British Aerospace Nimrod AEW3
| Nimrod AEW3 | |
|---|---|
| Nimrod AEW3 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Airborne early warning and control |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | British Aerospace |
| Status | Development cancelled |
| Primary user | Royal Air Force |
| Number built | 3 prototype 8 production (all converted from MR1) |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 1984 |
| First flight | 16 July 1980 |
| Retired | 1986 |
| Developed from | Hawker Siddeley Nimrod |
The British Aerospace Nimrod AEW3 was a proposed airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft which was to provide airborne radar cover for the air defence of the United Kingdom by the Royal Air Force (RAF). The project was designed to use the existing Nimrod airframe, in use with the RAF as a maritime patrol aircraft, combined with a new radar system and avionics package developed by Marconi Avionics.
The Nimrod AEW project proved to be hugely complex and expensive as a result of the difficulties of producing new radar and computer systems and integrating them successfully into the Nimrod airframe. The project was eventually cancelled, with the RAF instead purchasing new build Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft to fulfil the AEW requirement.