 There has been speculation that one or more of the AP-3Cs was fitted with additional SIGINT/ELINT capabilities and operate as specialised intelligence-gathering aircraft.An article in the magazine "Australian Aviation" in December 2007 stated that this is probably not correct, and it is more likely that several SIGINT/ELINT 'kits' were purchased and can be swapped between all 18 airframes.The magazine also quoted an unnamed 'industry source' as stating that all the AP-3Cs have SIGINT/ELINT capabilities "equivalent or better" than those of the Royal Air Force's specialised Hawker Siddeley Nimrod surveillance aircraft.