Scientific Development Squadron ONE (VXS-1)

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Located at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Lexington Park, Maryland, VXS-1 operates and maintains five uniquely modified P-3 Orion turboprop aircraft that are used as airborne research platforms. With the decommissioning of Oceanographic Development Squadron 8 (VXN-8) in September 1993, VXS-1 acquired not only two new P-3s but also two additional missions as well.

Scientific Development Squadron ONE (VXS-1)
NAS Patuxent River, MD

Project Magnet measures and maps the Earth's magnetic variation, while Project Birdseye conducts hydroacoustic research. NRL VXS-1's aircraft operate worldwide on extended deployment and annually log more than 2500 flight hours.

These aircraft are the sole airborne platforms for numerous projects such as bathymetry, electronic countermeasures, gravity mapping, and radar development research.

The detachment has a flawless safety record, having amassed more than 70,000 hours of accident-free flying over a 48-year period.