Maritime Patrol Aircraft–From Hunting Submarines to Multi Mission ...

Nimrod MRA4
The Nimrod MRA4 from BAE Systems is the newest
evolution of the Nimrod MPA in service with
the Royal Air Force (RAF). Originally designed
for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Anti-Surface
Warfare (ASuW) and Search and Rescue (SAR),
the Nimrod MRA4 will be equipped to operate in
an network centric environment as a component
of a overall ISTAR force. With changing emphasis
within homeland defence and overseas commitments,
the MRA4 will make a significant contribution
to the overall fight against terrorism.
The Nimrod MR1 entered service with the RAF
in 1969 and was upgraded to MR2 standard in
the late 1970s. While the flight deck and general
systems remained the same, the Mission System
was given a significant upgrade. The Nimrod MR2
has also provided a continual presence in the
Middle East since the late 2001. In that time, employment
of the aircraft has evolved to take on an
additional range of non-traditional tasks, including
overland Electro-Optic IMINT (Image Intelligence)
surveillance of Iraq and Afghanistan, and IMINT
and communications support to coalition ground
troops. The Nimrod MR2 will continue in service
with the RAF until it is replaced by the MRA4,
which is expected to enter service around 2011.
BAE Systems is the prime contractor and design
authority for the Nimrod MRA4 programme.
Under a £2 billion plus contract awarded by the
UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) in July 1996, the
Nimrod programme involved the re-engineering
and re-building of 18 (originally 21) Nimrod MR2
aircraft to a new standard, known as the Nimrod
MRA4 (Maritime, Reconnaissance and Attack),
together with training and support packages.
A radical renegotiation of the contract in 2003
resulted in a separation of the design and development
phase from production. An announcement
by the UK MoD in 2004 further reduced the MRA4
requirement, from 18 to 12.
Although the MRA4 looks similar to the MR2,
only the basic fuselage shell and the empennage
are shared. The Nimrod MRA4 will have
completely new systems and a new, larger wing
carrying advanced Rolls-Royce Deutschland
(RRD) BR710 turbofan engines. These are 30%
more fuel-efficient and 25% more powerful than
EMB 145 MP
Nimrod MRA4
the Rolls-Royce Spey 250 engines they replace.
The aircraft’s maximum weight has increased
from around 87 tonnes to approximately 104
tonnes and can operate for longer periods than
its predecessor with a bigger payload in terms of
weapons, sensors, and fuel.
The Nimrod MRA4 will have a multi-tasking role,
whose primary tasks include ASW, ASuW and
SAR together with an ISTAR capability. Further
exploiting its integrated mission systems, it will
be used, inter alia, in constabulary roles around
UK waters including counter drug operations in
addition to contributing to the fight against terrorism.
The MRA4 operating crew will consist of two
pilots and eight mission crew members operating
new state-of-the-art radar, Electronic Support
Measures (ESM), electro-optic, acoustic and Magnetic
Anomaly Detection (MAD) sensor systems.
The new flight deck is an all-glass cockpit, which
incorporates many of the systems, displays and
integrated avionics developed for the Airbus series
of civil airliners.
The heart of the mission system is the entirely
new Tactical Command System, which is based
around the seven reconfigurable, high-resolution,
multi-function colour display workstations used by
the mission crew, plus the pilots’ tactical display.
Embraer
MARITIME PATROL AIRCRAFT
The primary sensor will be the Thales Searchwater
2000MR multi-mode search radar. This is a new,
high-performance radar designed for all-weather
operation and optimised to have a high probability
of tracking small targets in poor weather. A new
defensive-aids system will include a radar warning
receiver, a missile approach receiver and integral
chaff/flare dispensers. The MRA4 has the potential
to carry an extensive range of weapons and equipment
in the bomb bay. Weapons management will
be conducted via a stores management system,
which carries out inventory tracking control, airto-air
and air-to-sea weapon control, and built-in
test and fault diagnostic systems.
The MRA4 will provide the RAF with at least
30 years of adaptable capability in maritime reconnaissance
and attack operations. Equipped
with more than 90 antennae and sensors and
containing over six million lines of software code,
the MRA4 is able to fly 6,000 miles or 14 hours
without refuelling and can scan an area the size
of the UK every 10 seconds.
The Nimrod MRA4 had its inaugural flight in
August 2004. A production contract for 12 aircraft
was awarded in July 2006, with a planned
in-service date of late 2010. On Sept 10, 2009,
the first production Nimrod MRA4 has made its
maiden flight from the BAE Systems facility at
Woodford in Cheshire. The aircraft, designated
PA04, flew a successful 1 hour 40 minute sortie
during which it performed a variety of manoeuvres
to test handling, and the operation of the engines
and systems, before arriving at Norwich, where
the aircraft will be painted in RAF livery.
Following the successful first flight, the aircraft
will undergo a number of production test flights to
prove that all the aircraft systems are working as
they should. BAE Systems is now just one flight
away from completing the test flying needed to
provide the initial clearance that will allow the
RAF to operate the aircraft, and have agreed the
approach to supporting the MRA4 when it enters
service.
ADJ December 2009 21