Originally Posted by servodyne
Have you looked over at Davis Montham lately? a bucketful of cheap and cheerful S-3B's are just sitting there looking for an owner. There not an MRA 4 but are fully capable MPA aircraft that would fill the gap left by the MR 2.
As
My T Hunter observes, the Nimrod 4s have been paid for. The only saving is in the operation of Maritime Patrol/ASW and the closure of a Station (even if the brown jobs take it over, it will cost less than an operational flying station). Theoretically, the new wing with the new donks and the new black boxes would (should) make the aeroplane more cost effective than a recycled old Type. If HMG subsequently buys in/rents in some alternative machine (perhaps the one Mr Boeing is currently struggling with), we will know that we've been lied to, again.
Regarding the lack of lobbying by BASE or whatever this years name is, the answer is probably that it wasn't built at Warton. It would also upset their accountants if anything remotely risked the profitability of a substancial land sale (eg, late closure and clearance of Woodford).