The Lockheed S-3 Viking was one of the
most advanced anti-submarine aircraft of the Cold War. Designed in anticipation of the
appearance of modern Soviet Nuclear submarines, the Viking could boast of cutting edge sensors and
computerization that put it well above the curve, and all wrapped up in an airframe
that was reliable and versatile. During its lengthy service, the plane was used
increasingly for sea control and aerial tanker duties, with the Viking becoming among
the most versatile planes in the fleet. Throughout the 50s and early sixties, the
existing strategies for aircraft sub hunting were mostly based around trying to catch them
when they deployed snorkels to recharge their batteries. However, advancements in Soviet
nuclear engineering would end up negating most of these existing strategies. While the
Soviet Navy continued to maintain a large fleet of diesel boats, the question of how to
track nuclear submarines couldn’t be answered with the technology in service at the time.
Much more mobile, and without the drawbacks of diesel electric propulsion, Tracking nuclear
subs from the air proved a daunting challenge.
Their growing capabilities would prompt
the US into developing their anti-submarine forces even further. Throughout the sixties,
new aircraft, like the heavier S-2 Tracker, and new ASW tactics were employed to replace the
old snorkel-chasing methods. A greater focus was placed on the use of sonobuoys, which could
be used to survey larger patrol areas, and the newer versions of which were growing ever more
sensitive and sophisticated. Yet the long standing center of the anti-submarine mission, the aircraft
carrier, was in somewhat of an awkward position. Carriers were then divided between anti-submarine
carriers, and those with an anti-surface mission, and their specialized equipment would have
made it difficult to consolidate the two. In the world of the nuclear submarine and the jet
carrier air group, the piston engined S-2 Tracker was becoming an ever more inconvenient asset. As
carriers began to field an ever greater number of jet aircraft, there was some frustration with
having to still carry stores of aviation gasoline for the S-2s. The situation was not improved by
the retirement of the WWII era converted CVS, which would be entirely out of service by
the early 1970s. As a result, both carrier missions had to be unified. All that remained was
to find a new anti-sub aircraft that suited them. Among the earliest moves was to announce a
competition for the S-2 replacement in 1964, under the designation VSX. The new plane was
required to have at least twice the speed, twice the range, and twice the ceiling of
the aging Tracker. Lockheed was among the most promising entrants due to their previous
history in designing maritime patrol aircraft, though their lack of experience with
carrier based aircraft saw them partner with LTV Aviation, and the new ASW gear was
to be designed by Univac Federal Systems. Lockheed’s Viking was a robust, high wing
aircraft which featured a pair of turbofan engines for their power and fuel economy. The
plane also carried nearly every modern airborne submarine detection system of the time. Its
four crewmen operated the aircraft’s systems in coordination with a central, general purpose
digital computer, which greatly aided the crew in processing the information gathered by the
aircraft’s sensors. Further crew integration was accomplished through the use of multi-purpose
displays that could show information from any of the aircraft’s crew positions. In addition
to the magnetic anomaly detector, radar, and sonobuoy systems, the plane was equipped with
a FLIR system mounted to an extendable turret which was capable of detecting snorkeling, or near
surface submarines and sea mines. To complement its sensors, the aircraft had a maximum speed of
approximately 429 knots (795 km/h), a ceiling of 40,000 ft (12192 meters), and a
maximum endurance of over six hours. Lockheed was formally awarded the contract in
1969. The first of eight YS-3A prototype and pre production aircraft flew only three years
after the contract was finalized in 1972, with the aircraft entering
service two years later. This program was also the first to have a
formalized set of milestones to ensure costs were kept low and technical risks were reduced.
All program milestones were met ahead of schedule, and the plane was prototyped, built, and
delivered in quantity in only five years. The carriers were modified as well to better suit
ASW operations. In 1971, the USS Saratoga was the first to receive an ASW analysis center
and support shops for ASW gear and weapons. All carriers except the older, smaller Midway
class were able to receive the upgrades. Even before considering the massive improvements in
sensors and the centralized computer integration, the Viking could patrol truly massive stretches
of ocean for a plane of its size. With a payload of four lightweight torpedoes and 60 sonobuoys,
the Viking could fly out 826 nautical miles from its carrier, and conduct a two hour search
before having to return. The use of external stores and airborne tankers could push this
already phenomenal range out even further. The first S-3A’s were supplied to
VS-21 and deployed aboard the USS John Fitzgerald Kennedy in the summer of
1975. During its Mediterranean deployment, the Kennedy was able to truly demonstrate the
universal carrier concept. The introduction of the Viking enabled the consolidation of all
US carriers into CV’s, the new concept seeing carriers equipped for every conceivable mission.
In service, the S-3A could be deployed as a screening element for the carrier group and
any surface groups it might be supporting, and also undertake more aggressive anti-submarine
patrols with other ASW forces. A US carrier group was typically deployed alongside independent
surface action groups and nuclear submarines. The carrier’s offensive range and ability to survey
thousands of miles of ocean made it the center of naval operations, and the most well defended
asset. It was the job of the outer forces to screen the path and potential approaches to the
carrier from enemy submarines, and to a lesser extent surface ships, though those more often fell
under the purview of other aircraft and vessels. Given the distance between these forces,
gaps inevitably form, and these areas were typically patrolled by aircraft. In wartime, the
Viking could quickly fly out to these locations and deploy a grid of sonobuoys, which it could
maintain for several hours before being relieved by other aircraft. In addition to screening
the path of the carrier, the S-3A could also be tasked with patrolling the open ocean to
search for older cruise missile submarines which had to surface for long periods to fire
their weapons. The S-3 would eventually receive Harpoons for this role, but initially, it would
carry Hydra 2.75 inch rockets or unguided bombs. While the S-3A proved an incredible
new addition to the fleet, it soon encountered an unexpected challenge. As a
result of the post-Vietnam defense cuts, the spare parts program for the Viking was among
the worst affected. Stocks of replacement parts began to grow tight by 1977, though they
would not pose a serious issue until the turn of the decade. As a result of stricter
rationing of components, the mission readiness level of the Viking squadrons often fell to
below 40% in 1981. However, the problem was soon identified and the procurement of more
replacement parts began the following year, along with a new series of maintenance programs
to increase readiness. Thanks to these efforts, the mission readiness of these squadrons
climbed to over 80%, the highest in the fleet. While the Navy was procuring additional parts,
they also initiated a program to drastically improve the offensive and sensor capabilities
of the aircraft. The Weapon Systems Improvement Program would seek to prepare the S-3 Viking
for its service into the new millennium. Most of these improvements were focused around the
aircraft’s sensor systems, most notably its new inverse synthetic aperture radar, which
boosted its snorkel and mast detection, and its acoustic sensor suite. The acoustic
data processor was improved through the use of a standardized naval signal processor which
ran on a software shared among new naval maritime patrol aircraft, a new sonobuoy receiver which
boosted the available channels from 31 to 99, and it received a new, more reliable tape
recorder for storing gathered acoustic data. In addition to its sensor improvements, the Viking
received the new ALE-39 countermeasure system, and its electronic support measures were
improved to allow better classification of contacts by their radar and radio emissions. Lastly, it finally received the capability
to utilize the AGM-85 Harpoon missile, with the pair of missiles being mounted on the
outer hardpoints. With a range of approximately 75 nmi’s (138 km), the sea skimming Harpoon could
prove very difficult to detect and shoot down. The sum of these upgrades would end up seeing
the modified aircraft identified as S-3B’s, as squadrons began to receive the improvements
in 1984. In addition to these upgrades, the scope of duties for the aircraft began to
grow over the years. The long endurance of the aircraft, coupled with its fuel efficient turbofan
engines, made it an especially effective tanker. As the 1980s drew on, the Navy began to push
the operational limits of the aircraft out ever further, and to great success. The S-3
took on the aerial mining mission, and during the Northern Wedding and United Effort exercises
of 1982 and 1983, the operational search range of the Viking was pushed out to 1000 nmi (1852
km) with the use of airborne tankers. Even more noteworthy, they were able to detect and track
submarines at that range during the exercise. As the Cold War came to a close, tensions
in the Middle East soon culminated in a large-scale engagement as Iraq invaded
the neighboring country of Kuwait over oil disputes. Along with a massive USAF
contingent, the US Navy would deploy six aircraft carriers in order to dislodge
the Iraqi army from Kuwait. Of the force, USS Kennedy, Saratoga, America, Ranger, and
Roosevelt carried embarked squadrons of S-3B’s. A total of 43 Vikings would be active
across these carriers by February 1991, and they would serve in a number of roles. The
majority of flights were aerial refueling missions supporting other coalition aircraft. However,
they also flew a number of reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and several
surface air combat patrol sorties. Vikings flew most of their patrols
to survey the Persian gulf, in order to track what few warships Iraq
had, and to mark the location of mines. Some were also involved in the search for Iraq’s
short range Scud ballistic missiles, and performed a number of unorthodox tasks. For instance, the
US carrier air groups could not electronically receive their daily air tasking orders from the
coalition headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Their solution was to dispatch an S-3B to pick
them up. Among the most imaginative uses of the aircraft was delivering photos from carrier based
reconnaissance services to units fighting on the ground. This was done by placing the photos in
an empty sonobuoy tube and parachuting them in. After the end of the war in the Gulf, the S-3B
was used for continued surveillance of the area and to uphold the sanctions on Iraq during
Operation Desert Shield. It likewise performed similar support roles in the numerous NATO air
operations over former Yugoslavia. Their roles during those conflicts were almost entirely
restricted to airborne tanker duties, though a number of Vikings, including a specialized ELINT
model, performed signals intelligence missions. As a result of the collapse of the USSR,
the global submarine threat to the US Navy declined to almost nothing, and thus the Viking
squadrons transitioned from anti-submarine, to surface control units to better represent
their more multipurpose role. They would eventually discard their ASW equipment,
with the anti-submarine mission being made the purview of the US submarine fleet
and long range maritime patrol squadrons. The last major operation where the Vikings
saw use was during the 2004 invasion of Iraq, during which they primarily acted
as tankers. There were, however, some strikes carried out by S-3Bs using the new
Maverick Plus system, but these were comparatively rare. As the 2000’s came to a close and the US
carrier force wished to divest itself of all but the most essential airframes, the Viking
had fully left the service by 2010. Three aircraft were donated to NASA and were used for a
variety of missions regarding aeronautic safety, aerodynamic studies, and Earth studies. The last
airworthy example of the entire line was finally retired in July of 2021. NASA has since donated
the plane to the San Diego Air and Space Museum. The Viking was perhaps the most advanced
sub hunting aircraft of the cold war, and undoubtedly among the most versatile and
useful planes in service with the US Navy. Would you like to see more content covering
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