Located at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Lexington Park, Maryland, NRLFSD 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, NRLFSD acquired not only two new P-3s but also two additional missions as well.

Flight Support Detachment, NAS Patuxent River, MD

Project Magnet measures and maps the Earth's magnetic variation, while Project Birdseye conducts hydroacoustic research. NRL FSD'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 62,000 hours of accident-free flying over a 40-year period.