Germany may purchase Dutch P-3 Orion fleet

Sea Power, Oct 2003

On July 21, 2003, naval officials from Germany and the Netherlands met to discuss the future of 10 P-3 maritime patrol aircraft owned by the Royal Netherlands Navy. As part of the country's integral defense plan for 2004-2013, the Dutch Navy is expected to decommission its entire fleet of long-range P-3 aircraft.

The German Navy is planning to replace its 12 Breguet Atlantic 1 long-range reconnaissance aircraft. Requests for proposals for a new aircraft, planned since 2001, were issued to BAE Systems, Boeing, Dassault Aviation, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Alenia (teamed with EADS), with replies due back at the end of May 2002. However, a sales contract, valued at $1.3 billion, was delayed as Defense Minister Peter Struck assumed office in September 2002. Struck promised more restructuring of the armed forces, effectively postponing the decision on a new aircraft until at least 2004.

The German Navy may purchase Dutch P-3s at a cost of around $366 million, although the sea service hopes to negotiate the price down to around $300 million.