P-3 Winglet Research and Development

Dave Campbell, P-3 Chief Engineer at Lockheed Martin, is briefing more information about research and development projects.

One of the newest research and development projects this year is the P-3 winglet.

Dave says initial assessements demonstrate significant performance benefits like fuel savings, increased range and increased time on station.

We snagged some of the winglet renderings from his presentation.

Lockheed Martin studied 100s of winglet options, and based the P-3 study on a similar study of C-130 winglets. C-130 wind tunnel tests verified cruise-drag reduction estimates.

Initial P-3 estimates expect a 2-3% increase in range or a 4-6% increase in time on station.

We're not developing the winglet for a specific customer, and haven't built or installed any yet. Next steps will be to finalize the winglet design and perform certification efforts.

Here's Dave's chart of numbers with a mission scenario.