Aircraft/Navy

BRIEFING: The Navy operates 11 EP-3E Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System II (ARIES 11) land-based electronic-reconnaissance aircraft in two fleet air reconnaissance squadrons located at Whidbey Island, Washington, (VQ-1) and Rota, Spain (VO-2). The EP-3E deploys to intercept, collect, exploit, fuse, identify, and disseminate signals-intelligence (SIGINT) electronic emissions in support of joint, theater, and fleet commanders. During the 1990s, the Conversion-In-Lieu-Of-Procurement (CILOP) program converted 12 P-3Cs to an EP-3E ARIES 11 configuration to replace two EP-3Bs and 10 EP-3E ARIES I aircraft converted from P-3As in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The last EP-3E ARIES II aircraft was delivered in 1997. The CILOP program will continue to achieve the program aircraft allowance of 12 aircraft plus four pipeline aircraft. The converted aircraft will begin to enter service in 2004 and will allow force levels to be maintained during the aircraft's depot maintenance and sensor modernization programs.

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One EP-3E was disassembled on Hainan Island, China, and returned to the United States after it made an emergency landing on 1 April 2001 following a collision with a Chinese fighter. The wings and tail of a P-3B are being used as donor parts to return the aircraft to operational service.

The Sensor System Improvement Program (SSIP) upgrades the EP-3E's communications, collection, and data-automation capabilities. All 11 EP-3Es will become SSIP aircraft with the last aircraft scheduled for modification in early FY 2004. Beginning in 2003, the EP-3E will start upgrades to the Joint Airborne SIGINT Architecture (JASA) Modernization (JMOD) baseline, a stateof-the-art open architecture fully C41SR and JTR (Joint Technical Architecture) compliant that includes an automated ESM system in the JMOD1 configuration. The JMOD program is an evolutionary acquisition program that will improve the EP-3E mission system to achieve an automated data fusion capability and an upgrade to the low-band collection system in JMOD2 and a precision targeting capability in JMOD3.

The EP-3E characteristics are similar to those of the P-3C with the exception that it is unarmed, carries a crew of 24, and performs the SIGINT mission. The strengths of the EP-3E are its ability to deploy rapidly with a minimal footprint and to provide tactical support to the warfighter. The EP-3E crew fuses collected SIGINT and off-board information and disseminates the information to support direct threat warning, information dominance, battlespace situational awareness, suppression of enemy air defenses, destruction of enemy air defenses, anti-air warfare, and antisurface warfare. The EP-3E was heavily engaged in reconnaissance support during Operations Desert/Storm and Desert Fox, and supported NATO forces in Bosnia. The EP-3E currently supports joint forces in Korea as well as Operations Northern/Southern Watch and Enduring Freedom, in addition to worldwide fleet and national reconnaissance missions.