BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4

Nimrod MRA4
Nimrod MRA4 during a test flight
Role	Maritime patrol aircraft
Manufacturer	BAE Systems
First flight	26 August 2004
Status	Cancelled
Number built	3 development plus 2 production
Developed from	Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR2

The BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 was a planned 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 significantly improved the aircraft by installing more efficient Rolls-Royce BR700 turbofan jet engines to almost double the flight range. 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. The roles intended for the MRA4 are filled by existing assets such as the Type 23 Frigate and the Merlin helicopter. On 23 November 2015, the UK announced its intention to order nine P-8 Poseidon ASW aircraft as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, effectively replacing the Nimrod.

In 1988, the Royal Air Force (RAF) commenced a Replacement Maritime Patrol Aircraft (RMPA) procurement programme, also known as Staff Requirement (Air) 420, which was intended to replace their fleet of Nimrod MR2 aircraft. Alternative options, such as avionics, sensors and tactical system upgrades of the MR2, were abandoned in 1990. In 1993, a formal request for information was released. In response to the requirement, several different companies soon submitted their bids to meet the outlined demands.British Aerospace, who had internally studied prospective options to replace the Nimrod MR2 since 1986, including a variant of the Airbus A310 and other civil conversion projects, ultimately settled on a proposal that involved an extensive rebuild of several of the existing Nimrod MR2s. The remanufactured aircraft, which was marketed under the name Nimrod 2000, involved several major changes being performed, including the adoption of new engines, avionics, and mission systems.

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