SDSR: RAF to lose substantial airborne ISR capabilities
The UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF) is set to lose a substantial slice of its airborne ISR capability with the loss of its Nimrod MRA4 programme and potential withdrawal of the Sentinel Airborne Stand-Off Reconnaissance (ASTOR) system.
According to the UK’s Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), published on 19 October, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) would ‘not bring into service the Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol aircraft programme’, in a contract with BAE Systems worth over £3 billion.
‘We will depend on other maritime assets to contribute to the tasks previously planned for them,’ the report continued. Originally designed for
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