Longest serving weather-reconnaissance aircraft

The longest-serving weather reconnaissance aircraft is NOAA42 "Kermit", a Lockheed WP-3D Orion operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The airframe (tail number N42RF), received its airworthiness certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration on 26 February 1976, and made its first flight into a tropical cyclone flight with the NOAA's "Hurricane Hunters" on 27 August that same year. As of 26 June 2025, the NOAA's two WP-3Ds – "Kermit" and the slightly younger "Miss Piggy" (NOAA43) – were still in active service with the Aircraft Operations Center, almost 50 years after they entered service. They are expected to continue flying until around 2030, when they will be retired in favor of a a pair of customized Lockheed C-130J Hercules aircraft.