Part of the problem here is that the 'MOD' don't think?
As someone mentioned earlier, You would have thought the DHL A300 incident would have 'Rang Alarm bells' with the MOD regarding 'Vulnerable' Aircraft like the Hercules and the Nimrod operating over enemy lines.
What has always annoyed me about the MOD is that they have the Approach of 'We''ll only fix it if it's broken' But in this case It is too late as what we are discussing here.
You cannot Sail a Tight Ship when your running the RAF.
The MOD chief's are obviously not on the 'Ground' with the people and their Equipment, Instead all their decisions are made in some office in London, They listen to others point of view but then go and do what they want?
The Nimrod has proved to be a loyal 'Workshorse' for the RAF, But they can only give it so much life time as in Concorde's case.
The MOD should have concentrated on upgrading the safety features of the oldest Aircraft in the fleet, Instead of getting excited about the MR4 program.
The Nimrod was operating over enemy lines without any Fuel Tank protection, A risk that is critical to the the Aircraft and it's crew.
The 'Media' said that the Nimrod Captain only had 2/3 Minutes to look for a suitable forced landing, I cannot imagine the scene in that time.
This tragic accident along with the 2 Hercules crashes in 22 months, will 'Backfire' on the MOD, And constantly remind them that If funding for safety projects is not maintained it will risk losing it's Standards, Safety, Morale, and most importantly it's people.
The service personnel will only take so much, They are people not Robots!!
Regards.