Serious safety concerns have emerged over Britain's ageing fleet of Nimrod spy planes – currently patrolling Iraq and Afghanistan – after an investigation by The Independent on Sunday found their fuselages could be riddled with rust.
Sources have revealed that severe corrosion has been found on the 40-year-old fuselages now being revamped in the UK to form the next generation of aircraft. That £3bn project is seven years behind schedule and millions of pounds over budget.
The Government decided in 1996 that the new generation of Nimrods should use the fuselages of the old aircraft. Several were taken out of service and stripped back to the fuselage, and new wings, undercarriage and floors were bolted on. Problems found in the revamped fuselages are likely to be found in the planes still flying because the craft are the same age.
In January 2006 BAe Systems, which is building the new aircraft, discovered cracks in the rivets holding fuselage sections together. In repairing this problem the fuselage skin beneath the rivets has been found to be corroded. As a result, all Nimrod aircraft now in use will have to be checked.
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