Newest Bloodhound

Posted 26 May 2011

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Photo by Vic Pitts

The third and final S-3B Viking to complete specialized depot-level restoration at Fleet Readiness Center Southeast, or FRCSE, at NAS Jacksonville, Florida, was delivered to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 30 (VX-30) at Naval Base Ventura County at Point Mugu, California, on 26 May 2011. This Planned Maintenance Interval work will add approximately six years of service life to the aircraft. Cmdr. David Simmons and Lt. Chris Pedersen flew the Viking to Point Mugu, where VX-30, called the Bloodhounds, will use the aircraft to clear the Sea Range, the US Department of Defense’s largest overwater missile test range, during tests. The S-3 is painted in the same scheme Vikings wore when the type first entered fleet service in 1974.

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