Nimrod Was Actually a Fine Hunter: Upgrading Britain’s Fleet (updated)
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In the face of the Soviet threat to the West’s vital sea lanes and thus its reinforcements in the event of war, long-range maritime patrol aircraft were a high priority for the western alliance. Like Lockheed’s P-3 Orion, Britain’s Nimrod aircraft are also based on a previous airliner design. Unlike the USA, Britain chose a jet-age Comet airframe. They ended up with an aircraft that boasted an unrefueled endurance of over 10 hours and longer range than the P-3, but less-favourable “low and slow” characteristics. The British claim, however, that “propeller-engined aircraft make a discrete resonance that can be detected by submerged submarines, whereas the jet noise of the Nimrod is virtually undetectable.” Both aircraft types would go on to see long and successful service, and both would also be produced in ELINT / SIGNIT versions: the EP-3, and the Nimrod MR1.
The USA dithered over the successor to its P-3 Orion fleet, before finally choosing the 737-based P-8A in June 2004. Meanwhile, a British program was begun in 1996 to rebuild their existing Nimrod Mk2 fleet to the MRA4 standard with new wings, engines, internal systems, and mission systems. Unfortunately, that program has faced a series of budget cuts, stalls, and conditions that have reduced the program from 21 aircraft to 12, and threatened complete cancellation at times. As of July 2006, however, the British are also moving forward.
This article will serve as DID’s focus for the UK’s Nimrod fleet upgrade programs, which may have spinoff effects into India’s ongoing maritime patrol aircraft competition. The most recent update is unrest in Britain’s Parliamentary Defence Committee, and a coroner’s report that the Nimrod which crashed in Afghanistan in 2006 had “never been airworthy.” He recommends grounding the fleet, but the UK MoD refuses…
- Hunters of Subs & Signals: Britain’s Nimrods
- MRA4 Program: The Next Nimrods
- Contracts and Events [updated]
- Project HELIX: Upgrading the Nimrod R1 ELINT Fleet
- Additional Readings & Sources
- Addendum: Correction Credit
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