GREENVILLE, S.C.—U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Air and Marine today announced the completion of its 10th P-3 Orion aircraft overhaul.
The Service Life Extension Program provides new wings and tail for each aircraft and completely strips down the aircraft to its bare metal for an inspection. The final step in the process is a new paint job. With the overhaul of the Jacksonville, Fla.-based P-3 aircraft, the program completed its seventh consecutive delivery ahead of schedule. Four additional aircrafts will be overhauled before the program is finished, which is on track for fiscal year 2016.
“The overhaul included new wings, tail and an upgraded flight station,” said Trevor Blow, director of the P-3 Program Management Office. “This latest aircraft will provide years of reliable service to CBP and our mission partners.”
The P-3s’ distinctive detection capabilities allow highly-trained crews to identify threats well beyond the land borders of the United States. By providing surveillance of known air, land and maritime smuggling routes in an area that is almost 14 times the size of the continental United States, the P-3s detect, monitor and disrupt smuggling activities before they reach our shores.
CBP OAM P-3s have been an integral part of the successful counter-narcotic missions operating in coordination with the Joint Interagency Task Force - South (JIATF-S). The P-3s patrol in a 42 million-square mile area known as the Source and Transit Zone, which includes more than 41 nations, the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and seaboard approaches to the United States.
In fiscal year 2013, CBP’s P-3s operating out of Corpus Christi, Texas, and Jacksonville, Fla., flew more than 6,000 hours in support of counternarcotic missions and detected 149 suspected smuggling vessels and aircraft. This resulted in the seizure or disruption of 119,195 pounds of cocaine worth nearly $9 billion. Overall, the P-3 program contributed to the seizure or disruption of nearly $1.5 million worth of drugs for every flight hour.