[cmonstanley]

the UK Government is considering plans to spend hundreds of millions of pounds on a replacement for the Nimrod spy planes that were axed last year the Ministry Of Defence may buy Boeing P-8s from America to solve the capability gap left by the cancellation of the Nimrods – a move that has already cost the country billions Defence Secretary Liam Fox pulled the plug on the £4 billion procurement deal after the project ran over budget and fell behind schedule. Private contractors for the MoD have since started the dismantling job at the BAE Systems site in Stockport, Lancashire.local jobs gone
t also provoked elements of the defence establishment to claim that scrapping the Nimrods left a hole in the UK’s national security.
Nimrods can carry out a variety of duties, the most important being the protection of the UK’s Trident nuclear submarine fleet and the interception and destruction of enemy submarines. The aircraft’s range and flying capabilities also give it a vital role in air-sea rescue operations. It can also be deployed as a communications aircraft in support of operations by special forces
thats more money leaving the british economy

The cancellation of the Nimrods means the UK has no maritime patrol aircraft which, critics believe, leaves the country at risk.
A joint letter condemning the decision was recently signed by former senior officers, including Lord Craig, Gulf War commander Major General Patrick Cordingley, Falklands naval task force commander Admiral Sir John Woodward, and Air Vice-Marshal Tony Mason
They wrote: “Machine tools have been destroyed; several millions of pounds have been saved but a massive gap in British security has opened.
“Vulnerability of sea lanes, unpredictable overseas crises and traditional surface and submarine opposition will continue to demand versatile responsive aircraft.
“Nimrod would have continued to provide long-range maritime and overland reconnaissance ... and perhaps most importantly, reconnaissance support to the Navy’s Trident submarines.”