out of retirement could at least be a stop-gap measure to increase the survivability and capabilities of aircraft carriers until new aircraft can be developed for such purposes.
Potential revival and proposals
In October 2013, the
Republic of Korea Navy
The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; ko, 대한민국 해군), also known as the ROK Navy or South Korean Navy, is the naval warfare service branch of the South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and amphibious operations. The ROK Navy in ...
expressed its interest in acquiring up to 18 ex-USN S-3s to augment their fleet of 16 Lockheed P-3 Orion aircraft. In August 2015, a military program review group approved a proposal to incorporate 12 mothballed S-3s to perform ASW duties; the Viking plan was sent onto the
Defense Acquisition Program Administration
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) was founded on January 1, 2006 as part of a comprehensive reform of the defense acquisition project, including the introduction and development of weapons, and is a central administrative agenc ...
for further assessment before final approval decision by the national defense system committee. Although the planes are relatively old, being in storage has supposedly kept them serviceable, and using them is an affordable means of fulfilling short-range airborne ASW capabilities that were vacated by the retirement of the S-2 Tracker. Refurbished S-3s could be returned to use by 2019.
In 2017, the Republic of Korea Navy canceled plans to purchase refurbished and upgraded Lockheed S-3 Viking aircraft for maritime patrol and anti-submarine duties, leaving offers by Airbus, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Saab on the table.
During April 2014, Lockheed Martin announced that they would offer refurbished and remanufactured S-3s, dubbed the ''C-3'', as a replacement for the Northrop
Grumman C-2A Greyhound
The Grumman C-2 Greyhound is a twin-engine, high-wing cargo aircraft designed to carry supplies, mail, and passengers to and from aircraft carriers of the United States Navy. Its primary mission is carrier onboard delivery (COD). The aircraft ...
for
carrier onboard delivery
Carrier onboard delivery (COD) is the use of aircraft to ferry personnel, mail, supplies, and high-priority cargo, such as replacement parts, from shore bases to an aircraft carrier at sea. Several types of aircraft, including helicopters, have ...
. The requirement for 35 aircraft would be met from the 91 S-3s currently in storage. In February 2015, the Navy announced that the
Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a convention ...
had been selected to replace the C-2 for the COD mission.
Variants
![ES-3As in flight](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/ES-3As_in_flight.jpg)
;S-3A
:First production version, 187 built.
[Michell 1994, pp. 334–335.][Elward 1998, p. 53.]
;S-3B
:Upgraded avionics, AN/APS-137
inverse synthetic aperture radar
Inverse synthetic-aperture radar (ISAR) is a radar technique using radar imaging to generate a two-dimensional high resolution image of a target. It is analogous to conventional SAR, except that ISAR technology uses the movement of the target rathe ...
,
Joint Tactical Information Distribution System
The Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS) is an L band Distributed Time Division Multiple Access (DTDMA) network radio system used by the United States armed forces and their allies to support data communications needs, principall ...
,
AGM-84 Harpoon
The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile
manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security). The AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) and later AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack Mi ...
launch capability, first flight 13 September 1984, 119 converted from S-3As.
;ES-3A Shadow
:Designed as a carrier-based, subsonic, all-weather, long-range, electronic reconnaissance (
ELINT
Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...
) aircraft. 16 aircraft were modified to replace the
EA-3B Skywarrior, entering fleet service in 1993. The ES-3A carried an extensive suite of electronic sensors and communications gear, replacing the S-3's
submarine detection, armament, and maritime surveillance equipment with avionics racks accommodating the ES-3A's sensors. These modifications had minor impact on
airspeed
In aviation, airspeed is the speed of an aircraft relative to the air. Among the common conventions for qualifying airspeed are:
* Indicated airspeed ("IAS"), what is read on an airspeed gauge connected to a Pitot-static system;
* Calibrated a ...
, reducing its top rated speed from but had no noticeable impact on the aircraft's
range
Range may refer to:
Geography
* Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra)
** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands
* Range, a term used to i ...
and actually increased its rated loiter time. Because these aircraft were standoff indications and warnings platforms and were never intended to be part of an ingress strike package, yet this new speed limitation was considered insignificant.
;KS-3A
:Proposed dedicated air tanker with fuel capacity of 4,382 US gal (16,600 L), one converted from YS-3A, later converted to US-3A.
;KS-3B
:Proposed air tanker based on S-3B and utilizing the buddy refueling system, not built.
;US-3A
:S-3A modified for
carrier onboard delivery
Carrier onboard delivery (COD) is the use of aircraft to ferry personnel, mail, supplies, and high-priority cargo, such as replacement parts, from shore bases to an aircraft carrier at sea. Several types of aircraft, including helicopters, have ...
, capacity for six passengers or 4,680 lb (2,120 kg) of cargo, retired in 1998.
;Aladdin Viking
:Conversion of six aircraft for overland surveillance and Elint missions. May have dropped ground sensors in the
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
.
;Beartrap Viking
:S-3Bs fitted with still-classified modifications.
;Calypso Viking
:Proposed anti-
smuggling
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.
There are various ...
variant, not built.
;Gray Wolf Viking
:One aircraft fitted with
AN/APG-76 radar in a modified cargo pod under the wing. Also dubbed SeaSTARS in reference to
E-8 Joint STARS
The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) is a United States Air Force airborne ground surveillance, battle management and command and control aircraft. It tracks ground vehicles and some aircraft, col ...
.
;Orca Viking
:Avionics testbed.
;Outlaw Viking
:One S-3B fitted with
Over-the-horizon Airborne Sensor Information System The Over-the-horizon Airborne Sensor Information System (OASIS) is an organic over the horizon sensor targeting and surveillance system originally produced by Texas Instruments and now by Raytheon.
It is coupled with link 16, electro-optics/infrar ...
(OASIS III), returned to regular S-3B in 1998. This particular Viking is now on display at the
USS Midway Museum
The USS ''Midway'' Museum is a historical naval aircraft carrier museum located in downtown San Diego, California at Navy Pier. The museum consists of the aircraft carrier . The ship houses an extensive collection of aircraft, many of which we ...
, located on the decommissioned
USS Midway (CV-41)
USS ''Midway'' (CVB/CVA/CV-41) is an aircraft carrier, formerly of the United States Navy, the lead ship of her class. Commissioned 8 days after the end of World War II, ''Midway'' was the largest ship in the world until 1955, as well as the ...
.
![Lockheed S-3 Viking Variants](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Lockheed_S-3_Viking_Variants.png)
;NASA Viking
:One aircraft was extensively rebuilt into a state-of-the-art NASA research aircraft. The Navy's Fleet Readiness Center Southeast and a Boeing facility in Florida modified it, adding commercial satellite communications, global positioning navigation, and weather radar systems. They also installed research equipment racks in what was once the plane's bomb bay. NASA's S-3B Viking was equipped to conduct science and aeronautics missions, such as environmental monitoring, satellite communications testing, and aviation safety research.
Operators
;
*
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
(former)
**
VS-21 Red Tails (1975-2005)
**
VS-22 Checkmates (1976-2009)
**
VS-24 Scouts (1977-2007)
** VS-27 Seawolves/Grim Watchdogs (1987-1994)
** VS-28 Hukkers/Gamblers (1976-1992)
**
VS-29 Dragonfires (1976-2004)
** VS-30 Diamond Cutters (1977-2007)
**
VS-31 Topcats (1977-2008)
**
VS-32 Maulers (1976-2008)
**
VS-33 Screwbirds (1977-2006)
**
VS-35 Boomerangers/
Blue Wolves (1986-88/1991-2005)
**
VS-37 Sawbucks (1978-1995)
**
VS-38 Red Griffins (1978-2004)
**
VS-41 Shamrocks (1974-2006)
**
VQ-5 Sea Shadows (1991-1999)
**
VQ-6 Black Ravens (1991-1999)
**
VX-1 Pioneers (Unknown)
*
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
(former)
Aircraft on display
![Air Zoo December 2019 119 (Lockheed S-3 Viking)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Air_Zoo_December_2019_119_%28Lockheed_S-3_Viking%29.jpg)
;YS-3A
* 157993 – NAS Jacksonville Aircraft Heritage Park,
NAS Jacksonville
Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville) is a large naval air station located approximately eight miles (13 km) south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25
Location
NAS Jack ...
,
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
.
;S-3A
* 159417 – Celebrity Row,
Davis-Monthan AFB (North Side),
Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
.
;ES-3A
* 159404 – Celebrity Row, Davis-Monthan AFB (North Side), Tucson, Arizona.
;S-3B
![S-3 Viking PRNAM-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/S-3_Viking_PRNAM-2.jpg)
* 159387 – ''Navy One''
National Naval Aviation Museum
The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.
Founded in 1962 and moved to its curr ...
,
NAS Pensacola
Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...
,
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...
.
* 159412 –
NAS North Island
Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (NB ...
,
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
.
* 159731 – at the
Patriot's Point Naval and Maritime Museum,
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
.
* 159743 – Aviation Wing of the Marietta Museum of History,
Dobbins ARB (formerly Atlanta NAS),
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
.
* 159755 – NAS Pensacola, Pensacola, Florida.
* 159766 – at
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
.
* 159770 –
Patuxent River Naval Air Museum
The Patuxent River Naval Air Museum is a museum at Lexington Park, Maryland, first opened in 1978, which preserves and interprets the Naval Air Station Patuxent River history and heritage of advancing US naval aviation technology with artifacts, ...
,
Lexington Park, Maryland
Lexington Park is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Mary's County, Maryland, St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States, and the principal community of the Lexington Park, Maryland United States micropolitan area, Micropolitan Statistical Area ...
.
* 160123 –
Air Zoo
The Air Zoo, founded as the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, is an aviation museum and indoor amusement park next to the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport in Portage, Michigan. The Air Zoo holds many historical and rare aircraft, inc ...
at
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...
.
* 160599 – at the former
NAS Alameda
Naval Air Station Alameda (NAS Alameda) was a United States Navy Naval Air Station in Alameda, California, on San Francisco Bay.
NAS Alameda had two runways: 13–31 measuring and 07-25 measuring . Two helicopter pads and a control tower were ...
,
Alameda, California
Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda (island), Alam ...
.
* 160604 –
Pima Air and Space Museum
The Pima Air & Space Museum, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, is one of the world's largest non-government funded aerospace museums. The museum features a display of nearly 300 aircraft spread out over 80 acres (320,000 m² ...
(adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB), Tucson, Arizona.
* N601NA - ''NASA Viking''
San Diego Air & Space Museum
San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM, formerly the San Diego Aerospace Museum) is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California, United States. The museum is located in Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building, ...
,
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
Specifications (S-3A)
See also
References
Citations
Bibliography
* Elward, Brad E."Lockheed S-3 Viking and ES-3A Shadow." ''World Air Power Journal', Volume 34, Autumn–Fall 1998. , pp. 48–97.
* Francillon, René J. ''Lockheed Aircraft since 1913''. London: Putnam, 1982. .
* Francillon, René J. ''Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913''. Naval Institute Press, 1987. .
* Godfrey, David W. H. "Fixer, Finder, Striker: The S-3A Viking." ''
Air International
''AIR International'' is a British aviation magazine covering current defence aerospace and civil aviation topics. It has been in publication since 1971 and is currently published by Key Publishing Ltd.
History and profile
The magazine was fir ...
'', Volume 7, Issue 1, July 1974, pp. 5–13.
* Michell, Simon. ''Jane's Civil and Military Upgrades 1994–95''. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Information Group, 1994. .
*
Taylor, John W. R. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77''. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1976. .
* Winchester, Jim, ed. ''Military Aircraft of the Cold War'' (The Aviation Factfile). London: Grange Books plc, 2006. .
* "Viking Variations". ''Air International'', Volume 31, Number 1, July 1986. pp. 41–45.
External links
S-3B Viking fact file an
S-3 Viking: War Hoover– ''Naval Aviation News'' (July–August 2004)
{{Authority control
Aircraft first flown in 1972
S-003
1970s United States anti-submarine aircraft
Twinjets
Shoulder-wing aircraft
Carrier-based aircraft