[oyez]

Apparently the Vikings have stood down from ASW duties for some time now. Out defense department has decided that submarines are not as much of a threat any more. Over the last four years, strike missions have been deep inland so S-3s have been modified as gas trucks. The ASW gear and the guys in the backseats are long gone.

The Navy feels like the fleet nuclear subs, SH-60's and the Tin Cans can cover for the S3. Didn't this time.

[Doohickey]

So to sum things up, the S-3 is in the "sundown" stage and will be completely deactivated by 2009 (probably sooner now that the Democrats are in charge). The Bugs will have to gas each other up, and the Navy is without a fixed-wing carrier-based airframe that can deliver Mk-46 torpedos.