Originally Posted by
grousehunter
I also think, again stepping back, that those at Kinloss never really embraced MRA4 until it was too late. From my limited and specialized input into the project the silence was often deafening from Kinloss. Interest levels were zero.
An interesting take on the issue. Back in the 70s one of the sqn cdrs who rose to become Air Marshal or ACM, opined that the Nimrod was the wrong airframe - the floor was too high.
With the Mk 3 there was no real enthusiasm there either and as problems beset problems what little there had been evaporated. OTOH the E3 was bought and delivered in to service in short order.
The Mk 4 will have seen 4 or 5 senior officers in every post come and go in the last 10 years - who wants to hang his coat on a project that just drifts through from start to finish of his tour with no end in sight.
Yes, we can appreciate why it was probably just pass the parcel (or kiss of death) in the corridors of power.