Lockheed Martin details Plan to supply former US Navy S-3B Viking to the South Korean Navy.

The work would see 12 S-3B's removed from long-term storage in the Arizona desert and updated with new equipment.
Lockheed says the type has a number of attributes that make it suitable for a return to active service. The type was retired mainly owing to the absence of a submarine threat to US carrier battle groups with the end of the Cold War, as well as the navy's desire to narrow the number of aircraft types operating from carriers.
Lockheed estimates that the S-3B airframes in storage still have around 10-12,000hrs flying time remaining.
The aircraft's cockpits would not require upgrading, but that several systems would. The aircraft's metalic anomaly detector would need to be updated from analogue to digital technology. Other work would involve the aircraft's sonobuoys and ESM equipment. Given South Korea's interest in developing its aerospace capabilities, any work to upgrade the aircraft would all but certainly be undertaken in South Korea.
The aircraft would operate with a four man crew, and would be capable of carrying a mix of four torpedoes and/or anti-shipping missiles.
The initial requirement for the type appears to be 12 aircraft.
Although the S-3B no longer serves aboard US aircraft carriers, the US navy's VX-30 test and evaluation squadron still operates the type in support roles.
flightglobal

Lockheed Revives an Old Idea for New Carrier Cargo Plane

The Northrop Grumman C-2A has been a familiar sight aboard US aircraft carriers for decades, shuttling people and cargo from ship to shore in the carrier-on-board-delivery (COD) role. The venerable aircraft are wearing out, and an unusually intense competition between Northrop Grumman and Bell Boeing already has garnered attention, even though the program to buy 35 replacement aircraft is not expected to officially begin until next year at the earliest.
Now, a third player has entered the COD fray, with Lockheed Martin offering refurbished and remanufactured versions of its S-3 Viking antisubmarine aircraft, nearly all of which were retired by early 2009. Ninety-one of the aircraft remain in storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.
Those aircraft still have quite a bit of life on them, having flown an average of 9,000 hours.
Designed in the early 1970s as a carrier-based anti-submarine aircraft, the Viking was used in its later service years as a tanker. Lockheed’s COD proposal — dubbed the C-3 — would replace the S-3’s fuselage with a wider version, but retain the original wings, tail assembly, engines and crew compartment.
A refurbished and remanufactured aircraft, would have a flying life greater than 10,000 hours.
The aircraft would be big enough to transport Pratt & Whitney jet engines for the F-35 joint strike fighter.
With an unrefueled range of 2,400 nautical miles carrying a 10,000-pound load, the C-3 would have twice the range of a new C-2, and triple the range of an Osprey.
Of the 91 S-3s in storage, 87 are useable. A number of spare General Electric TF-34 turbofan engines used by the S-3 also are in storage.
Lockheed has also proposed refurbishing S-3s for the Republic of Korea, which is seeking an anti-submarine aircraft. Those planes would not be rebuilt as in the C-3 proposal, but retain their original fuselages.
defensenews

South Korea Envisions Light Aircraft Carrier similar to Spanish Navy 'Juan Carlos I', to buy retired S-3 'Viking'

The South Korean Navy believes it can deploy two light aircraft carriers by 2036 and expand its blue-water force to cope with the rapid naval buildups of China and Japan, according to a Navy source.
The service has been exploring ways of securing light aircraft carriers based on an interim feasibility study.
The South Korea Navy envisions three phases:

■The first is to equip the second ship of the Dokdo-class landing platform helicopter ship (LPH) with a ski ramp to operate short-range or vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft.
The flight surface of the landing ship is already sprayed with urethane, which can withstand the heat created by the aircraft during operations.
Dokdo, with the addition of a ski ramp, could be deployed before 2019, according to the report, which suggests the Navy procure used VTOL jets from the US, UK and Spain if needed.
■Second, the Navy could build an amphibious assault ship, similar to the Spanish Navy’s Juan Carlos, before 2019.
■Finally, the service aims to build two 30,000-ton light aircraft carriers between 2028 and 2036, the report said. The carrier is to have specifications similar to the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour, which can support about 30 aircraft.
China commissioned its first aircraft carrier last year, with three more carriers planned. Japan, whose Navy is classed as a self-defense force, has controversially unveiled a 20,000-ton helicopter destroyer akin to a small aircraft carrier.

More Aegis Ships and Jets
During the National Assembly last week, the Navy unveiled mid- to long-term procurement plans to further strengthen its naval power.
The service plans to commission three more 7,600-ton KDX-III Aegis destroyers by 2023 to develop a strategic mobile fleet. The service has three KDX-III destroyers fitted with Lockheed Martin-built SPY-1D radar capable of tracking incoming ballistic missiles and enemy aircraft.
The Navy also puts a priority on acquiring reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft. In particular, the service laid out plans to buy the Lockheed S-3 Vikings retired from front-fleet service aboard aircraft carriers by the US Navy in January 2009.
The service will purchase 18 S-3 jets and modify them into a new configuration meeting the Navy’s operational requirements. If adopted, it will be the first fixed-wing jet patrol aircraft operated by the South Korean Navy, which flies 16 P-3CK turboprop patrol aircraft.
In January, AgustaWestland won a $560 million contract to supply the South Korean Navy with six AW159 Lynx Wildcat helicopters equipped with an active dipping sonar for anti-submarine role.
defensenews

S-3B repintado en colores de la Segunda Guerra Mundial/ Repainting a S-3B in WW2 paint scheme

Un S-3B del escuadrón VX-30 de la US Navy ha sido repintado con el esquema naval de 1942
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NAVAIR has a story on the process of repainting a S-3B from VX-30 with a 1942 battle paint scheme. Pictures of the process from start to finish is in the article as well.
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