Submitted by PMA 290 Public Affairs

An operational assessment of the EP-3E ARIES II Sensor System Improvement Program (SSIP) fleet issue 4.0 upgrade found the system “operationally effective and operationally suitable.” The review was conducted by the Commander, Operational Test and Evaluation Force and a final report was issued on Sept. 7.

The report stated that this system upgrade is a “significant improvement in capability over previous versions”, and “is recommended for fleet introduction.” The CNO (N78) authorized release of the upgrade to the Fleet on Sept. 24.

“This was a significant accomplishment,” said Maritime Surveillance Aircraft Program (PMA 290) Manager Capt. Steven R. Eastburg. “The program is now poised to deliver a tremendous warfighting upgrade to the fleet. In fact, we’ve already received input from the fleet that this upgrade is delivering outstanding results.”

Operational testing consisted of 16 missions flown in the Western Pacific area of responsibility over a 32-day period from March through April 2004. This resulted in the accumulation of 129 flight hours. During the combined Developmental/Operational Testing phase, ground and flight-testing hours were also factored into the overall assessment.

Critical operational issues (COI’s) examined during the assessment ranged from basic surveillance functions through safety/airworthiness. All COI’s were resolved with a grade of satisfactory, with one exception - the Joint Interoperability COI will remain partially resolved until Link-16 is fully implemented on the EP-3E, and completes Joint Interoperability Test Center certification.

Developmental testing on the SSIP occurred in mid-late fiscal year 2003, and the work was split between the software integration lab at the Raytheon Technical Service Company facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, and here in Patuxent River, Md., at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. Over 1200 hours of ground testing helped assess the functionality of the upgrades that focus on enhanced signals intelligence collection and an improved communication suite.

The SSIP is the current version of operationally deployed EP-3E’s. Two squadrons, VQ-1, based at Whidbey Island, Wash., and VQ-2, based at NAF Rota, Spain, employ a total of 12 EP-3E aircraft.

Currently, five P-3C airframes are undergoing conversion to become EP-3E’s. When completed, these additional aircraft will provide a sufficient inventory of primary allotment aircraft and back up allotment aircraft to sustain an inventory of 12 EP-3E’s throughout the platform’s remaining life.

The Joint Airborne Signals Intelligence Architecture Modification Common Configured (JCC) EP-3E is the next generation of the Navy’s premiere airborne manned intelligence platform, due to reach the fleet in 2005. JCC upgrades will initially be installed on the five converted P-3C airframes. All other EP-3E’s will receive modification in conjunction with phase depot maintenance or Special Structural Inspections.

For more information about this release, contact PMA 290 Public Affairs at (301) 342-0207, or [email protected].

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