via the News.
If this is true and the plan is actually carried out then the British public will go ape! This will be the ultimate boondoggle.Navy to buy new aircraft
THE Royal Navy is looking to buy a fleet of maritime patrol aircraft for up to £1 billion just weeks after the Ministry of Defence scrapped the new Nimrod aircraft at a cost of £3.6 billion.
The MoD confirmed last week that the navy wanted to buy its own maritime patrol aircraft to track enemy submarines to replace the Nimrods, which are being broken up for scrap.
The new RAF Nimrod MRA4s had not even come into service when the prime minister announced last October that as part of the strategic defence review he was scrapping Nimrod.
The navy, which was furious that RAF bosses had agreed to get rid of Nimrod at a time of increased submarine activity, has already set up a team to buy a replacement and ensure that it is flown by the Fleet Air Arm. The programme is being run by Commodore Simon Kings with a team made up of naval officers.
Personaly I think this report is to have been expected.
ReplyDeleteEver since SDSR was first mentioned and the rumours concerning scrapping MRA4 started,I have been saying that give it a decent length of time and we will see hints given about the UK acquiring P-8.
MRA4 was one of the UK MOD's more spectacular balls ups and there have been may of them,the reality is that this programme should have been killed off years ago.
It was a vast money pit,each aircraft was to all intents and purposes custom built and although no doubt was an excellent piece of kit was far too expensive to acquire and to run.
We need to use common sense in our defence procurement (always a first time for everything) and buy off the shelf if the product suits our needs.
If that means buying P-8 and I am sure it does then lets go ahead.
This will not happen for a couple of years until we have funds,but I am sure that behind the scenes discussions are already taking place between the UK and the US.
It will make me incredibly angry with the MoD to see this happen, but at this point i'd rather we acquired P8's and the public got angry than continue without any maritime patrol capability. The MRA4's are gone and we have to accept it. Anything is better than nothing now.
ReplyDeleteIt has now been admitted by the MOD that a team has indeed been set up to look into the UK's future MPA.
ReplyDeleteThey are now saying it consists of a joint RN/RAF team,well I say keep the fucking RAF (sorry for the french) out of it.
Those bastards are the ones who have tried to kill off the Fleet Air Arm by successfully lobbying for the scrapping of the Harrier,now that rumours of scrapping Tornado early are gaining credence they are begining to panic.
They have brought this situation entirely upon themselves and I have no sympathy at all for them,indeed what have they done since WW2,they have been living on past glory's ever since.
Let them have their fast jet toys and C130's/C17's and Chinooks and give everything else to the Army Air Corps and the RN.
Joint Force Harrier was a load of crap,naval pilots join to fly off ships,RAF types off land which is where they belong.
I wonder if maybe they are considering the new Kawasaki P-1
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, I wonder if some of the Hercules fleet won't be given a few limited upgrades to perform the role (FLIR sensor, podded, standalone radar system etc) or even if a civilian Dash-8 type maritime patrol aircraft on lease won't be employed, similar to that used by the Australian Customs service? The RN helicopter fleet will also provide capability, but of less duration and coverage, obviously.
ReplyDeleteThese DASH-8 type aircraft, aren't a wartime capability, but they provide a radar/FLIR equipped patrol aircraft that are relatively low cost and meet Australia's peace time requirements for maritime patrol. I'd suggest they'd be quite useful for the UK as well. A fleet of 3-4 such aircraft would go a long way to meeting the UK's domestic maritime patrol needs.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CxlH8urFKKE/TOJt1-8pmRI/AAAAAAAAAZw/Bs4CJKvfURA/s1600/customs.JPG
I shouldn't wonder that UK is investing in P-8's in future years, a much more assured capability, especially if some acceptable but hardly definitive solution can be employed in the meantime, as suggested above.
This is the ultimate in political stupidity, first you scrap more than £3,000,000,000 in patrol aircraft you just bought to save money, then you start to toss around the idea of the Navy buying totally new ASW/ Patrol aircraft?!?! I always knew to be a politician you had to sell your soul and brain, but this tops it all in stupidity.
ReplyDeleteUSSHelm,
ReplyDeleteI agree,but this is a politicians way of massaging the books.
This review is just that so will roll along for the next couple of years with no financial outlay.
Therefore the MOD bean counters will be able to produce figures showing that we have indeed saved money by scrapping MRA4.
Then after a decent time to let all the furore die down and peoples anger to diminish they will announce funds for MPA.
The UK SDSR was/is in no way about the defence of the UK,it is soley about money and nothing else.
In the next couple of months you will see even more cuts come along,and no doubt plausible reasons are even now being formulated for why these are needed.
No, these politicians are not stupid just devious b*****ds.