The S-3 was developed in response to the VSX program conducted by the U.S. Navy (USN) to procure a successor anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft to the Grumman S-2 Tracker.

The S-3 was removed from front-line fleet service aboard aircraft carriers in January 2009, its missions having been taken over by the P-3C Orion, P-8 Poseidon, SH-60 Seahawk, and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

[1] At this stage, Lockheed recognised that it had little experience in designing carrier based aircraft, thus the company reached out to the industrial conglomerate Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV), which joined the team.

Sperry Univac Federal Systems was assigned the task of developing the aircraft's onboard computers which integrated input from sensors and sonobuoys.

Previous ASW aircraft like the Lockheed P-3 Orion and S-3's predecessor, the Grumman S-2 Tracker, featured separate instrumentation and controls for each sensor system.

[citation needed] The aircraft has two underwing hardpoints that can be used to carry fuel tanks, general purpose and cluster bombs, missiles, rockets, and storage pods.

Performance improved considerably once an ample supply of spares was provisioned, allowing the S-3 to become a valuable ASW asset as well as a good surface-surveillance platform.

[5] Starting in 1987, the majority of S-3As were progressively upgraded to the improved S-3B standard; this involved the addition of several new sensors, avionics, and weapons systems, which included the capability to launch the AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile.

During July 1988, VS-30 became the first fleet squadron to receive the enhanced capability Harpoon/ISAR equipped S-3B, based at NAS Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Florida.

Six aircraft, designated US-3A, were converted for a specialized utility and limited cargo Carrier onboard delivery (COD) requirement.

[13] As a consequence of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the breakup of the Warsaw Pact in the early 1990s, the Soviet-Russian submarine threat was perceived as much reduced, and the Vikings had the majority of their antisubmarine warfare equipment removed.

The SLAM/ER is a GPS/inertial/infrared guided cruise missile derived from the AGM-84 Harpoon that can be controlled by the aircrew in the terminal phase of flight if an AWW-13 data link pod is carried by the aircraft.

[3] The S-3B saw extensive service during the 1991 Gulf War, performing attack, tanker, and ELINT duties, and launching ADM-141 TALD decoys.

The Vikings also identified and targeted numerous Iraqi naval vessels, and even destroyed anti-aircraft gun emplacements and coastal radars.

For the latter, the opening phase of the War in Afghanistan in October 2001, many Vikings were deployed as tankers to continuously undertake refueling sorties to support various fighters stationed aboard U.S. carriers, giving them the necessary endurance to fly to and from the conflict zone.

Excessive utilization caused earlier than expected equipment replacement when Naval aviation funds were limited, making them an easy target for budget-driven decision makers.

[5] In 1999, both ES-3A squadrons and all 16 aircraft were decommissioned and the ES-3A inventory placed in Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona.

[citation needed] The S-3 was an active participant in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the US invasion of Iraq; it largely performed intelligence and reconnaissance missions in support of other coalition assets.

[5] On one occasion, in March 2003 a single S-3B Viking from Sea Control Squadron 38 (The "Red Griffins"), piloted by Richard McGrath Jr., from the aircraft carrier USS Constellation (CV-64) successfully executed a time-sensitive strike, firing a laser-guided Maverick missile that neutralized a significant Iraqi naval and leadership target in the port city of Basra, Iraq.

[5] As the conflict progressed, S-3s were regularly used as surveillance aircraft, often to identify improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and the insurgents who planted them.

[14] Aboard the carrier, he delivered his "Mission Accomplished" speech announcing the end of major combat in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The aircraft that President Bush flew in was retired shortly thereafter and on 15 July 2003 was accepted as an exhibit at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola, Florida.

For over a decade, this aircraft was flying almost every day in support for various research programs;[12] one such initiative was the definition of new Federal Aviation Administration communication standards for unmanned aerial vehicles operating in US airspace.

[24][12] Naval analysts have suggested that the U.S. Navy return to service an unspecified quantity of the stored S-3s in order to fill gaps that were left in the carrier air wing when it was retired.

This move was promoted as a response to the realization that the Chinese navy is producing increasingly capable weapons that can threaten carriers beyond the range their aircraft can strike them.

[25] In October 2013, the Republic of Korea Navy expressed its interest in acquiring up to 18 ex-USN S-3s to augment their fleet of 16 Lockheed P-3 Orion aircraft.

Although the planes are relatively old, being in storage has supposedly kept them serviceable, and using them is an affordable means of fulfilling short-range airborne ASW capabilities that were vacated by the retirement of the S-2 Tracker.

[28][29] During April 2014, Lockheed Martin announced that they would offer refurbished and remanufactured S-3s, dubbed the C-3, as a replacement for the Northrop Grumman C-2A Greyhound for carrier onboard delivery.

[31][32] A SV-22 was a proposed anti-submarine warfare variant the U.S. Navy studied in the 1980s to replace S-3 Viking and late model SH-2 Seasprite ASW helicopters.