I wonder how their radar equipment compares. The 'Lightweight' is the same as we had in the '80s, with a pretty screen added. Their raw radar capability nowhere reaches the Red'n'Greys'
Plan A was to fit all HAR3As and retrofit HAR3s with the RN’s upgraded radar, in part to achieve commonality. It was a “spend to save” measure that would recoup costs within a very short time. For example, brand new larger scanners had actually been set aside for delivery to Westland. But someone in RAF OR got excited about the possibility of a colour display, although retaining the very low power Transmitter meant there were few targets to see! The result is a hybrid of 1960s (Lightweight Radar) and early 1980s (Super Searcher) technologies which even the designer thought silly, despite making more out of the hybrid. The resultant waste was astronomical, not least managing obsolescence. The tale of MEL’s marketing manager trawling back street repair shops in Lagos for semiconductors is legendary.