/reeve.gif)
See http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/p ... 957920.ece" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ,
highlighted in the Pprune forum at
http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/ ... march.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ...
From the forum:The RAF’s fleet of 11 Nimrod surveillance aircraft, one of which catastrophically burst into flames, killing 14 servicemen in Afghanistan in 2006, is to be withdrawn from service by March as part of a range of defence cuts announced yesterday. Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, denied that the decision to axe the Nimrod Mark 2s a year earlier than planned had anything to do with the crash of Nimrod XV230, which was caused by leaking fuel, and he insisted that it was still safe to fly. He told the Commons that the decision was purely for financial reasons.........
Mr Ainsworth also announced that the programme to introduce a replacement, the Nimrod MRA4, was going to be delayed. With the Mark 2s scrapped by the end of March, this will leave a capability gap, defence sources confirmed.
The first MRA4, one of nine ordered, will be delivered to RAF Kinloss in Morayshire, home of the Nimrods, in February but it will not be operational for a long time because the crews will have to carry out lengthy flight training. “It is a brand new aircraft, so it will take time,” a defence official said.
One of the principal roles of the Nimrod is to protect Britain’s nuclear submarine deterrent as it leaves Faslane on the Clyde for patrols in the North Atlantic and Antarctic. The defence sources said that the protection of the deterrent would have to be left in the hands of the Royal Navy, using hunter-killer, nuclear-powered submarines.
The decision on the Nimrod Mark 2s and their replacements will have a considerable impact on the personnel at RAF Kinloss. There are currently 1,600 RAF staff based there, and a proportion of them — especially the engineers — will be displaced to other bases to work on different aircraft. RAF sources said that there were no plans to make any Kinloss staff redundant..............
andHe also said in the Commons that the maritime patrol commitment would be catered for by RN Merlin, (To a degree but not over a similar search area or range surely) and C130 Hercules.
So no SAR cover for long range Sea King rescue flights then.
