The “downright dangerous” decision to scrap an advanced maritime reconnaissance aircraft has implications for Britain’s ability to defend its own nuclear deterrent, ministers were warned yesterday.
The axing of the Nimrod MRA4 spy plane also left a “grave gap” in the monitoring of foreign ships and submarines, defending the Falkland Islands and long-distance search and rescue, Labour’s Madeleine Moon claimed.
Ms Moon said Nimrod’s main role was to protect Britain’s Trident nuclear submarines by searching for enemies that threatened them.
She said: “The maritime reconnaissance capability that is provided by the aircraft was there to protect our nuclear deterrent. The nuclear deterrent that is our nation’s ultimate defence. So here we are, the most vital part of our national security is carried in our submarines, but the actual protection for that submarine we are going to scrap.”
She condemned the decision last month, announced by Prime Minister David Cameron as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), to terminate the Nimrod project.
Ms Moon, who sits on the Commons Defence Select Committee, said: “This is an unbelievable, short-sighted and downright dangerous decision to cut the Nimrod. I cannot believe that this decision came out of the Ministry of Defence. This has to have been a Treasury-led decision, only a bean-counter could have made that decision.”
Ms Moon (Bridgend) said ministers now had to answer how the RAF could “conduct long-range surveillance of the sea, not only against the submarine and surface threat, but also the long-range search and rescue that the Nimrods and her crews so ably have carried out over the years”.
She highlighted the advanced aircraft’s capabilities: “It had a number of key functions – as part of military operations, as an advanced reconnaissance tool, ensuring the safety of civil national infrastructure, assisting in maritime search and rescue and assisting in defence of our dependent territories.” It contained “world-leading technology” in terms of anti-submarine warfare and was way advanced of anything Britain’s allies had at present, she insisted.
The platform could deploy to the Falklands in 48 hours in the event of increased tensions, fly for 12-hours without refuelling and had a range of 4,000 miles.