After more than twenty years of operating the P-2 Neptune, the squadron began receiving P-3B Orion aircraft to replace its aging SP-2H fleet in July 1969.
 VP-1 was the last fleet squadron to still operate the Neptune, and as the transition was completed by 1 October 1969, it retired the P-2 from frontline service with the United States Navy.
 At that point, VP-1 also found itself as the last patrol squadron based at Whidbey Island.
 A congressional review of force structure and bases was made in 1969 as the increasing costs of the war in Vietnam put pressure on the services to find cost reductions.
 VP-1 found itself in a tenuous position as the sole Whidbey-based patrol squadron and still in transition to the new P-3 aircraft.
 As such, in October 1969 it was nominated for deactivation and placed in stand-down, limiting the flow of personnel to the squadron.
 By December, however, the Chief of Naval Operations had determined to keep VP-1 operational, though to relocate it to Naval Air Station Barbers Point in Hawaii where it would join other Orion-equipped squadrons.

The Orion continued to be upgraded throughout its service life, and VP-1 marked the final transition for several technologies during the 1970s.
 Not only had the squadron been the last to transition from the P-2, but its P-3B aircraft were not equipped with Directional Low Frequency Analysis and Recording (DIFAR) gear until the unit's final deployment to Vietnam.
 The squadron's deployment to Naval Air Station Agana in Guam in December 1976 marked the last time an active fleet squadron would deploy with the baseline P-3B to the Western Pacific.
 In July 1978, crews from VP-1 were the last to fire AGM-12 Bullpup missiles in exercises before removal of the missile from Navy inventory the following month.
 The following year, the squadron was deployed temporarily to Naval Air Station Moffett Field in California as they transitioned to the P-3B TAC/NAV MOD version of the Orion.
 This aircraft had significant improvements in power and avionics, replacing the final baseline P-3B in January 1980.

Further modification of the squadron's aircraft was undertaken in 1982 with implementation of Infra-Red Detection System/Harpoon Airborne Command and Launch Subsystem (IRDS/HACLS) which added the ability to detect targets using infrared sensors and allowing the aircraft to carry and launch Harpoon missiles.
 These modifications were undertaken at Naval Air Station Alameda in California.
 The P-3B was finally replaced by the much more capable P-3C MOD, with the first such aircraft being transferred from Patrol Squadron 30 in October 1984.
 While the P-3C MOD was not the most advanced model of the P-3C in Navy service at the time, the airframes received by the squadron did include a number of retrofits, giving them features of the newer production aircraft.
 VP-1 received actual P-3C Update III aircraft in February 1991, with training on the new equipment done at Moffett Field on a rotational basis until completed in July of that year.
After more than twenty years of operating the P-2 Neptune, the squadron began receiving P-3B Orion aircraft to replace its aging SP-2H fleet in July 1969.  VP-1 was the last fleet squadron to still operate the Neptune, and as the transition was completed by 1 October 1969, it retired the P-2 from frontline service with the United States Navy.  At that point, VP-1 also found itself as the last patrol squadron based at Whidbey Island.  A congressional review of force structure and bases was made in 1969 as the increasing costs of the war in Vietnam put pressure on the services to find cost reductions.  VP-1 found itself in a tenuous position as the sole Whidbey-based patrol squadron and still in transition to the new P-3 aircraft.  As such, in October 1969 it was nominated for deactivation and placed in stand-down, limiting the flow of personnel to the squadron.  By December, however, the Chief of Naval Operations had determined to keep VP-1 operational, though to relocate it to Naval Air Station Barbers Point in Hawaii where it would join other Orion-equipped squadrons.
The Orion continued to be upgraded throughout its service life, and VP-1 marked the final transition for several technologies during the 1970s.  Not only had the squadron been the last to transition from the P-2, but its P-3B aircraft were not equipped with Directional Low Frequency Analysis and Recording (DIFAR) gear until the unit's final deployment to Vietnam.  The squadron's deployment to Naval Air Station Agana in Guam in December 1976 marked the last time an active fleet squadron would deploy with the baseline P-3B to the Western Pacific.  In July 1978, crews from VP-1 were the last to fire AGM-12 Bullpup missiles in exercises before removal of the missile from Navy inventory the following month.  The following year, the squadron was deployed temporarily to Naval Air Station Moffett Field in California as they transitioned to the P-3B TAC/NAV MOD version of the Orion.  This aircraft had significant improvements in power and avionics, replacing the final baseline P-3B in January 1980.
Further modification of the squadron's aircraft was undertaken in 1982 with implementation of Infra-Red Detection System/Harpoon Airborne Command and Launch Subsystem (IRDS/HACLS) which added the ability to detect targets using infrared sensors and allowing the aircraft to carry and launch Harpoon missiles.  These modifications were undertaken at Naval Air Station Alameda in California.  The P-3B was finally replaced by the much more capable P-3C MOD, with the first such aircraft being transferred from Patrol Squadron 30 in October 1984.  While the P-3C MOD was not the most advanced model of the P-3C in Navy service at the time, the airframes received by the squadron did include a number of retrofits, giving them features of the newer production aircraft.  VP-1 received actual P-3C Update III aircraft in February 1991, with training on the new equipment done at Moffett Field on a rotational basis until completed in July of that year.
VP-1