Mel. So what you refer to is a traditional deep water MPA in reality rather than an MMA.
I don't know what the traditional lexicon was, but if an aircraft is able to perform a variety of maritime roles - ASW, ASuW, long-range SAR, maritime surveillance, etc - then it is by definition a maritime
multimission aircraft (MMA), no?
I believe the P-1 was mentioned in the context of this thread because the poster (I can't remember who) suggested that it was not an MMA, and so inferior to the P-8 (which is classified by the US Navy as an MMA) and so not up to our requirements.
While not looking to get into the relative merits of the two platforms, the P-1 is designed to perform the same mission set as the P-8, and
that was my point when I said that the P-1 is an MMA.
Out of curiosity, how would you differentiate a 'deep water MPA' and an MMA (specifically in relation to the UK's MPA requirements)?