no Vol6 for the MRA4...... The customer forgot to include it in his requirements... Doh!
I don't doubt this at all. It is now 22 years since "customers" disbanded the sections in their HQs whose job it was to state and quantify these things to procurers. MoD's own internal auditors criticised Nimrod, among others, for this in 1996. The Nimrod RMPA/2000/MRA4 2 Star at AbbeyWood commented on this report "Of no concern to MoD(PE)". Not sure if guys at Kinloss agree. He also ruled a couple of years later that aircraft need not be functionally safe. I don't agree with that one.
However, that does not stop anything omitted from the endorsed requirement being added; especially, as in this case, when it has to be listed in the Release to Service or it's absence explained (assuming the current Sponsor says it is actually needed). First port of call is the Publications Authority (ATP, who were in Farnborough, then moved to Glasgow in the mid-90s). I think I know what their answer will be. At the time many posts were cut because AMSO (headed by RAF 3 Star) had cut the money for pubs, saying amendments/accuracy was irrelevant. If there is no work to do, the posts cannot be justified. This policy was largely rescinded when someone sane took over, but there was no money to retrospectively address "gaps". As the same policy obviously applied to safety cases, I think you'll agree what I've said explains much that has happened these last few years.