Customs and Border Protection describes the P-3 AEW as the world’s only law enforcement radar aircraft supporting anti-smuggling and border protection missions.
A rare U.S. Customs and Border Protection P-3 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft used to track small boats smuggling drugs in Pacific and Caribbean waters around Central America has been spotted at the Long Beach Airport in California. The P-3 AEW, as designated by CBP, is the world’s only airborne radar used in law enforcement.
Matthew Dawson, aerial photojournalist Skyblazer Magazine He shared a video of the aircraft taxiing and taking off on his Instagram profile on April 9, 2026, and said the aircraft was spotted ‘at the end of March’. Based on recent flight history, the date is believed to be March 29th.
“In late March, for unknown reasons, this Lockheed P-3B AEW&C flew from the Long Beach Airport over the South Pacific for several days! It was really cool to see this bird flying from the Long Beach Airport, call sign ‘Troy 609,'” said Dawson.
Based on flight history in recent years, the ‘Troy’ call sign has been commonly associated with this aircraft type. The aircraft will be used in conjunction with another CBP P-3-based aircraft, the P-3 Long Range Tracker (LRT), for maritime drug interdiction roles.
Dawson also shared this with: aeronautics Along with the P-3 LRT, there are more images of the elusive P-3 AEW aircraft, whose existence has become known to the public but little known outside of CBP’s drug enforcement press releases.
Customs and Border Protection’s P-3 AEW
Both the P-3 AEW and P-3 LRT are used in “long-range aerial patrol and surveillance missions” in support of DHS’ counter-drug efforts. As written on the aircraft’s rear fuselage, it belongs to CBP’s air and maritime operations. High-ranking Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) flashes are emblazoned on the vertical stabilizer and front of the aircraft, respectively.
The Lockheed Martin P-3C has generally been a popular type for maritime patrol and surveillance roles in many countries, including the United States, Germany, and Japan. The airframe has also had other special mission applications, such as the now-retired U.S. Navy’s Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) and ISR EP-3E Aries II aircraft.
As mentioned in the introduction, CBP’s P-3 AEW is the world’s only dedicated law enforcement airborne radar aircraft and is flown by CBP’s Air and Maritime Operations (AMO) division.
The aircraft pictured has the registration N146CS, and we also know of the existence of at least another aircraft, N144CS. According to FlightAware data from the N146CS track on March 29, the aircraft flew for approximately two hours from the California coast, took off from San Clemente Island at 7:11 pm (local time) and landed at Long Beach Airport in California at 10:13 pm.
Flying with the ADS-B transponder on throughout the patrol, the aircraft flew a circuitous pattern around San Clemente, maintained an altitude of 14,500 feet, and maintained a speed of 268 to 370 miles per hour.
Two HC-130Js descending toward Curaçao (🇨🇼). A U.S. Customs and Border Protection P-3B AEW and an AFSOC C-146 Wolfhound are also heading to the region, although the latter two flights are quite regular.
??? // 12-3060 // #AE68B9
TROY072 // N142CS // #A0AA61 pic.twitter.com/dsRJqxDepb— Bizjets of War (@bizjetsofwar) May 30, 2023
Previous flight tracks showed two aircraft variants, the P-3 AEW and P-3 LRT, in the Caribbean, with the N142CS seen in the western sector with call sign TROY072. P-3 LRTs flew April 10 in the waters northwest of Venezuela, near the islands of Aruba and Curacao.
🇺🇲 Customs and Border Protection P-3B Orion N423SK descending from Jacksonville to Curaçao. pic.twitter.com/YfJ4FmKKzv
— 𝐴𝐀𝐀𝐀𝐀 (@Arr3ch0) April 9, 2026
CBP’s P-3 AEW detection and monitoring aircraft
An archived page from 2009 on the CBP website states that the P-3 AEW uses the AN/APS-145 radar, the same system found on the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier E-2C Hawkeye. Radar can track targets not only at sea but also in the air. Developer Lockheed Martin says the APS-145 is a Doppler radar that operates in the ultra-high frequency (UHF) range, can track 2,000 targets, and is resistant to jamming with a suite of Electronic Counter-Counter Measures (ECCM).
CBP calls the P-3 AEW a “detection and monitoring (D&M)” aircraft, defining it as “the world’s only law enforcement AEW aircraft” essential to CBP’s anti-smuggling and border protection missions. “Air and Marine’s P-3 is a durable, all-weather tactical turboprop aircraft primarily used for long-range patrols throughout the U.S. border and in source and transit countries throughout Central and South America,” the CBP website states.
The aircraft is operated by a crew of eight, consisting of a pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and radar/sensor operator. “They are regularly deployed on temporary missions to support U.S. and foreign government initiatives to stop smuggling into the United States,” the 2009 page states.
P-3 AEW and P-3 LRT coordinated patrols
More information about P-3 AEW and CBP’s drug interdiction efforts can be found in the agency’s September 2021 feature. The aircraft is used in missions that require long observation times, hemispheric coverage, adverse weather and environmental conditions, and is considered “a keystone of AMO’s strategy to protect America’s borders and enforce U.S. laws.”
Both aircraft can fly for 12 hours, the P-3 AEW has a range of 3,000 nautical miles and a maximum altitude of 26,000 feet, while the corresponding figures for the P-3 LRT are 4,000 NM and 28,000 feet.
“Combined with the multi-target detection and tracking capabilities of the P-3 AEW, the P-3 LRT can intercept, identify and track these targets,” CBP explained. The P-3 LRT has a specialized payload that includes the APG-66 radar and the SeaVue maritime surveillance radar, identical to those installed on early variants of the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
There are 14 P-3 LRTs operated by CBP, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and Corpus Christi, Texas. Working with P-3 AEW, they track illicit drugs in two areas that CBP refers to as “source and transit zones” in the Central and South American maritime regions (Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean).
Thanks to Matthew Dawson for sharing the image. You can find more of my work on Instagram @.mattdawson.photo.
