The reps were more than happy to get input from anyone they could, and talk about the gear we'd be getting. Also, the locations of the stores dispensers were laid out, as were the locations of observer seats, galley, etc.
Only thing they still weren't sure of was the bomb bay. Apparently, they still had some structural things to noodle out before they could build one into a 737 airframe.
They want to make a clean leap of technology with the RADAR, sensors, and Acoustic gear, instead of just tinkering with the old stuff like before. I fully agree with that.
We've learned a lot about military birds in the past half-century. Previously, they were thought to only last a few years before replacement; after all, that's what happened with the B-17's, 29's, and others, right? Problem was, money got tighter and tighter, and we began stretching that life out to decades, to the point where it just couldn't be stretched further. Now, since we know that's the way it is now, I'm sure that we're building them to that standard, vs. the old.
An interesting question...if we had simply replaced the P-3 and other old birds when originally intended, after about a decade or so, and continued to advance at that pace, instead of patching them together for 40 years with spit and bailin' wire and then spending major $$$ for brand-new aircraft, would it have cost MORE or LESS than the way we actually did it?