The first rewinged P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft for the Royal Norwegian Air Force was flown for the first time at the Halifax International Airport, Nova Scotia, Canada on 1 August 2011. A Norwegian flight crew carried out the 3.7 hour flight and accomplished nearly all planned test objectives. Two additional test flights are scheduled before the aircraft is returned to 333 Squadron at Andøya AS, Andennes, Norway. This particular aircraft, a P-3N, is scheduled to deploy to Djibouti for Operation Atalanta, the European Union antipiracy mission in Somalia, by the end of the year. Plans call for the four Norwegian P-3Cs and two P-3Ns to receive the Mid-Life Upgrade kits, which are installed by IMP Aerospace in Halifax.
