SANTIAGO, Chile — The Argentine government has finalized negotiations to purchase 4 surplus P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft from the Royal Norwegian Air Force, meeting a requirement set in 2015 by the South American country’s Navy.
The agreement was reached Aug. 31 in Buenos Aires during a gathering between Defence Minister Jorge Taiana and representatives of the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency.
Three of the P-3C aircraft are fitted for maritime surveillance, anti-submarine and anti-surface missions, and one P-3N is designed for search and rescue operations, in keeping with a news release from the Argentine Defence Ministry. The statement also also noted the deal is value $67 million.
Argentina originally intended to amass surplus P-3Cs from the U.S. Navy. Nevertheless, the American aircraft would have required refurbishment that exceeded the Argentine government’s funding, in keeping with local military sources, who spoke to Defense News on the condition of anonymity attributable to the sensitivity of the subject.
Argentine and Norwegian officials began talks about purchasing the aircraft in late 2022. In February 2023, the pinnacle of the Argentine Navy, Adm. Julio Guardia, confirmed negotiations were underway with Norway to amass three or 4 P-3s that the Nordic country would consider surplus after replacing them with P-8 Poseidon aircraft. Negotiations covered the financial conditions of the potential sale and included efforts to receive U.S. government permission for the transfer of the Lockheed Martin-made aircraft.
The primary two planes are to reach in Argentina by the start of October. The P-3s are expected to bolster the capabilities of the Argentine Navy’s surveillance squadron based on the Almirante Zar Air Naval Base near Trelew along the Patagonian coast of southern Argentina. Since 1997, the unit has operated P-3Bs acquired from the U.S. Navy, but their need for servicing has limited their use.
Between 2009 and 2016, before Norway decided to interchange its P-8s, all the country’s P-3s underwent life extension and upgrade work. That included Lockheed Martin replacing wings and parts of the horizontal stabilizers using components product of latest alloys more immune to fatigue and corrosion. The P-3C mission systems underwent an upgrade with the combination of AN/USQ-78B acoustic processor technology refresh, AN/ASQ-227 aircraft mission computers, and tactical mobile acoustic support systems.
“Even when the acquisition of a brand new, long-range maritime surveillance aircraft must have taken place several years ago, it’s a superb and necessary step toward increasing surveillance, control and protection of Argentina’s prolonged exclusive economic zone,” Luis Piñeiro, an independent defense and security analyst based in Buenos Aires, told Defense News. “Illegal fishing, which is causing losses of $2.6 billion annually to this country, can be from now prevented and fought more effectively with the support of newer and more capable [maritime patrol aircraft].”
José Higuera is a Latin America correspondent for Defense News.