Nimrod MRA.4

[The Old Fat One]

While good MoD(PE)/DPA/DLO/DE&S-baiting fun, it is unfair to say the MRA4 is 10 years late. Given the known work content, it is much less.

Can't let that go by...I'm not buying a mid 90's Defence White Paper to prove the point, so I hope a quote from Mr H-C will suffice.

The Procurement history of the replacement ‘Nimrod 2000’ (subsequently re-named ‘Nimrod MRA4’) programme has been one of continuous delays and cost over-runs. ‘Nimrod 2000’ was originally scheduled to come into service in 2000; but the In-Service Date of the replacement programme

subsequently slipped on at least six occasions (in 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2008). The current scheduled In-Service Date of the Nimrod MRA4 is now December 2010,

i.e. over 10 years later.

As I've posted before, there was a "smoke and mirrors" exercise sometime around the turn of the century, to disguise the original costs, numbers and in-service date of the aircraft, so you have to dig a bit if you want the facts.

If you want to stump up for a mid 90's DWP, you'll find the figures about that time won't be amillion miles from these:

21 Aircraft
2.1 Billion Pounds Sterling
In Service year 2000