Originally Posted by
Ken Scott
I'm sure we could buy the P8A - but it will need new engines (Rolls Royce), new avionics (Ferranti?)
You mean like the E3 and rivet Joint? Oh wait, they were almost identical to the USAF spec ones so you must mean the Tristars that were re-engined? No, those are still on the original engines so you must mean Europrop equiped C130Js? No - those are still powered by the same engines as the US model.
The kind of modifying madness to which you refer is a POLITICAL issue, not a BAE Systems one. They are a commercial entity and will build what you ask for - hence the Tornado F2 and Spey-equipped F4 and Nimrod AEW3. Ask for the wrong kit and you'll get the wrong kit.
I was at BAe Prestwick at the time that the MR4 project began. We were told that the company advised that new-build aeroplanes would be the way to go and advised against rebuilding the shagged-out old airframes. Now, we may have been told an untruth but it is EXACTLY the kind of stupid stunt that MoD pulls all the time.