S-3B Viking VS-24 CVN-65 2001

The Lockheed S-3 Viking is a four-seat, twin-engine turbofan-powered jet aircraft that was used by the U.S. Navy to identify and track enemy submarines. In the late 1990s, the S-3B's mission focus shifted to surface warfare and aerial refueling. The Viking also provided electronic warfare and surface surveillance capabilities to the carrier battle group. A carrier-based, subsonic, all-weather, multi-mission aircraft with long range; it carried automated weapon systems, and was capable of extended missions with in-flight refueling. Because of the Viking's engines’ low-pitched sound, it was nicknamed the "Hoover" after the vacuum cleaner brand.

Starting in 1987, some S-3As were upgraded to S-3B standard with the addition of a number of new sensors, avionics, and weapons systems, including the capability to launch the AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile. The S-3B could also be fitted with "buddy stores", external fuel tanks that allowed the Viking to refuel other aircraft. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the breakup of the Warsaw Pact, the Soviet-Russian submarine threat was perceived as much reduced, and the Vikings had the majority of their antisubmarine warfare equipment removed. The aircraft's mission subsequently changed to sea surface search, sea and ground attack, over-the-horizon targeting, and aircraft refueling. At that time, the MAD Boom was removed, along with several hundred pounds of submarine detection electronics. With no remaining sonobuoy processing capability, most of the sonobuoy chutes were faired over with a blanking plate. As a result, the S-3B after 1997 was typically crewed by one pilot and one copilot ; the additional seats in the S-3B could still support additional crew members for certain missions. To reflect these new missions the Viking squadrons were redesignated from "Air Antisubmarine Warfare Squadrons" to "Sea Control Squadrons."