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After 54 years, it is now the end of the P-3 Orion at Andøya air station.
June 30 is an era is over. -
I am very impressed by the dedication, professionalism and love of honor of our personnel here on Andøya,
says Lieutenant Colonel Lasse Berg,
station group commander at the air station.
PUBLISHED JUNE 29, 2023 11:29 AM
On 1 August 2020, Lasse Berg took over as station group manager at Andøya airport.
The mission was to shut down the station group after the P-3 mission had been completed in the summer of 2023.
At the same time, the operational delivery with the Norwegian Armed Forces' patrol aircraft was to be maintained
until the P-8 Poseidon was ready to take over in the summer of 2023.
Subsequently, there has been an assignment to continue the station group Andøya in an adapted form until the summer of 2024.
What will happen next with Andøya air station has not yet been decided.
The missions that have been solved with the P-3 Orion have always been surrounded by a certain degree of secrecy.
- Even today, not many people
necessarily know the scope or content of all the missions that have been solved with the P-3 Orion over the years.
That also applied to myself.
I have a background in the F-16, and have learned a lot about the mission that has been solved from Andøya,
and which I wish I had known more about
at an earlier stage in my operational career in the Air Force, says Berg.
Parts of the tasks that are solved with the maritime aircraft capacity will remain secret.
It has nevertheless been opened up more in recent years about what the department does.
- We can still probably be even more open about what we can be open about.
It has an importance in terms of recruitment,
but not least in making the Armed Forces and the Armed Forces departments familiar with what missions P-3 solves,
and what missions P-8 will solve in the years to come, continues Berg.
Operates close to Russia
The P-3 Orion and the personnel there occasionally operate close to Russian territory,
which differs from what most other departments in the Armed Forces do.
An important part of the mission portfolio is anti-submarine warfare and having control over Russian submarines and their whereabouts.
- We follow the northern areas,
which have received increasing attention nationally and internationally.
In recent years, there has been a shift in focus towards the Arctic.
That which is our home area,
and where we keep an eye on what is happening on the surface, under water and in the air, says Berg.
The P-3 Orion supported the Norwegian F-35 aircraft on the way to Luke Air Force Base,
where three additional Norwegian F-35 will be stationed until autumn 2023.
The Orion aircraft landed at Keflavik Air Base in Iceland together with the F-35 aircraft before returned to Andøya and Norway.
The P-3 Orion is a maritime surveillance aircraft, but can also be used in the role of Search and Rescue (SAR) support.
The Air Force and Andøy municipality have joined forces for an open day at the air station on 30 June 2023,
so that the local community will also have the opportunity to take part in the farewell to the P-3 Orion.