USCBP P-3B AEW Fleet Now Retired
On September 30th, 202 the US Customs and Border Patrol (USCBP) Air and marine Operations (AMO) marked the final retirement of its P-3B AEW fleet at the National Air Security Operations Center (NASOC) in Jacksonville, Florida. An official ceremony was held a few days after the final mission by the last remaining of the type, N146CS.
Over the years, AMO’s small fleet of “dome” P-3Bs have conducted operations from CSL Curaçao on many occasions. I was fortunate to photograph N143CS, N146CS and N147CS during this time.
Returning from a night patrol in September 2020, N143CS taxies back to CSL Curaçao.
Originally delivered by Lockheed in 1967 (MSN 185-5243), N143CS began life as a P-3B BuNo 153447, serving with the US Navy until retired into storage at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC) in Tucson, Arizona in 1994. Following 5 years on the desert floor, the aircraft was pulled from storage, converted to AEW configuration and transferred to the US Customs Service in 1999. N143CS would be retired and stripped for spare parts in March 2024.
MSN 185B-5286, N146CS was delivered to the US Navy in December 1968 and carried BuNo 154605. The aircraft was transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as an attrition replacement in August of 1969 where it operated with 11 Squadron as A9-605 until retirement in December 1982. After sitting in storage in Australia for several years, the aircraft was purchased by the manufacturer in 1985 for conversion to an AEW confguration. In 1989, with conversion work complete, it was officially handed over to the US Customs Service where it remained in operation until its final mission, a patrol out of Curaçao ending at Jacksonville Cecil Airport (VQQ/KVQQ) on September 27th, 2026.
Lockheed MSN 185-5162, N147CS entered US navy service in 1966 as BuNo 152722 where it served until transferred directly to the US Customs Service in July 1990 and converted to the AEW configuration. N147CS was retired from USCBP service in February 2024 and stripped of useable parts. What remained of the aircraft was put for public auction and purchased by Elite One Transportation in Tacoma, Washington for transformation into a unique aviation-themed bed-and-breakfast.
The rest of the P-3B AEW fleet:
N142CS (MSN 185-5248) began life as US Navy P-3B BuNo 153452 and flew until retirement in March 1994. Following 5 years of storage in the desert at AMARC, it was removed for AEW conversion in April 1999 and transferred to the US Customs Service. N142CS was once again retired and returned to “the boneyard” on May 27th, 2025.
N144CS (MSN 185-5242) served with the US Navy as P-3B BuNo 153446 following delivery on September 5th, 1967. officially retired by the Navy on March 25th, 1994, it would be stored at AMARC until June 25th, 1997 when it departed for Lockheed’s facility in Greenville, Texas for AEW conversion. N144CS was operational with USCBP between October 1st, 1999 and January 28th, 2025 when it was placed back into storage at AMARC.
N145CS (MSN 185B-409) served as the AEW conversion prototype following its time as P-3B BuNo 155299 with the US Navy. It was delivered to the US Customs Service in April 1998 and flew until September 2023. It was selected for historical preservation and transferred to the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona where it wears the full original USCBP paint scheme.
N148CS (MSN 185-5256) was delivered as a standard P-3B to the US Navy where it served as BuNo 154575 until 1993. Converted to AEW configuration and transferred to the US Customs Service. It continued to serve in the counter-narcotics mission until 2021, when it was retired, stripped of useable parts and scrapped.
N149CS (MSN 185-5262) stated service with the US Navy as P-3B BuNo 154581 in June 1968. Retired on August 25th, 1994, it was placed in storage at AMARC where it remained until June 10th, 1997. Converted to AEW configuration at by Lockheed in Greenville, Texas, it served with USCBP until formally retired on September 30th 2026.
