XBradTC

By

XBradTC

·

NEWS: RAF Poseidon acquisition axed | Defence of the Realm

According to an article in The Sunday Times the Ministry of Defence may have ditched a £2bn plan to buy a fleet Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft for the RAF to plug the gap left by the retirement of the Nimrod. The purchase of a Nimrod replacement was expected to be announced in the…

According to an article in The Sunday Times the Ministry of Defence may have ditched a £2bn plan to buy a fleet Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft for the RAF to plug the gap left by the retirement of the Nimrod. The purchase of a Nimrod replacement was expected to be announced in the forthcoming Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) but the newspaper claims the plan to buy the Poseidon, seen as the preferred option, has been shelved after ministers declared that the aircraft were “fiendishly expensive”.

Source: NEWS: RAF Poseidon acquisition axed | Defence of the Realm

Japan is strongly marketing their new P-1, and LMT is offering a modified C-130J, but we have a sneaking suspicion Britain will chose the worst option, and simply abandon the key Maritime Patrol Aircraft mission.

Tags:

  1. Paul L. Quandt

    Sounds as though they want us ( the USA ) to bail their ass out once again. I don’t think that this administration will do it.

    Paul

    Like

  2. Jjak

    The last SDSR didn’t seem to be filled with good decisions, not really surprised to see that continue.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Esli

    And somebody just canceled their planned F35 buy, too. Don’t recall what country.

    Like

  4. xbradtc

    Canada is reconsidering.

    Like

  5. Jim

    !
    Maybe the P8 is too expensive (I don’t know, but it seems like everything we are building now is). But a maritime patrol aircraft seems like one of the most economical tools in the toolbox for a maritime nation to exert its influence on its approaches.

    What sick virus is affecting the US and UK acquisitions??

    Like

  6. elizzar

    ThinkDefence has a good post discussing this rumour – it may be more that other options are better, rather than a cancellation. It could be angling for a discount or similar. After the hoo-haa of the Nimrod debacle, and then being forced to borrow allies’ planes to patrol our seas, I don’t think the politicians will risk not having some naval airborne patrol capacity in future.

    Like

  7. Quartermaster

    The current crop of morons wouldn’t bail us out. The Brits can forget about any help from the Kenyan.

    Like

  8. Tarl

    Fiendishly expensive… compared to designing your own plane from scratch? Last time you tried that, it didn’t work AND was too expensive.

    Liked by 1 person

Leave a comment