Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:35:56-1:36:31

Scrapping Nimrod created an avoidable maritime-patrol gap

If Britain was going to abandon Nimrod, it should have joined the Poseidon program early enough to avoid years without a patrol aircraft.

Anti-Submarine WarfareMaritime Patrol AircraftNimrod Mra4P-8 PoseidonRoyal Air Force
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Question

Was scrapping Nimrod a mistake, and is Poseidon an adequate replacement?

Short answer

Poseidon is capable, but Britain should either have retained Nimrod longer or joined Poseidon earlier instead of accepting a long gap.

Notes

The P-8 Poseidon was expected to perform the maritime-patrol and anti-submarine mission effectively. The criticism concerns the transition rather than the replacement aircraft. Britain spent heavily bringing Nimrod MRA4 close to an operational standard and then retired the programme without an immediate successor. Entering the Poseidon programme earlier would have avoided a dangerous national capability gap.