What airframe should Britain choose if it could restart the requirement that produced Nimrod?
Short answerUse a widely operated Boeing or Airbus airframe and build it under license in Britain rather than basing the program on a bespoke British type.
NotesThe proposed change begins with the airframe rather than the patrol sensors. A mass-produced Boeing design was the clearest period-appropriate option, while an Airbus-family choice depended on the emerging European collaboration becoming available. Either route could offer a larger user base, a deeper spare-parts pool, and a more sustainable support system than a bespoke Comet derivative. British industry could retain assembly and integration work through a manufacturing license, although choosing a foreign design would carry a political cost.