Ex RAAF A9-661, one of the smart P-3s used to provide military crew training by MHD Rockland, the German Navy having been the main customer until recently. Now that the Germans have retired their P-3s and six have been added to Portugal's existing fleet, perhaps the training work will transfer across too.

Always difficult to read the serial on the Australian Orions, except when the gear is down: 661 clearly visible inside the nosewheel door. This Orion was delivered in October 1985 (USN BuNo 162661). After its life with RAAF, it returned to the USA as N661MK in December 2018.

MHD Rockland is building a P-3C aircrew training center at Keystone Airpark and recently acquired five former Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) AP-3Cs. Former RAAF A9-661 was registered N661MK on December 11, 2018 and departed RAAF Base Edinburgh for the U.S. on December 14th along with former RAAF A9-662/N662JD. The aircraft staged through Pago Pago, Hawaii, New Mexico on their journey to Florida. All five aircraft were parked at the airport during my January 16, 2019 visit and all appeared to be in excellent condition.

A9-661 Arrived at Edinburgh in September 1985, it was one the Orions that was not converted to the AP-3c status. It was retained tor trial purposes and is not subject to normal tasks

This aircraft was delivered to Edinburgh Air Base in October 1985. and is the only P-3C other than A9-754 which was written off and not converted to AP-3C Standards. It was retained for trials and is not subject to normal military taskings