page_title: Maritime patrol aircraft
section_title: Sensors
hierarchical_section_title: Maritime patrol aircraft / Sensors
caption_attribution_description: English: An underside view of a P-3C "Orion" submarine-hunter airplane in flight, showing the magnetic anomaly detector (the boom at the rear of the airplane) and the sonar buoy launchers (the grid of dark spots towards the rear).
context_page_description: A maritime patrol aircraft, also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over water in maritime patrol roles — in particular anti-submarine warfare, anti-ship warfare, and search and rescue.
  It is an important asset among other maritime surveillance resources like satellites, ships, unmanned aerial vehicles or helicopters. In regard to the ASW role they can carry sonar buoys as well as torpedoes and are supposed to fly at low altitudes.
context_section_description: Maritime patrol aircraft are typically fitted with a wide range of sensors:
  Radar to detect surface shipping movements. Radar can also detect a submarine snorkel or periscope, and the wake it creates.
  Magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) to detect the iron in a submarine's hull. The MAD sensor is typically mounted on an extension from the tail or is trailed behind the aircraft on a cable to minimize interference from the metal in the rest of the aircraft;
  Sonobuoys - self-contained sonar transmitter/receivers dropped into the water to transmit data back to the aircraft for analysis;
  ELINT sensors to monitor communications and radar emissions;
  Infrared cameras (sometimes referred to as FLIR for forward looking infrared) for detecting exhaust streams and other sources of heat and are useful in monitoring shipping movements and fishing activity.
  Visual inspection using the aircrew's eyes, in some cases aided by searchlights or flares.
  A modern military maritime patrol aircraft typically carries a dozen or so crew members, including relief flight crews, to effectively operate the equipment for 12 hours or more at a time.
caption: P-3 Orion clearly showing the MAD (tail boom) and sonobuoy chutes (array of dark spots under rear fuselage) while the IR sensor is retracted and not visible.
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