yup, the loiter time on the P3 is really astonishing.
The 737 MMA is "a quantum leap technologywise in the primary mission of this platform, which is anti-submarine warfare,"
The P3 Orion though a very reliable airplane, it has served the Navy for more than 30 years. The newest P3s were built in the 1980s. Lockheed would of used the same airframe, but
would of completely revamped inside parts.
The 737 can fly slow and low -- within 200 feet of water and at 200 mph. It meets or exceeds all Navy requirements.
It would be unthinkable to ask the next generation of Navy pilots to not move up to a jet, and make them continue to fly teh P3 airframe when it is 40, 50, and 60 years into it's airframe design.