The New Nimrod Takes to the Skies

[The Watcher]

(Source: BAE Systems; dated Aug. 26, web-posted Aug. 30, 2004)


Earlier today the new Nimrod MRA4, a highly capable Maritime Reconnaissance and Attack aircraft, took off on its historic inaugural flight from BAE Systems' Woodford site, near Manchester, cheered on by many of the site's 600 employees engaged in the programme.

The aircraft, dubbed PA01, is the first of three design and development Nimrod MRA4's. Following a successful take-off from Woodford it flew into the company's Warton site, in Lancashire, again witnessed by crowds of personnel based at the site, to begin an extensive flight trials programme. Warton has been much involved in the development of the MRA4, with around half the 1,250 strong Nimrod team based there, together with more than 70 RAF and Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) personnel seconded to the programme. Other BAE Systems sites with a previous or current involvement in the programme include Brough in Yorkshire, Chadderton in Greater Manchester, Prestwick in Scotland and Farnborough in Hampshire.

For Joe Harland, Nimrod MRA4 Managing Director, first flight of the aircraft represents a major milestone in his long career in aviation. On witnessing the aircraft's landing at Warton he said, “This is an amazingly complex and challenging programme. The fact that we have successfully flown the aircraft for the first time speaks volumes for the experience, specialist skills and sheer hard work of our employees, as well as for the close working relationship we have established with our customer, the Defence Procurement Agency. We should also not forget that this is another aviation 'first' for the North West.â€

John Turner, Nimrod MRA4's Chief Test Pilot, who was in command of the aircraft said, “I feel privileged to have piloted the aircraft on its historic first flight - the Nimrod MRA4 is a real pleasure to fly, and behaved well. I now look forward to conducting the rest of the flight trials programme with the Nimrod team.â€

For his part the Director for Nimrod Development, Steve Fogg, praised the aircraft's capability. “The MRA4 represents a technological step change from the MR2 it is set to replace in 2009, able, for example, to gather, process and display up to 20 times more data than the current in-service aircraft â€

Steve added, “The MRA4 has a typical crew of 10, and a range of around 6,000 miles, sufficient to fly from the UK to Los Angeles or Buenos Aires, for example, without refuelling. Equally important, unrefuelled it can remain on station for twice as long as an MR2 during a search and rescue mission.â€

The new MRA4 is powered by four Rolls Royce/BMW BR710 engines. These have already been tried and proven on Gulfstream and Bombardier business jets, and make the new MRA4 more powerful (with a high-level top speed of just over 600 miles per hour) and quieter than the MR2.

The other two MRA4 design and development aircraft, PA02 and PA03, are expected to fly in late 2004 and summer 2005 respectively, with flight trials expected to continue at Warton until 2006/ 2007.

The Ministry of Defence has indicated a requirement for a fleet of around 12 Nimrod MRA4, although this is dependent on the outcome of the trials programme and agreement on an acceptable price for production aircraft. No decision has yet been taken on when or where production will take place.


Nimrod MRA4 Background information:

-- Under a contract awarded in December 1996, and amended in 2002, BAE Systems was contracted to build an 18-strong fleet of Nimrod MRA4 aircraft, the Royal Air Force’s new Maritime, Reconnaissance and Attack aircraft. The contract was subject to further renegotiation in 2003, separating out the design and development phase (3 aircraft) from an option for production (15 aircraft). More recently, on 21 July 2004, the Secretary of State for Defence talked about the nation's maritime reconnaissance requirement being met in future by a fleet of 'around 12' Nimrod MRA4 aircraft..

-- A worthy successor to the highly successful Nimrod MR2, the aircraft is equipped with the latest in sensors and mission systems for the ‘three-in-one’ maritime patrol mission. This includes ASW, Anti-Surface Unit Warfare (ASUW) and Search And Rescue (SAR).

-- Nimrod MRA4 will offer unrivalled operational effectiveness, incorporating a state-of- the-art technical and mission capability and a fully integrated training system and logistic support package.

-ends-

 

[gf0012-aust]

I guess Australia will get to see how good it is at the next Fincastle event. This year it was won by the RAAF in their AP-3C Orions.

 

[adsH]

John Travolta's Gulf stream Has those Engines.

 

[Aussie Digger]

No mention of the fact that the MRA4 was supposed to be in operational service 3 years ago?

 

[gf0012-aust]

No mention of the fact that the MRA4 was supposed to be in operational service 3 years ago?

Nope, I guess that it's been a little embarrassing re that. They're lucky that it didn't get sliced in the latest round of pommy cost cuts. (IMHO)

 

[adsH]

No mention of the fact that the MRA4 was supposed to be in operational service 3 years ago?

Nope, I guess that it's been a little embarrassing re that. They're lucky that it didn't get sliced in the latest round of pommy cost cuts. (IMHO)

i'm sensing :idea2
abit of Annoyance, i see why you you guys would say that, Australia has worked really hard to achieve what some might say brilliance in Maritime surveillance tech, and then inn come the Brits to steal abit of the glorray, no hard feelings guys. the Uk has been shaping its industry over the years to achieve the high tech goal it has set for its self.

 

[gf0012-aust]

i'm sensing :idea2
abit of Annoyance, i see why you you guys would say that, Australia has worked really hard to achieve what some might say brilliance in Maritime surveillance tech, and then inn come the Brits to steal abit of the glorray, no hard feelings guys. the Uk has been shaping its industry over the years to achieve the high tech goal it has set for its self.

No, not at all. At this stage of the game we have won the Fincastle comp more than any other nation in ASW. Our frustration is that the poms have been stuffed around by successive governments re the MR4 for ages.

We don't see them as competitors as such. It's professional frustration. Glory doesn't even come into it.

The AP-3C is arguably the best ASW Orion of type in the world, even some in the USN ASW community acknowledge that. There are a few US nukes that have discovered that in our ASW training area.

 

[Aussie Digger]

There was no real jealousy on my behalf, I am quite happy with the level of capability provided by the RAAF's AP-3C, if the MRA4 Nimrod was more capable, I'd congratulate them. My point was directed more at BA, they have had a shocking run with British defence procurements recently and this project was very nearly canned altogether...

 

[adsH]

this is a Maritime recon Aircraft right, so it might be closely related to my career i'm planning to Join the Royal Navy soon after my graduation as an Information Systems Officer (a type of an engineer with all the benefits of being one), so i might get to see one of these at some point, has anyone got a picture of it.

 

[adsH]

NIMROD MRA4 MARITIME RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT, UNITED KINGDOM



In December 1996, BAE SYSTEMS were awarded a £2 billion contract for the remanufacturing of 21 Nimrod MR Mk 2 aircraft to the new Nimrod MRA4 (Nimrod 2000) specification including new mission, sensor and avionics systems. In February 2002, the UK Ministry of Defence reduced this number to 18 aircraft, citing a perceived reduction in the submarine threat.


The Nimrod MRA4 Maritime Reconnaissance and Attack aircraft was rolled out in August 2002. In February 2003, the programme was restructured. Production work on the last 15 of the 18 Nimrods in the MRA4 programme is to cease. Series production will not start until the first three aircraft have demonstrated satisfactory performance. First flight of the PA1 flight trials aircraft, which has no mission system fitted, is scheduled for mid-2004. The PA2 with full fit mission system is planned for first flight in late 2004. The third development aircraft will enter the flight test programme in 2005. The in-service date has been revised to 2009, which is defined as the delivery of the sixth series production aircraft.


The main roles of Nimrod MRA4 are maritime reconnaissance, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface unit warfare and search and rescue.


BAE SYSTEMS is the prime contractor for the programme with Boeing Company of Seattle responsible for the tactical command system. FR Aviation, based in Dorset, is providing major maintenance service for the programme.


DESIGN


The remanufacture of the MR2 Aircraft involves an extensive reconstruction. The aircraft is stripped and the outer wings cut off and the centre box, including both inner wings, are removed from the fuselage which is stripped back to the bare alloy. The new wings are being built at BAE Systems in Chadderton and transported to BAE Systems in Woodford. The aircraft also has new undercarriage and hydraulics systems.


COCKPIT


The cockpit is configured for two-pilot operation. The all-glass cockpit features many of the systems, displays and architecture found in the airliners built by the Airbus Industrie consortium. The flight deck has seven full colour liquid crystal displays. Many of the instruments and controls on the flight deck of the earlier version of Nimrod have been eliminated by the high level of automation in the aircraft's control systems which have taken over the work load of the flight engineer.


WEAPONS


BAE SYSTEMS is collaborating with Boeing to develop the Nimrod MRA4 Tactical Command System, a variant of the Boeing TMS-2000, as the heart of the overall mission system. Nimrod's tactical crew will operate seven reconfigurable operator workstations each with large high-resolution multi-function colour display screens.


Nimrod MRA4 is equipped with a stores management system from Smiths Industries which carries out inventory tracking and control, air-to-air and air-to-sea weapon control, and built-in test and fault diagnostics.


The aircraft has a weapons bay with side opening doors at the bottom of the fuselage which can carry fuel tanks, torpedoes (including the Tigerfish torpedo) and sonobuoys. Ultra Electronics are developing an improved version of the passive localisation Barra sonobuoy with digital signal processing. The new wing has two additional hardpoints, providing four weapons pylons for the carriage of Boeing AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles or AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles from Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.


Sidewinder is an all-aspect short-range missile with maximum speed over Mach 2, for defence against hostile aircraft. The AGM-84 is the air-launched version of the all weather anti-ship Harpoon missile, with a range over 50 nautical miles and a high subsonic speed.


SENSORS


Nimrod MRA4 has a Searchwater 2000MR multi-mode pulse Doppler search radar from Thales Defence and an EOSDS electro-optical surveillance and detection system, supplied by Northrop Grumman and turret-mounted under the nose. The aircraft is also equipped with a radar warning receiver, an Elta electronic support measures system and magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) system.


NAVIGATION


Nimrod MRA4 is equipped with a Navigation and Flight Management System (NAV/FMS) from Smiths Industries. The NAV/FMS consists of a navigation computer and flight management computer which are interfaced to the aircraft's MIL-STD-1553B data bus. The navigation sensors include a laser inertial navigation system and two LN-100G Global Positioning Systems from Litton which provide redundant position, velocity and attitude data to the flight management system. The aircraft also has radio navigation, a microwave landing system and a TCAS 2 Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System.


The systems automatically control the aircraft and carry out optimum performance calculations, trajectory projections, flight planning, navigational positioning, lateral and vertical guidance, tactical waypoint steering and navigational data storage.


UTILITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM


The Utility Management System (USMS), supplied by Smiths Industries, provides integrated control, monitoring and test of the main Nimrod MRA4 systems:


flight controls, undercarriage, hydraulics, environmental control, fuel, electrical systems, engine starting and auxiliary power unit monitoring. The USMS uses four general purpose computers which automatically control the systems and are interfaced by a digital databus to the aircraft's systems. Data are downloaded to the USMS from more than 800 aircraft sensors.


ENGINES


The aircraft has four BMW Rolls-Royce BR710 engines which, together with additional fuel capacity, increase the aircraft's performance and endurance, and provide a maximum speed of 0.77 Mach.


http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/nimrod/

 

[Aussie Digger]

 

[gf0012-aust]

They've done a bit more than just prep that MR4 for ASW work. She's also been set up for some AEWC work as well.

She's also been setup for self defence as well I suspect. If full wing shots get released, it wouldn't surprise me to see ALI's mounted outside the engines.

I think the Brits have taken a similar approach to Australia with the AP3's. She's a strike platform, AEW and ASW platform.

edited after post:

as suspected, see second sentence