The Labour Government continues to destroy the Royal Navy.
Posted on 03/29/2010 8:49:30 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
The UK Royal Air Force will mark the end of an era in its proud maritime patrol heritage on 31 March, when the last of its British Aerospace Nimrod MR2s will be retired from use. Commemorated during a formal ceremony at RAF Kinloss in Scotland late last week, the occasion will bring to an end 41 years of operations with the Nimrod: a type derived from the world's first jet airliner, the ill-fated de Havilland Comet, which first flew in 1949.
Having been selected in 1965 to meet the Ministry of Defence's Operational Requirement 381, the original Hawker Siddeley Nimrod arrived at Kinloss from 1970 in its MR1 guise. The first examples entered frontline use the following year, replacing the RAF's venerable Avro Shackleton.
Shortly after entering service, the bulk of the new Nimrods were upgraded to the MR2 standard, with the model beginning activities in 1979. In total, 34 of the original aircraft were modified, while one new-build MR2 was also introduced.
The Nimrod's primary responsibility was to provide anti-submarine warfare (ASW) cover for the UK, and to deliver a new long-range search and rescue capability in support of military vessels and commercial shipping.
The type was also armed with torpedoes, enabling it to conduct anti-surface warfare missions if required, with a large internal weapons bay. However, this was ordinarily used only to carry emergency equipment, such as life rafts, to be dropped in support of stricken vessels.
(Excerpt) Read more at flightglobal.com ...
The Labour Government continues to destroy the Royal Navy.
I was suprised that they were ending the program. The Nimrod has been a essential part of their maritime patrols over the decades.
Used to like working with these guys, especially at St Mawgan.
We wish we had a wall to keep the Mexicans out.
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The next generation of Nimrod will enter service eventually (prob about 18 months). In the meantime there is going to be a gap in the LRMP/ASW/SAR function that helicopters are going to really struggle to fill. Still, that’s what happens when you run up huge budget deficits. Something has to give somewhere.
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