CP-140 Aurora

Aurora Image Gallery

To fulfill its maritime patrol responsibilities, 19 Wing's 407 Squadron is equipped with 5 CP-140 Auroras.

Although designed for anti-submarine warfare, the Aircraft's advanced equipment, 17-hour endurance and 8000 km range makes it well suited for a wide range of operations.

407 Squadron Auroras spend long hours on surveillance missions looking for illegal fishing, migration, drugs and pollution, and violations of Canadian territorial sovereignty above and below the ocean's surface. The Aurora can also perform search and rescue missions using air-droppable survival pods.

The Aurora has proven particularly effective in monitoring adherence to the UN mandated driftnet fishing in the North Pacific.

The avionics equipment on-board the Aurora consists of acoustic sensors, a radar, an Electronic Support Measures (ESM) sensor, a Forward Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) camera, and a Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD). The Aircraft's weapon suite has torpedoes, mines, rockets and bombs.

Its crew consists of a minimum of ten: two pilots, a flight engineer, four navigators and three Airborne Electronic Sensor Operators (AESOP). One navigator carries out navigation and communication duties, another is in charge of tactics, and the other two operate the acoustic sensors.

First acquired by the Canadian Forces in 1980, the CP-140 has begun to show its age. The fleet is being modernized with state-of-the-art main computers and enhanced navigation and communications systems.

Quick Facts

Length: 35.61 m
Wingspan: 30.37 m
Height: 10.30 m
Weight: 64,410 kg (63,527 kg)
Power: 4 Alison T-56-A-14-LFE turboprop engines
Speed: 750 km
Ceiling: 10,668 m
Range: 9,260 km
Quantity in CF: 18 (5 at 19 Wing)
Locations: 14 Wing Greenwood, 19 Wing Comox