Lockheed EP-3

The Lockheed EP-3 is an electronic signals reconnaissance variant of the P-3 Orion, formerly operated by the United States Navy. Twelve P-3C aircraft were converted into the EP-3E ARIES II, short for Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System, to replace older converted aircraft from the late 1960s and early 1970s. It collects signals intelligence, both communications and electronic signals, with a crew of around 24 including linguists, cryptographers and technicians, and the squadrons also flew the EC-121 Warning Star and the EA-3B Skywarrior. On 1 April 2001 an EP-3E collided with a Chinese J-8II fighter near Hainan Island, an incident that became an international dispute, and the remaining EP-3E aircraft were retired in February 2025.