In 1992, the Royal Air Force 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.[3] In December 1996 the contract was awarded to British Aerospace for the Nimrod 2000, under the designation Nimrod MRA4.[4] 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;[N 1] the glass cockpit was derived from the Airbus A340.[5][6]
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.[7] 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.
RR 30A
3 июл 2014
