CBP retires iconic P-3 “Dome” surveillance plane as C-130J jets take over border missions

On Sept. 30, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations completed the final operational flight of its P-3 Airborne Early Warning aircraft, a rotodome-equipped platform long known as the “Dome.” The mission launched from one outlet Air Security Operations Center in Jacksonville, Florida, and marks the end of a period during which the P-3 fleet served as the primary surveillance eye over the Caribbean, Gulf of America and key transit corridors in Central and South America, detecting drug smuggling, narco-subs, fast boats and illegal migration.

Although the AEW variant is retiring, CBP will keep its P-3 Long Range Tracker aircraft, which use nose radars and FLIR systems for low-altitude identification and evidence collection. The agency is modernizing its fleet with C-130J Super Hercules jets that feature digital glass cockpits, holographic HUDs, more efficient Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 engines and interchangeable ISR modules, offering higher speed, longer range and heavier payload capacity.

These upgrades will support continued maritime interdiction, joint task-force missions such as JIATF-South, and humanitarian or cargo transport as needed. The transition aims to keep U.S. border enforcement ahead of evolving cartel smuggling tactics across the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean.