Sub-Hunter

Details

• Type: SPH
• Class: aircraft
• Part Count: 50
• Pure Stock

Description

Designed to be an anti-submarine aircraft, the S-3’s initial form replaced the aging Grumman S-2 Tracker. The role of the aircraft consisted of tracking Soviet submarines as they cruised about. This role ended with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1992. As deployed for Persian Gulf War, though, they would receive missile hard-points, avionics upgrades, radar equipment, and different crews to perform attack and ELINT missions. Sixteen aircraft would be converted into the Electronic warfare-specified ES-3A Shadow. Apart from that, they were also armed with different air-to-air missiles, and actually destroyed a Naval/Leadership target during operation Iraqi Freedom with a ‘Maverick’ missile.
Built in the SPH in KSP version 1.2.2.

The majority of S-3’s were retired in 2009, with 3 remaining in service for a few years, and one continuing in operation with NASA. However, some analysts believe that returning the stored masses of S-3’s to service as tankers would be beneficial in order to extend the range of current strike fighters such as the F/A-18 and F-35B. In 2014, Lockheed-Martin offered to refurbish 35 of the 91 stored S-3’s, re-labeling them C-3’s to fulfill this role and ‘carrier onboard delivery’(COD). COD is essentially a personnel and supply ferrying-type job.

This recreation flies well, has good range, and plenty of illumination! it’s good for practicing short landing rolls and other fundamental carrier operations.