I feel strongly against the wishes of our Government to scrap the MRA4 and leave us short in many areas a coastal nation should be only looking to invest in.
As for those fine people who are now wondering what the future holds, whether in 5 or 10 years time, the requirement for a frame such as the MRA4 will be noticed, acted upon then they will need experience to man it.
We may not see this airframe in air force blue but possibly in navy blue.
The RN were our main benefactors of our primary role and sense dictates that they may gain from our loss.
We will lose many experienced personnel, some nearing their time, others not deserving. It isn't fair, and wailing, complaining etc will not matter.
Move on. the Nimrod is dead.
LRMPA I feel sure is not.
WSOp's may have a very different career path now that the Kinloss bubble has been burst. I hope those that survive SDSR and redundancy embrace what the future holds; and sincerely wish those with no option but to look elsewhere; solace in a job well done.
For all of our variances, those involved with the Nimrod MR2 for the last 10 or so years, aircrew and ground crew alike, can hold our heads high and say that a difference was made, not public knowledge and therefore no high profile announcements.
Well done, and good luck to all.