Submitted by TEAM Public Affairs, Pax River

NAVAIR awarded Raytheon Aircraft Integration Systems (AIS) the third of four concept exploration study contracts for the Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) program. Raytheon's concept is a remanufacture of the P-3 and EP-3 aircraft. The contract is worth $223,000.

The U.S. Navy commissioned these MMA studies because it will soon have to upgrade or replace its fleet of aging P-3 Orion and EP-3 Aries aircraft.

Raytheon's study will explore how to remanufacture the P-3 and EP-3 enabling the Navy to continue flying these aircraft through 2040. They will determine which is the best approach to extend the life of the airframe in addition to upgrading the engines and aircraft subsystems to improve their sustainability, reliability and performance.

The results of this five-month study will be used by the Center for Naval Analysis which is conducting the MMA Analysis of Alternatives. This analysis will examine a comprehensive range of MMA alternatives to select the preferred MMA concept.