The P-3 Orion is an American aircraft used for maritime patrol, reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare manufactured by Lockheed.

The P-3 Orion was originally designated as P3V based on the Lockheed L-188 Electra and served as replacement for the postwar era P-2 Neptune. The first production version of the P3 was designated as P-3V-1 and its maiden flight was on April 15, 1961. Many variants of the P-3 Orion was developed.

The Orion has four turboprops, giving it a speed comparable to fast propeller powered fighters and slow turbofan jets such as the A-10. The P-3 was also designed to compete with the British Nimrod. It has an internal bomb bay under the front fuselage and underwing stations, carrying missiles such as the AGM-84 Harpoon, having a long stinger in the tail which houses the magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) and convex windows for observation.

The primary users and operators of the P-3 Orion are the United States Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Royal Australian Air Force and the Republic of Korea Navy. Civilian agencies also operates a number of P-3s and have been N-registered.

The U.S. military is currently seeking and exploring a technology which could propel missiles or aircraft of up to six times the speed of sound at nearly 4,000 mph.

The aircraft which is still in experimentation and testing stage is being kept closely guarded as the Air Force plans for the future generation of air power and weaponry. By 2018, Air Force officials are hoping to deploy a new interim bomber followed by a more advanced and possibly unmanned bomber in 2035.

Air Force Chief Scientist Dr. Mark Lewis said to McClatchy that a hypersonic cruise missile may be the first operational product which would emerge from the research. Government teams along with private contractors hope to develop long-range hypersonic aircraft that would take-off from conventional runways, traveling more than 10,000 miles in two hours and land on runways.

The best-known military plane that approached hypersonic speeds was the now-retired Air Force SR-71 which can fly at 3.2 times the speed of sound. In 2004, an experimental hypersonic aircraft known as the X-43A had tripled that speed, flying at Mach 9.6, at nearly 7,000 mph. Though the X-43’s flights were only seconds long, hence, scientists are trying to find ways to keep hypersonic craft airborne for long distances.

Currently, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, arm of the Defense Department, is the one responsible for advancing emerging technologies for military use. The research involves hypersonic test vehicles being carried out by government scientists working with contractors with a history of top-secret research, including Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works and Boeing Phantom Works. The Blackswift program, another secretive program known as Falcon, aims at developing a reusable hypersonic cruise vehicle capable of delivering 12,000 pounds of payload at a distance of 9,000 nautical miles from the United States in less than two hours.

A Navy SEAL based in Virginia Beach died Wednesday morning after being injured during parachute training in Casa Grande, Arizona.

Senior Chief Petty Officer Thomas J. Valentine, 37, had been in the Navy since 1989. He was from Ham Lake, Minnesota.

The incident took place while conducting training at a military training facility previously used for parachute training by Navy personnel in Marana, Arizona. A maintenance worker at the Mission Royale Golf Course found the sailor on a green and called police at 7:14 a.m. local time, said city spokeswoman Betsy Rice. Police arrived minutes later and determined the sailor was dead.

“The SEALs were training from a base in Marana, Ariz., about 50 miles from the suburban community of Casa Grande”, Rice said.

A spokesman for Naval Special Warfare said in a statement that the incident is being investigated. No other details were released.

“Senior Chief Valentine was one of the finest SEALs I have ever known. He served his country with valor during multiple tours to Afghanistan and Iraq,” said Capt. Scott Moore, Commander, Naval Special Warfare Development Group in a released statement.

It’s the second fatal training accident in about two weeks for the Naval Special Warfare community. Petty Officer 2nd Class Alex Ghane, 22, was struck by gunfire and died during a live-fire combat training exercise on Jan. 30 in Lake Cormorant, Miss. Ghane, a Las Vegas native, was based with a SEAL team at Coronado Naval Amphibious Base in California.

Video: Navy SEAL Killed in Parachute Jump in Arizona

The United States Navy has awarded the contracts for the construction of the dual lead ships of the planned Zumwalt class (DDG 1000): a $1.4 billion cost-plus contract for the construction of DDG 1000 to General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, and a $1.4 billion cost-plus contract for the construction of DDG 1001 to Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding.

DDG 1000 and DDG 1001 are to be the lead ships of a class of next-generation multi-mission surface combatants tailored for land attack and littoral dominance. The dual lead ship strategy not only cuts cost but also encourages collaboration. The Navy and industry are using a thorough design-for-producibility process to decrease cost on the Zumwalt class without reducing key performance parameters.

DDG 1000 has been in design, development and demonstration for nearly six years. The ship will triple naval surface fires coverage as well as triple capability against anti-ship cruise missiles. With a 50-fold radar cross section reduction compared to current destroyers, DDG 1000 improves strike group defense 10-fold and has 10 times the operating area in shallow water regions against mines.

Said Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead, “When you look at DDG 1000, the technology is extraordinary. It is unique in that we have never tried to bring online so many new technologies, but the steps that have been taken and the investments that have been made have reduced the risk that is normally associated with new technology. The Zumwalt class of ships is really quite impressive.”