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Aviation History
1970
1970 - 0147.PDF
;• -: ' ,, IMIMROD SYSTEMATIC SUB-HUNTER By MOLLY NEAL, BSC, DIC, CEng, AFRA«S AIRBORNE MARITIME RECONNAISSANCE goes On ceaselessly, ocean-bounded countries especially keeping track of i inquisitive strangers under or on the surface of the sea. For the aircrew this is an exhausting task involving long hours of uncomfortable flight at low altitude, often in turbulence, and demanding high concentration in order to identify and keep track of targets. With the advent of the nuclear submarine, capable of cruising at speeds some four times greater than those of diesel-powered submarines, much greater search areas are involved; and, for ocean-going patrols where long transit flights to a suspected target are involved, maritime aircraft with much higher transit speeds than are current today are needed to keep the search area within reasonable bounds. The actual work of calculating and plotting targets from the indications of the various sensors in use today is also becoming too much for man to cope with unaided; so, in the coming generation of maritime aircraft, computers are being called in to help. As often happens, there is an interesting '; difference in philosophy between the US and UK approaches. In the United States, the turboprop-powered Lockheed Orion has a tactical system automated to the fullest possible extent. In Britain, the philosophy is "one of man-machine partnership with the man in control rather than the machine controlling the man. The computer calculates and displays and the man decides what action to take." The words are those of Mr Gilbert Whitehead, executive director and chief engineer of ILLUSTRATED WITH 'FLIGHT' PHOTOGRAPHS & DRAWINGS Hawker Siddeley Aviation, Manchester, responsible for the development of Nimrod, the world's first jet-propelled maritime reconnaissance aircraft, now entering service in the Royal Air Force. Ex-Shackleton 3 crews of No 18 (Maritime) Group of RAF Strike Command will this spring begin operational training on Nimrod. Since October 2 the Maritime Operational Training Unit has been familiarising crews on the first RAF Nimrod; the second was delivered on November 25 and the third is due for delivery this month. By the middle of this year the first Nimrod squadron should be operational at Kinloss; and all 38 RAF Nimrods are expected to be in service by 1971. There are to be four Nimrod squadrons in the UK and one in Malta. Nimrod has been designed for effective service over the next 20 years; hence the selection of turbofan propulsion, not only because it makes possible higher transit speed but also because turbofan development is advancing rapidly whereas turboprop development is stagnant. Based on the Comet 4C airframe, the Nimrod fuselage has ample space for accommo dating new detection equipment developments. The "man- machine partnership" concept allows the use of relatively small, adaptable computers into which new sensors and equip ment can be easily integrated.
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