The Fighting Marlins Return: The Navy’s Last Active-Duty P-3 Squadron Completes Its Final Deployment

On Oct. 10,
2019, the last of nine P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft assigned to Patrol
Squadron 40 (VP-40) returned to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington,
after more than six months deployed to the other side of the world. The
deployment represented the last in the Lockheed P-3 Orion for an active-duty VP
squadron, ending 57 years of regular VP deployments with the Orion.

VP-40 had
the honor of marking a similar milestone in 1967, when it returned from the
last deployment of the Martin SP-5B Marlin flying boat, which also marked the
end of the flying boat seaplane as U.S. Navy maritime patrol aircraft.

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VP-40 is now in transition to the Boeing P-8A Poseidon and in a few months will join the other 11 active-duty VP squadrons flying the Poseidon, which began replacing the P-3C in overseas deployments in 2013.

Seapower received responses to
questions from personnel of VP-40 shortly before the end of the deployment.

Cmdr. Matt
McKerring, a naval aviator who commands VP-40, said his squadron deployed with
nine P-3Cs and 12 combat aircrews to three sites. Split-site deployments became
an occurrence more common since the end of the Cold War, when the Navy cut its
active-duty operational VP squadrons from 24 to 12 and its reserve VP squadrons
from 13 to two.

Split
Squadron Creates Resource, Communication, Mission Challenges

When VP-40
deployed in late March, its nine P-3Cs were divided between three sites in the
areas of operations in the U.S. 5th, 6th and 7th Fleets, a laydown which poses
challenges for a squadron.

“The challenges of a tri-site
deployment come down to three different categories: resources, communication and
mission,” McKerring said. “We are manned to operate as one major hub [24-hour
operations] with two detachment locations [single maintenance shift]. This
current deployment requires us to operate two hubs and one detachment location.
This has created a strain on our Sailors and forced us to multi-qualify across
our maintenance department in order to meet mission. 

“The other major resource challenge is
with the aircraft,” he said. “We are currently working with two models of
aircraft, and they are different between sites. This creates a challenge with
maintenance qualifications and aircrew experience. The major limitation from
the maintenance perspective is the parts supply. Our parts come from three
different locations and only one of [the locations] is within an hour of our
bases. This creates the logistical challenge of determining which location has
the parts and then scheduling parts supply flights in order to fix our aircraft
and get them back in the fight.” 

“Communication is an even an issue for
squadrons deployed in one location, but we have three locations in three
different countries, in two different time zones,” he said. “VP-40 has a truly
global presence for this deployment. The squadron overcomes communication
issues by scheduling face-to-face engagements with written recaps, sending out
a squadron newsletter and conducting frequent video teleconferences between
sites to ensure every remains on the same page.”

McKerring said the variety of missions
posed challenges.

“Just like the aircraft types, the
mission types being flown are different based on location,” he said. “Maintaining
proficiency among our aircrewmen in each of these mission types is difficult,
and we’ve had to get creative to ensure our performance remains at the peak
levels.” 

During the deployment, VP-40 primarily
was “tasked with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions,
specifically providing maritime domain awareness,” McKerring said.
“Additionally, with increased tensions in the Middle East, the Fighting Marlins
have provided a number of armed escorts for various U.S. and coalition assets
through high-threat areas. These escort missions are in support of the
International Maritime Security Construct, providing armed escort through the
Strait of Hormuz and Bab-al-Mandeb. VP-40 also remains prepared at all times to
perform our primary mission, which is antisubmarine warfare [ASW], should the
need arise.”

ASW a Perishable
Skill Among Operators

Maintaining the proficiency of
acoustic sensor operators amid numerous other missions is a challenge.
McKerring said that “a predominance of ISR missions does mean that sensor
operators focus mostly on electro-optical sensors, radar and ELINT [electronic
intelligence]. However, our aircrews maintain ASW proficiency using simulators
and Expendable Mobile ASW Training Target [EMATT] systems.”

During the Cold War, VP squadrons were
supported by fixed-site tactical support centers, also known as ASW operations centers.
The squadrons today are supported by mobile command centers that provide
command and control, intelligence and analysis support.

“This is certainly the busiest, most dynamic and successful deployment of which I have been a part.”

Cmdr. Matthew McKerring, naval aviator, commander of VP-40

“Our community operates with Mobile
Tactical Operations Center [MTOC] support now, and we could not be happier with
the support provided by MTOC-10,’ McKerring said. “Their OIC [officer in
charge], Lt. Cmdr. Brad Merritt, integrated his team with our squadron early in
our home cycle, and it has been very beneficial. By training together and then
deploying together, we build relationships in addition to the technical skills
required to succeed on a deployment like this.”

U.S. Navy maritime patrol crews often
have opportunities to operate with U.S. allies and partners. During this
deployment, VP-40 worked with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and German Navy
maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft crews, and with ships from the United
Kingdom, France and Spain.

“This is certainly the busiest, most
dynamic and successful deployment of which I have been a part,” McKerring
said.  “This is my fifth P-3 deployment
and my seventh overall. Being in command also provides a completely different
perspective than from my junior officer days. My scope of awareness is
certainly a lot higher.”

He said “the P-3 is one of the last
unadulterated flying experiences left in military or civil aviation. Yes, there
is an autopilot, but there is no fly-by-wire system. Your control inputs
directly move the control surfaces. You feel one with machine as opposed to
simply operating a computer system. Also, flying low is one of the greatest
joys of aviation, and few fixed-wing aircraft fly lower than the P-3 at a
200-foot on-station altitude.

“Most importantly, however, is the
people,” he said. “I have been a part of many squadrons during my career, but
the Fighting Marlins I currently have the privilege to lead are the smartest,
most professional and hardest working Sailors I have ever seen. It is truly a
humbling experience. One major part of the P-3 team we will miss on the P-8 is
our flight engineers and in-flight technicians. These are enlisted Sailors that
fulfill major maintenance roles on our aircraft, and they have saved me and my
crew many times. I’m going to miss flying with them.”

Maintainers Laud P-3 But Cite Parts, Personnel Shortages

One of VP-40’s maintenance wizards is
Senior Chief Aviation Machinist Mate (Air Warfare) Roy A. Cedeno, who, with 23
years in the Navy and four VP deployments under his belt, said the P-3 “is one
of the strongest and most reliable aircraft I have had the pleasure to work on
during my Navy career. However, the biggest challenges during the last
deployment was getting good aircraft parts, and our maintainers had to work
more than normal working hours because of the shortage of trained P-3
personnel. Additionally, the extremely hot temperatures strained our aircraft
as well as our personnel. The outstanding group of leaders, maintainers and
aircrews are making the impossible miracle of continuing flying these
50-year-old exhausted warfighter aircraft because ‘we do what we do.” 

“It is both an honor and a challenge
sundowning the mighty P-3,” said Lt. William Knox, one of VP-40’s patrol plane
commanders. “We are the last of something truly great, and there is so much
history behind us. It truly is something special to be counted in that chapter
in naval aviation history. But, as anyone who has ever been in a similar
situation can attest, there is no such thing as normal, and every day is a new
challenge. We have risen to the occasion and it has made us all better pilots,
better officers and better Sailors because of it.”

A squadron tactical coordinator, Lt.
Austin Vorwald, echoed the sentiment.

“It’s a huge honor for me to still be
operating aircraft that have had such a long time in service,” he said. “It
still amazes me that something as old and as storied as the P-3 is still so
capable on station. A large majority of this credit goes to the maintainers who
continually troubleshoot and fix our planes though, and I’m continually humbled
by the amount of hard work they put in. It’s incredible to hold some small part
in closing out a hugely successful aircraft.”

McKerring will have that honor of
leading the Fighting Marlins into the transition to the P-8A, as will
approximately 70 percent of squadron personnel, those who will be with the
squadron at least through August 2020.

“I’m excited to learn a new aircraft
and take the things that I’ve learned from operating the P-3 and apply them to
the P-8 to improve upon its success,” Vorwald said. “Deploying as the last
active-duty P-3C squadron has given me a stack of lessons learned that I
believe can in some way benefit VP-40 and hopefully MPR as a whole in the
future.”

“Being Skipper for the last
active-duty maritime P-3 deployment is a great honor, but it is also a little
sad to write one of the final chapters in the proverbial P-3 history book,”
McKerring said. “After 57 years and counting, the P-3 has had one of the most
prodigious careers of any plane in the U.S. Navy and aviation history. This is
my third tour with the Fighting Marlins, going all the way back to 2004, and I
couldn’t be prouder to lead this squadron, which has shaped so much of my
professional career.”

Although
it is no longer in the regular fleet deployment cycles, the P-3 will continue
for several more years to be operated by several units, including two reserve
VP squadrons, VP-62 and VP-69, as well as VP-30, Special Projects Patrol
Squadron 2 (VPU-2), Scientific Development Squadron 1 (VXS-1) and Air Test and
Evaluation Squadron 30 (VX-30). 

The
EP-3E electronic reconnaissance version will continue to deploy from Naval Air
St Whidbey Island with detachments of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron One
(VQ-1) until the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial vehicle is deployed in enough numbers
with signals intelligence capability.