Looking at the picture posted by Diabolo Rouge, note how far aft the bomb bay is - surely most other designs try to get it as close to the CG as possible!
The CG is where it needs to be. See (a) below .
It is also noticeable how small the internal carriage is compared to the MRA4 - it looks (ahem) considerably less than 1/2 the length.
That Nimrod weapons bay was never going to be filled with weapons. It was a clumsy snoot British Leyland Aerospace stuck under and on to the Comet fuselage, needlessly adding to the dry weight and drag of the aircraft, instead of making a proper weapons bay for the Nimrod. ... The Nimrod underbelly snoot .. something like the heavy, ugly, awkward rubber bumpers bolted on the last few model years of MGB roadsters.
I would also bet that the P8 design isn't capable of carring a full weapon load, sonobuoys and full fuel all at the same time, without having some sort of active fuel management system to maintain CG limits.
(a) Is there supposed to be something wrong with an active fuel management and aircraft trim system, which will, among other things, empty the fuel tank aft of the weapons bay first?
As a final observation, why does it need a torpedo that can be dropped from higher altitude, with guidance during descent to ensure splash point accuracy - is this actually because the aircraft hasn't got good enough handling to operate at low level?
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In the near feature, submarines sensing a hostile aircraft overhead may deploy antiaircraft missiles -- something like a MANPAD and a video camera in a buoy, with a wire back to das Boot.
Even if the submarine doesn't have such weapons, why not take the submerged target by surprise instead of giving it a chance to take evasive action and release decoys? Submariners can hear a large aircraft nearby and a low altitude, you know.
is this actually because the aircraft hasn't got good enough handling to operate at low level?
The Indian Navy's P-8I's will have MAD booms installed. Ask them if they expect their P-8's to have low altitude handling problems.