Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR. Mk. I: A description of the first pure jet maritime reconnaissance aircraft embodying some of the most advanced avionics available and about to enter R.A.F. service

Abstract

THE Nimrod programme was initiated in the gloomy days of early 1965 when project after project had come to grief on the rocks of financial excess and governmental displeasure. Cost was the foremost parameter in the official mind with the result that the HS.681, the P.1154 and the TSR‐2 had all been cancelled. Better by far, went the argument, to buy existing aircraft off‐the‐shelf from foreign sources than to build one's own and sell them to others after satisfying one's own needs. The outlook for the aircraft industry was grim indeed at that time although it had lived with the periodic waxing and waning of its fortunes throughout its history. This was the climate into which the Nimrod was born. The programme had to be cost‐effective under the difficult circumstances of a relatively small production run combined with the requirements vital for a maritime reconnaissance aircraft of rapid transit and a long loiter together with the introduction of advanced avionics to give it a kill capability equal to that of any other aircraft in the anti‐submarine warfare field. For the first time with a major military aircraft project the contract was negotiated on a fixed‐price basis which put the burden of risk firmly on Hawker Siddeley Aviation Ltd. Although the firm was tied to an overall maximum profit there was no theoretical limit to the loss they would have to bear if the final costs overran the estimates. The responsibility for running the entire programme was given to Mr Gilbert Whitehead, Executive Director and Chief Designer‐Nimrod, of the Manchester Division of H.S.A. The value of the contract is about £100 million and covers the design, R. & D., production of two prototypes and 38 production aircraft.

Citation

(1969), "Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR. Mk. I: A description of the first pure jet maritime reconnaissance aircraft embodying some of the most advanced avionics available and about to enter R.A.F. service", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 41 No. 9, pp. 8-12. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb034551