Nimrod MRA.4

[Neptunus Rex]

I would like to see effort made into an A320/A330 modification to a Maritime role. I wonder if it is also possible to make them 4-engined?

It's already there, the A340. It has the same wing and fuselage as the A330, with four engines, more fuel tanks and a fuel jettison system. The electrics are also different, but essentially it is the same airframe. Use the short fuselage version, with the bigger donks and you have a good start. Add a decent bomb bay and you would have a ball-tearer.
I've flown both Nimrod and A330 and loved them both. However, you'd have to modify the software to allow more aggressive bank angles in Normal Law!

[Ivan Rogov]

A330/340 are far to large. Flew with a bofin once who was convinced we should have brought some more Tristars to use as MPA, on paper it could fly further, longer, higher, faster, carry much more, etc. 4 hours at low level on HISS and ASW finally convinced him that maybe his plan was flawed
For a long range MPA 4 engines please, 75% is much better than 50% in the event of loosing a donk although I'm sure someone will argue that 4 engines gives twice the probability of a failure compared to 2 engines

[fincastle84]

Ivan Rogov

Didn't you use to reside on the Malin Head?

[Ivan Rogov]

Not for a long time now

[Tester07]

All this banter about 2 engines and 4 engines sounds so familiar when I think back to when the contract was being put out to tender.

In the meantime, we are about to get..................nothing, and be without a maritime patrol fleet.

Doesn't this say anything about sensible pragmatism and living in the real world, and doesn't anyone think that we could have had a fleet of Atlantique IIs in service years ago (probably for half of the money which we have already spent!), which would probably have survived the cuts?

[The Old Fat One]

Doesn't this say anything about sensible pragmatism and living in the real world, and doesn't anyone think that we could have had a fleet of Atlantique IIs in service years ago (probably for half of the money which we have already spent!), which would probably have survived the cuts?

A point that was being made a lot in the mid nineties.

PS "half of the money".....a lot less than that I suggest!

[Phoney Tony]

Does it matter if bits that should be made of steel are made of aluminium?

[FATTER GATOR]

Tester07

"In the meantime, we are about to get..................nothing, and be without a maritime patrol fleet."

Do you know that for sure??? Should I start talking to my deskie?

[Party Animal]

FG,

Ignore Tester - Switzerland is well known for it's maritime expertise, on a par with Slovakia and the Czech Republic!

I'm willing to put my ba*ls on the line and make a clear and unequivocal statement that regardless of what happens with SDSR, the MRA4 WILL come into service with the RAF and remain so for at least 25 years. Anyone who absolutely disagrees with me can say so and eat humble pie in 4 months time.

If by the remotest chance, I am wrong, then i will post the photo's on here of me eating my 27 year old 5,000 hrs chip-bag!

Over to the rest of this thread readers to get off the fence....

[Biggus]

PA,

".....Ignore Tester - Switzerland is well known for it's maritime expertise, on a par with Slovakia and the Czech Republic!"

I thought the Swiss had considerable maritime expertise.


After all, they must have a fairly large SSN fleet, given the amount of time the MR2 fleet spent tracking "Swiss nukes"!

[Neptunus Rex]

Biggus
I must have missed something. Please explain your reference to 'Swiss nukes.'

[Biggus]

Nep,

take your pick from.......

"If you don't know, you don't......."

or

"I could tell you but then I'd have........"



Then again maybe the memory is fading as I get older!


Even now the Langley(sp?) computers must be humming!

[Jayand]

Party animal we won't have to wait four months to find out! and you might as well eat your chip hat as you won't be needing that again, unless you intend keeping loose change in it whilst you play the accordian on a street corner.

[Party Animal]

Jayand,

You sound as confident as I am but at the opposite end of the scale. What's your offering when proved wrong. Suitable donation to H4H perhaps?

P.S. Good banter by PN and Biggus. If you aint tracked a Swiss nuc - you haven't spent time on the MR2...

[Miles Magister]

3 engines

Going back a page, I have seen 3 engine ferries and have stayed on task after an engine failure (more than once). But we also used to stay on task after a lightning strike so long as the airborne compass swing against the IN was OK, my record was 6 strikes in one flight without leaving (although these were far north strikes, not tropical strikes).

This may seem cavalier to the younger guys but I am still happy we were safe and I did attract flak for not taking aircraft when others did.

I always felt happy that if you cut every piece of electric string in the beast it would still fly quite happily.

MM

[Party Animal]

Bugger - airpolice, you got me. In a moment of passion for the MRA4, my heart ruled my head and I failed to check the full meaning of my comment..

How is (was) life as an ISS tutor?

[Distant Voice]

Lets get back to the main thread. I think you may find that MRA4 never happens. Despite all the money having been spent on the programme, it is still deemed cheaper to get rid of it and shut Kinloss and the entire programme down. The Predator Bs, Sentinels and the King Airs do the Afghanistan job anyway and the long-range submarine hunting isnt deemed enough to keep the aircraft going.

And as far as Trident goes, who in their right mind believes that we (UK) will ever use our independent deterrent, independently. So there is no need for a sophisticated delivery system, just the weapon that allows us to sit at the "nuclear table".

DV

[Roland Pulfrew]

I think you may find that MRA4 never happens

long-range submarine hunting isnt deemed enough to keep the aircraft going

And your evidence for this is what exactly?

it is still deemed cheaper to get rid of it and shut Kinloss and the entire programme down

Cheaper than what exactly? Obviously if you scrap a system and close a base that will always make things "cheaper". You might just as well have said "its still deemed cheaper to scrap [insert programme here] and shut [insert stn/base here] and the entire programme down".

[Distant Voice]

It's cheaper to use Preditor Bs etc.

DV

[Roland Pulfrew]

It's cheaper to use Preditor Bs etc.

Yes but Pred B can't do ASW, ASuW, MCT, SAR, Elint etc etc