Philip Hammond the defence secretary, said using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) would be cheaper and less risky than developing an expensive new version of Nimrod.
No doubt, every word of that statement is true but…No one expects a high risk high end capability like the Nimrod MRA Mark 4 is something we can now afford. What we need is an affordable effective Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft.
"It may well be the case that the development of unmanned aerial vehicle technology means that there will not be another generation, for us at least, of manned maritime patrol aircraft."It may well be that we will move straight to unmanned reconnaissance vehicles that can do the task at lower cost and much less risk to the crew."
Equally
IT MAY WELL BE that he has been convinced by UAV manufacturers that every other nation in the world with manned MPA’s is wrong and that the UK alone are going to do it the unmanned way.