The Lockheed S-3 Viking succeeded the propeller-driven S-2 Tracker and gave its crews a well-integrated suite of anti-submarine warfare and anti-ship systems with more warfighting capability and less operator workload. In the late 1980s, most S-3As were converted into S-3Bs with new sensors and the ability to launch anti-ship missiles, and a few years later sixteen S-3As were converted into ES-3A electronic intelligence aircraft. By the late 1990s, as helicopters performed the aircraft carrier group's anti-submarine warfare duties, S-3s were restricted to anti-ship and refueling missions. The last Vikings were retired from the Navy in 2016, ending the service of the Navy's last fixed-wing, carrier-based anti-submarine warfare aircraft. S-3B Bureau Number 159770 was originally built as an S-3A and was transferred to the Naval Air Test Center in October 1976. Over the years it was used for carrier suitability testing and to evaluate Harpoon and Maverick missile integration, along with various navigation and radar equipment upgrades. In October 2003 it was transferred to Operational Test Squadron VX-1, where it tested software upgrades and missile integration. In January 2006 it was transferred to PRNAM after logging 4285.7 flight hours, 187 catapult launches, 341 arrested landings, and 5922 total landings.

Photo: Devry Becker Jones

Drum Point, Maryland · USA