Editing Lockheed P-3 Orion (section)

===In Iraq===
{{Main|Operation Desert Shield (Gulf War)|Desert Storm|Operation Iraqi Freedom}}

On 2 August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait and was poised to strike Saudi Arabia. Within 48 hours of the initial invasion, U.S. Navy P-3Cs were among the first American forces to arrive in the area. One was a modified platform with a prototype over-the-horizon targeting (OTH-T) system package known as "Outlaw Hunter"; it had been undergoing trials in the Pacific after being developed by Tiburon Systems, Inc. for NAVAIR's PMA-290 Program Office.{{sfn|Reade|1998|pp=42–49}} Within hours of the coalition air campaign's start, "Outlaw Hunter" detected a large number of Iraqi patrol boats and naval vessels attempting to move from [[Basra]] and [[Umm Qasr]] to [[Iran]]ian waters. "Outlaw Hunter" vectored in strike elements which attacked the [[flotilla]] near [[Bubiyan Island]], destroying 11 vessels and damaging scores more. During Desert Shield, a P-3 using [[infrared imaging]] detected a ship with Iraqi markings beneath freshly-painted bogus Egyptian markings trying to avoid detection.{{sfn|Reade|1998|pp=42–49}}

Several days before the 7 January 1991 commencement of Operation [[Desert Storm]], a P-3C equipped with an APS-137 [[Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar]] (ISAR) conducted coastal surveillance along Iraq and Kuwait to provide pre-strike reconnaissance on enemy military installations. A total of 55 of the 108 Iraqi vessels destroyed during the conflict were targeted by P-3Cs.{{sfn|Reade|1998|pp=42–49}}

The P-3's mission expanded in the late 1990s and early 2000s to include [[battlespace]] surveillance both at sea and over land. The long range and long loiter time of the P-3 proved to be an invaluable asset during [[Gulf War|Operation Iraqi Freedom]] and [[Operation Enduring Freedom]], being able to instantaneously provide the gathered battlespace information to ground troops, particularly the U.S. Marines.<ref name='USNavyFactFile'/>