Astronautics Provides Badger Integrated Flight Display System on LM P-3 Orion for US CBP Fleet

Astronautics Corporation of America has completed an avionics retrofit program on Lockheed Martin’s P-3 Orion Long Range Tracker (LTR) and Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agency with its Badger integrated flight display system.

The system replaces the P-3 flight deck with four 6×8-inch multifunction displays — two primary flight and two navigation — for 14 aircraft, including additional spares.

Astronautics ported existing software from the legacy displays to the Badger integrated flight display system in order to minimize development costs and required training.  Astronautics also designed and manufactured adapter harnesses for equipment testing and installation integration.

“Astronautics delivered this customized display configuration to Lockheed Martin on time and on budget,” said Astronautics President Chad Cundiff.  “We provided an incremental, modular solution for retrofitting the P-3 fleet that limits aircraft downtime and met our customer’s budget and schedule needs.  This cost-effective approach is a key element in support of CBP’s objective to keep the P-3 flying to 2030 and beyond.”

The new system has LCD panels with improved viewing angle performance and color rendering using LED backlights that run cooler with less power and support more vibrant color displays.

Astronautics’ displays have been on the P-3 since the early 1960s when the aircraft was first equipped with Astronautics’ attitude direction and horizontal situation indicators. In the late 1990s, Astronautics replaced these electromechanical instruments with its first-generation electronic flight instrument system, creating a fully-integrated glass cockpit.

The P-3s are high-endurance, all-weather, tactical turbo-prop aircraft primarily used to conduct long-range aerial patrols and surveillance missions.