S-3B Deployments
All S-3B squadrons were configured and manned for eight aircraft. Intermediate level maintenance billets are assigned to the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department Sea Operational Detachments. In fiscal year 1992, ten aircraft S-3B squadrons were reduced to six aircraft. In 1993, aircraft assets for deployed squadrons were increased to eight, to meet increased operational requirements caused by retirement of the A-6E from the Navy inventory.
Deputy Chief of Naval Operations Vice Admiral Wesley McDonald said: " There are only a fixed number of aircraft (S-3) for the 11 current squadrons. Each of the present carriers has ten S-3s on board. When CVN-71 USS Theodore Roosevelt joins the fleet in the late eighties, there will be a need for 12 S-3 squadrons. This will cause an immediate shortage of Vikings. That shortage will continue through the 1990s and will become critical with the introduction of CVN-72 and subsequent carriers." ["U.S. Navy Faces S-3 Viking Shortage," Flight International, p. 771, 3 April 1982.] The decision was made, however, not to reopen the S-3 production line due to the excessive costs. The anticipated shortage of aircraft was corrected by reducing the number of aircraft per operational squadron.
In 2004, the Viking community commenced execution of the S-3 Sundown Plan, a retirement plan highlighted by a phased withdrawal from active service by 2009. As carrier air wings are equipped with two Super Hornet squadrons, the respective S-3 squadron were deactivated. VS-29 and VS-38 were deactivated in April 2004, followed by Japan based, VS-21 in January 2005. VS-35 and VS-30 also retired in 2005 while VS-33, VS-41 were deactivated in September 2006. The remaining squadrons VS-22, 24, 31, and 32 will be deactivated incrementally by February 2009. As of Oct. 1, 2006, about 30 S-3Bs remained in active service. The jets were last used by the “Checkmates” of the Sea Control Squadron (VS) 22 for five months at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq in 2008. During the squadron’s only land-based operation, the aircrews flew numerous combat missions in harsh desert conditions.
Air Test and Evaluation Squadron THREE ZERO (VX-30) is the only Navy squadron to still operate the S-3B Viking after it was decommissioned in January 2009. The primary mission of the S-3B Viking program is to provide local range surveillance and clearance in support of Sea Test Range operations. This local capability allows C-130s and NP-3Ds to support more customers desiring Cast Glance, telemetry, and cargo capability at varied and remote locations. Additionally, the S-3 Viking is the primary platform utilized by PMA-264 for sonobuoy lot testing, ensuring properly operating sonobuoys are delivered to the Fleet.
When VS-22 was decommissioned on Jan. 29, 2009 at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, the VX-30 “Bloodhounds” wanted the Viking for its sophisticated APS-137 ISAR imaging radar to upgrade their crucial sea and air range clearance and surveillance capabilities. VX-30 is the Navy’s principal flight and ground test support activity in support of Naval Air Systems Command, NASA, the National Defense Agency and foreign allies. The Viking with its upgraded radar “can stay on station (airborne) for a longer time” and will enhance the squadron’s capabilities.
The second aircraft was scheduled for delivery in September with the final delivery set for December 2010. The squadron uses various aircraft like the heavily modified NP-3 “Billboard” Orion for clearing the Sea Range, DOD’s largest overwater missile test range with 36,000 square miles of controlled sea and airspace off the coast of Southern California.
After completing extensive maintenance and repairs that presented many challenges, Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE) turned over the first of three S-3B Viking aircraft to Naval Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 30 on 14 April 2010. VX-30 Chief Test Pilot Cmdr. John Rousseau and Viking Training Officer Lt. Christian Pedersen based at Point Mugu, Calif., performed the acceptance flight check. They both were very satisfied with the aircraft that would support the squadron’s local and worldwide test events. “We were pleasantly surprised, especially with a plane that has been out of service for so long. It flew well,” said Rousseau. “It’s a testament to FRCSE employees’ steadfastness to the work.”
Even so, the first aircraft took more than a year to complete the Planned Maintenance Intervals (PMI) 1, 2, and 3 that will add five to six years of service life to the aircraft before another PMI is due. In March 2009, FRCSE inducted three Vikings sometimes referred to as War Hoovers for the engine’s unique, low-pitched sound.
The Viking was in worse shape than expected. When Aircraft Examiner Jan Booth did the initial evaluation to determine the level of maintenance needed, he was surprised by what he found. “There was a lot of corrosion we didn’t expect to find, especially from dirt and sand intrusion,” he said. “The aircraft was torn down to basically nothing. We did a lot of hard research to find the right parts.” The S-3 Overhaul and Repair Supervisor James Hines said aircraft mechanics with S-3 experience were hired, and the team had to procure the tooling and fixtures needed to start the project. Yet, the team overcame the many obstacles they faced along the way.
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