BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4
Encyclopedia
The BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 was a maritime patrol and attack aircraft intended to replace the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR2. The rebuilt aircraft would have extended the operating life of the Nimrod fleet by several decades and have significantly improved the aircraft by almost doubling the flight range by installing more efficient Rolls-Royce BR700
turbofan
jet engines. The conversion of the flight deck to a digital 'glass cockpit
' would have simplified control operations and reduced crew requirements. New detection systems were to be installed, as well as additional weapons for anti-submarine warfare
.
However the project was subject to significant delays due to cost over-runs and contract re-negotiations. This was partly due to difficulties combining refurbished Nimrod MR2 fuselages, which had not been built to a common standard, with newly built wings. The numbers of aircraft to be procured fell from 21 to nine over a course of years, while costs continued to climb.
The MRA4 was ultimately cancelled in 2010 as a result of the Strategic Defence and Security Review
, at which point it was £789 million over-budget and over nine years late. There is no direct replacement under development, its intended roles are to filled by existing assets such as the Type 23 Frigate
and the Merlin helicopter.
started a Replacement Maritime Patrol Aircraft (RMPA) procurement programme to replace the Nimrod MR2 aircraft. To meet the requirement British Aerospace
proposed rebuilding each Nimrod MR2 with new engines and electronics which it called Nimrod 2000. The RAF considered bids from Lockheed
with its P-3 Orion, Loral Corporation
with rebuilt ex-US Navy Orions, and Dassault
with the Atlantique 3
. In December 1996 the contract was awarded to British Aerospace for the Nimrod 2000, under the designation
Nimrod MRA4. British Aerospace became BAE Systems
in 1999 and continued development on the Nimrod MRA4.
The MRA4 was to be essentially a new aircraft. Significant changes included the installation of current-generation Rolls-Royce
BR710
turbofan engines, a larger and more efficient wing, and a fully refurbished fuselage. Much larger air intakes were required on the MRA4 because the airflow requirements of the BR710 engine are significantly higher than that of the original Spey 250 powering the original Nimrods. The MRA4 also borrowed heavily from Airbus
technology; the glass cockpit
was derived from the Airbus A340
.
According to BAE Systems, the Nimrod MRA4 systems was to enable the crews to gather, process and display up to 20 times more technical and strategic data than the MR2. The Searchwater 2000 radar was stated to have been capable over land as well as water; with the ability to have swept an area the size of the UK every 10 seconds. The Aircraft Synthetic Training Aids (ASTA) provided by Thales Training & Simulation
was an electronic training suite to allow the training of crew members to transfer from active MRA4 aircraft to ground-based training systems; this change was made to increase the availability of the aircraft for operational missions and allow for more intensive training exercises.
BAE Systems issued a shock profit warning in December 2002 due to cost overruns of the Nimrod MRA4 and the Astute class submarine
projects. On 19 February 2003 BAE took a charge of £500 million against the MRA4 contract. The company had previously taken a £300 million "loss charge" in 2000, which was expected to cover "all the costs of completion of the current contract". The contract was renegotiated for the second time in 2002, where the aircraft requirement was reduced from 21 to 18.
Announcing plans for the future of the British military on 21 July 2004, the Defence Secretary
Geoff Hoon
detailed plans to reduce the upgrade programme to cover only 16 MRA4 aircraft, and suggested that an eventual fleet of 12 might suffice. PA02, the second development MRA4, achieved its first flight in December 2004 and was used to test elements of the mission system and the air vehicle. BAE Systems received a contract worth £1.1 billion for 12 MRA4s on 18 July 2006; three were to be development aircraft and nine more converted to production standard. The Nimrod MRA4 successfully released the Sting Ray torpedo
for the first time on 30 July 2007.
Further disputes over "affordability" meant that the number of MRA4s to be delivered was further reduced to nine by Spring 2008. The first production aircraft took its maiden flight on 10 September 2009. At the time of the flight, each MRA4 was to cost at least £400 million. The Ministry of Defence announced in December 2009 that the introduction of the MRA4 would be delayed until 2012 as part of defence spending cuts. The first Nimrod MRA4 was delivered in March 2010 to the RAF for acceptance testing, initial operational capability was expected to be reach in October 2012. The MRA4 was to operate out from its main base at RAF Kinloss
, Scotland; all nine aircraft were due to be delivered by 2012.
of the Armed Forces, the UK government announced the cancellation of the MRA4 on 19 October 2010 and consequently that RAF Kinloss
, the intended base for the Nimrod fleet, would be closed. Although late and over-budget the decision to cancel the MRA4 was controversial as the remaining airframes had all been near completion. It has been reported that following the retirement of the Nimrod MR2, Russian submarines have been able to travel past the UK in international waters, but they could not be tracked because of the unavailability of suitable aircraft.
The aircraft would also have been used in the civilian search and rescue
role, the Nimrod MR2 had often been used in this role. In this respect the Strategic Defence and Security Review stated that the UK "will depend on other maritime assets to contribute to the tasks previously planned for [the Nimrod MRA4]".
Following the cancellation, the Defence Secretary
Liam Fox
used the Nimrod MRA4 procurement as an example of the worst of MOD procurement performance: "The idea that we ever allow ourselves into a position where something that was originally Nimrod 2000 - where we ordered [21] was reduced to nine, spent £3.8bn and we still weren't close to getting the capability - is not to happen again."
In January 2011 it was reported by the Financial Times that when the decision was taken to scrap the aircraft, "[The MRA4] was still riddled with flaws.... Safety tests conducted [in 2010] found there were still 'several hundred design non-compliances' with the aircraft. It was unclear, for example, whether its bomb bay doors functioned properly, whether its landing gear worked and, most worryingly, whether its fuel pipe was safe." According to Air Forces Monthly
magazine, "significant aerodynamic issues and associated flying control concerns in certain regimes of flight meant that it was grounded at the time of cancellation and may not have been signed over as safe by the.. Military Aviation Authority." The magazine also stated that the reason for the cancellation was that the RAF and Navy placed a higher priority on fast jets and frigates than on maritime patrol.
On 24 November 2010, 382 sub-contract workers previously working on the MRA4 were laid off at BAE Systems Warton
and Woodford. After the airframes were stripped of electronic equipment, the remaining fuselages were scrapped at BAE Systems Woodford beginning on 26 January 2011. Although the process was conducted behind screens intended to hide the process from the media, the BBC
flew a helicopter over Woodford and broadcast footage of the scrapping in process. Six ex-defence chiefs publicly criticised the decision to scrap the Nimrods the following day.
's Fleet Air Arm
has established a committee to consider the acquisition of maritime patrol aircraft to replace the scrapped Nimrod MRA4 in the anti-submarine role. The budget is expected to be up to £1 billion, contrasting with the MRA4 program's cost of £3.6 billion.
Rolls-Royce BR700
-External links:* * *...
turbofan
Turbofan
The turbofan is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used for aircraft propulsion. A turbofan combines two types of engines, the turbo portion which is a conventional gas turbine engine, and the fan, a propeller-like ducted fan...
jet engines. The conversion of the flight deck to a digital 'glass cockpit
Glass cockpit
A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic instrument displays, typically large LCD screens, as opposed to the traditional style of analog dials and gauges...
' would have simplified control operations and reduced crew requirements. New detection systems were to be installed, as well as additional weapons for anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
.
However the project was subject to significant delays due to cost over-runs and contract re-negotiations. This was partly due to difficulties combining refurbished Nimrod MR2 fuselages, which had not been built to a common standard, with newly built wings. The numbers of aircraft to be procured fell from 21 to nine over a course of years, while costs continued to climb.
The MRA4 was ultimately cancelled in 2010 as a result of the Strategic Defence and Security Review
Strategic Defence and Security Review
The Strategic Defence and Security Review was announced by the newly formed Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government of the United Kingdom in May 2010, and published on 19 October 2010...
, at which point it was £789 million over-budget and over nine years late. There is no direct replacement under development, its intended roles are to filled by existing assets such as the Type 23 Frigate
Type 23 frigate
The Type 23 frigate is a class of frigate built for the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. All the ships were first named after British Dukes, thus the class is also known as the Duke class. The first Type 23 was commissioned in 1989, and the sixteenth, was launched in May 2000 and commissioned in...
and the Merlin helicopter.
Background and origins
In 1992, the Royal Air ForceRoyal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
started a Replacement Maritime Patrol Aircraft (RMPA) procurement programme to replace the Nimrod MR2 aircraft. To meet the requirement British Aerospace
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
proposed rebuilding each Nimrod MR2 with new engines and electronics which it called Nimrod 2000. The RAF considered bids from Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
with its P-3 Orion, Loral Corporation
Loral Corporation
Loral Corporation was a defense contractor founded in 1948 in New York by William Lorenz and Leon Alpert as Loral Electronics Corporation. The company's name was taken from the first letters of each founder's surname....
with rebuilt ex-US Navy Orions, and Dassault
Dassault Aviation
Dassault Aviation is a French aircraft manufacturer of military, regional and business jets, a subsidiary of Dassault Group.It was founded in 1930 by Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch or "MB". After World War II, Marcel Bloch changed his name to Marcel Dassault, and the name of the...
with the Atlantique 3
Breguet Atlantique
The Breguet Br.1150 Atlantic is a long-range reconnaissance aircraft, primarily designed for use over the sea. It is used in several NATO countries as a reconnaissance and patrol aircraft as well as anti-submarine aircraft. The Atlantic is also capable of carrying air-to-ground missiles...
. In December 1996 the contract was awarded to British Aerospace for the Nimrod 2000, under the designation
British military aircraft designation systems
British military aircraft designations are used to refer to aircraft types and variants operated by the armed forces of the United Kingdom.Since the end of the First World War, aircraft types in British military service have generally been known by a name British military aircraft designations are...
Nimrod MRA4. British Aerospace became BAE Systems
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
in 1999 and continued development on the Nimrod MRA4.
The MRA4 was to be essentially a new aircraft. Significant changes included the installation of current-generation Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce plc
Rolls-Royce Group plc is a global power systems company headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines , and also has major businesses in the marine propulsion and energy sectors. Through its defence-related activities...
BR710
Rolls-Royce BR700
-External links:* * *...
turbofan engines, a larger and more efficient wing, and a fully refurbished fuselage. Much larger air intakes were required on the MRA4 because the airflow requirements of the BR710 engine are significantly higher than that of the original Spey 250 powering the original Nimrods. The MRA4 also borrowed heavily from Airbus
Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
technology; the glass cockpit
Glass cockpit
A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic instrument displays, typically large LCD screens, as opposed to the traditional style of analog dials and gauges...
was derived from the Airbus A340
Airbus A340
The Airbus A340 is a long-range four-engine wide-body commercial passenger jet airliner. Developed by Airbus Industrie,A consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. a consortium of European aerospace companies, which is...
.
According to BAE Systems, the Nimrod MRA4 systems was to enable the crews to gather, process and display up to 20 times more technical and strategic data than the MR2. The Searchwater 2000 radar was stated to have been capable over land as well as water; with the ability to have swept an area the size of the UK every 10 seconds. The Aircraft Synthetic Training Aids (ASTA) provided by Thales Training & Simulation
Thales Training & Simulation
Thales Training & Simulation Ltd is an international company with experience in simulation and training. It is part of the Thales Group.- Overview :...
was an electronic training suite to allow the training of crew members to transfer from active MRA4 aircraft to ground-based training systems; this change was made to increase the availability of the aircraft for operational missions and allow for more intensive training exercises.
Delays and development issues
The original scheduled date of entry into service for the MRA4 was April 2003, however development proved far more protracted than anticipated. An independent company, Flight Refuelling Ltd., was contracted to undertake the conversions to MRA4 standard, however BAE discovered that the Nimrod airframes supplied by the RAF were not built to a common standard and this considerably complicated the refurbishment process. The task of converting the existing airframes was transferred in-house to BAE Systems Woodford. The BAE team at Woodford then found that the new wing was flawed, which resulted in the project being put on hold while another wing design was developed.BAE Systems issued a shock profit warning in December 2002 due to cost overruns of the Nimrod MRA4 and the Astute class submarine
Astute class submarine
The Astute-class is the latest class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines in service with the Royal Navy. The class sets a new standard for the Royal Navy in terms of weapons load, communication facilities and stealth. The boats are being constructed by BAE Systems Submarine Solutions at...
projects. On 19 February 2003 BAE took a charge of £500 million against the MRA4 contract. The company had previously taken a £300 million "loss charge" in 2000, which was expected to cover "all the costs of completion of the current contract". The contract was renegotiated for the second time in 2002, where the aircraft requirement was reduced from 21 to 18.
Announcing plans for the future of the British military on 21 July 2004, the Defence Secretary
Secretary of State for Defence
The Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position...
Geoff Hoon
Geoff Hoon
Geoffrey "Geoff" William Hoon is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Ashfield from 1992 to 2010...
detailed plans to reduce the upgrade programme to cover only 16 MRA4 aircraft, and suggested that an eventual fleet of 12 might suffice. PA02, the second development MRA4, achieved its first flight in December 2004 and was used to test elements of the mission system and the air vehicle. BAE Systems received a contract worth £1.1 billion for 12 MRA4s on 18 July 2006; three were to be development aircraft and nine more converted to production standard. The Nimrod MRA4 successfully released the Sting Ray torpedo
Sting Ray torpedo
The Sting Ray torpedo is a current British acoustic homing light-weight torpedo manufactured by GEC-Marconi, who were later bought out by BAE Systems. It entered service in 1983.-Design and development:...
for the first time on 30 July 2007.
Further disputes over "affordability" meant that the number of MRA4s to be delivered was further reduced to nine by Spring 2008. The first production aircraft took its maiden flight on 10 September 2009. At the time of the flight, each MRA4 was to cost at least £400 million. The Ministry of Defence announced in December 2009 that the introduction of the MRA4 would be delayed until 2012 as part of defence spending cuts. The first Nimrod MRA4 was delivered in March 2010 to the RAF for acceptance testing, initial operational capability was expected to be reach in October 2012. The MRA4 was to operate out from its main base at RAF Kinloss
RAF Kinloss
RAF Kinloss is a Royal Air Force station near Kinloss, on the Moray Firth in the north of Scotland. It opened on 1 April 1939 and served as an RAF training establishment during the Second World War. After the war it was handed over to Coastal Command to watch over Russian ships and submarines in...
, Scotland; all nine aircraft were due to be delivered by 2012.
Cancellation
In the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security ReviewStrategic Defence and Security Review
The Strategic Defence and Security Review was announced by the newly formed Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government of the United Kingdom in May 2010, and published on 19 October 2010...
of the Armed Forces, the UK government announced the cancellation of the MRA4 on 19 October 2010 and consequently that RAF Kinloss
RAF Kinloss
RAF Kinloss is a Royal Air Force station near Kinloss, on the Moray Firth in the north of Scotland. It opened on 1 April 1939 and served as an RAF training establishment during the Second World War. After the war it was handed over to Coastal Command to watch over Russian ships and submarines in...
, the intended base for the Nimrod fleet, would be closed. Although late and over-budget the decision to cancel the MRA4 was controversial as the remaining airframes had all been near completion. It has been reported that following the retirement of the Nimrod MR2, Russian submarines have been able to travel past the UK in international waters, but they could not be tracked because of the unavailability of suitable aircraft.
The aircraft would also have been used in the civilian search and rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
role, the Nimrod MR2 had often been used in this role. In this respect the Strategic Defence and Security Review stated that the UK "will depend on other maritime assets to contribute to the tasks previously planned for [the Nimrod MRA4]".
Following the cancellation, the Defence Secretary
Secretary of State for Defence
The Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position...
Liam Fox
Liam Fox
Liam Fox MP is a British Conservative politician, Member of Parliament for North Somerset, and former Secretary of State for Defence....
used the Nimrod MRA4 procurement as an example of the worst of MOD procurement performance: "The idea that we ever allow ourselves into a position where something that was originally Nimrod 2000 - where we ordered [21] was reduced to nine, spent £3.8bn and we still weren't close to getting the capability - is not to happen again."
In January 2011 it was reported by the Financial Times that when the decision was taken to scrap the aircraft, "[The MRA4] was still riddled with flaws.... Safety tests conducted [in 2010] found there were still 'several hundred design non-compliances' with the aircraft. It was unclear, for example, whether its bomb bay doors functioned properly, whether its landing gear worked and, most worryingly, whether its fuel pipe was safe." According to Air Forces Monthly
Air Forces Monthly
Air Forces Monthly is a military aviation magazine published by Key Publishing, based in Stamford, United Kingdom.Sister publications include Air International, Air Enthusiast, Airliner World, Airports International, FlyPast and Today's Pilot.-External links:*http://www.airforcesmonthly.co.uk/* via...
magazine, "significant aerodynamic issues and associated flying control concerns in certain regimes of flight meant that it was grounded at the time of cancellation and may not have been signed over as safe by the.. Military Aviation Authority." The magazine also stated that the reason for the cancellation was that the RAF and Navy placed a higher priority on fast jets and frigates than on maritime patrol.
On 24 November 2010, 382 sub-contract workers previously working on the MRA4 were laid off at BAE Systems Warton
Warton Aerodrome
Warton Aerodrome is located near to Warton village on the Fylde in Lancashire, England. The aerodrome is west of Preston, Lancashire, UK.Today the airfield is a major assembly and testing facility of BAE Systems Military Air Solutions....
and Woodford. After the airframes were stripped of electronic equipment, the remaining fuselages were scrapped at BAE Systems Woodford beginning on 26 January 2011. Although the process was conducted behind screens intended to hide the process from the media, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
flew a helicopter over Woodford and broadcast footage of the scrapping in process. Six ex-defence chiefs publicly criticised the decision to scrap the Nimrods the following day.
Replacement
Press reports in February 2011 claimed the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
's Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
has established a committee to consider the acquisition of maritime patrol aircraft to replace the scrapped Nimrod MRA4 in the anti-submarine role. The budget is expected to be up to £1 billion, contrasting with the MRA4 program's cost of £3.6 billion.