Lockheed CP-140 Aurora (140105) from the Royal Canadian Air Force at the RIAT 2016, RAF Fairford (United Kingdom)

The Lockheed CP-140 Aurora is a maritime patrol aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force. The aircraft is based on the Lockheed P-3 Orion airframe, but mounts the electronics suite of the S-3 Viking. Aurora refers to the Roman goddess of dawn who flies across the sky each morning ahead of the sun. Aurora also refers to the Aurora Borealis, the "northern lights" that are prominent over northern Canada and the Arctic Ocean. The CP-140 Aurora is very similar externally to the Lockheed P-3C Orion (Canadian ESM wingtip pods instead of the American ESM wing pod),
but is different internally, using two sets of mission systems that were first installed in yet another Lockheed Anti-Submarine Warfare aircraft,
the carrier-based S-3A Viking. The aircraft's sensors are primarily intended for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) work but are also capable of maritime surveillance, counter-drug and Search-And-Rescue (SAR) missions. The CP-140 is Canada's only strategic Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft, conducting long range missions over land, water and littoral areas. These missions are flown in support of Canadian Joint Operations Command, the RCMP, and several other federal government departments. In 1991, Lockheed shut down its production lines in Burbank, California for the P-3 Orion, which shares the same airframe with the CP-140. Three surplus airframes on hand were purchased by
the Air Command, but delivered without the anti-submarine fit. These three aircraft were designated the CP-140A Arcturus
and are used primarily for pilot training and coastal surface patrol missions.

The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is the world's largest military air show, held annually over the third weekend in July,
usually at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England in support of The Royal Air Force Charitable Trust.
The show typically attracts a total of 150.000 to 160.000 spectators over the weekend.