MoD clawed back just £500,000 after scrapping £3.8bn Nimrods

THE Ministry of Defence managed to recoup just £500,000 from the £3.8 billion it spent on the new Nimrod surveillance aircraft, after they were scrapped before ever being put to use.

A written parliamentary answer to SNP defence spokesman Angus Robertson revealed the MoD sold off spare parts from the hi-tech aircraft for £1 million but spent £500,000 taking the airframes apart.

Mr Robertson said: “The destruction of these state-of-the-art aircraft was an act of gross vandalism.

“After spending £3.8bn of public money on Nimrod, the paltry scrap value recouped by the MoD adds insult to injury.”

He said the issue was not a one-off, with the MoD also selling off the Harrier fleet of aircraft to the US. “Many of the decommissioned Harrier jump jets sold to the US Navy for a knock-down price last year had recently undergone refits,” he said.

He pointed out that US rear admiral Mark Heinrich, chief of the US Navy’s supply corps, said of the Harrier jets: “We’re taking advantage of all the money the Brits have spent on them.

“It’s like we’re buying a car with maybe 15,000 miles on it. These are very good platforms.” But Mr Robertson claimed that with Nimrod the true cost may be even greater, given that their destruction has created security and safety implications that the government has never addressed.

He said: “It has become obvious that the decision to scrap Nimrod was based on cost-cutting rather than strategic needs. Whether it’s national events like the Olympics or everyday missions such as maritime reconnaissance and rescues, there is now a mammoth capability gap and lives are at risk.”

The parliamentary answer from defence equipment minister Peter Luff is the latest embarrassing revelation in the Nimrod MRA4 project, which was abandoned in late 2010 after it was cancelled in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). This led to the RAF pulling out of its base in Kinloss in Moray.

It was later revealed the aircraft had failed airworthiness tests despite the project being £789m over-budget and the number of new Nimrods reduced from 12 to nine.

The controversial decision to cancel the MRA4 has left the UK without air surveillance and has been criticised by the defence committee, while ministers have publicly admitted the decision is “a risk”.

But the UK has been without the capability since the Nimrod MR2 planes were grounded in February 2007 because of safety fears. An MoD spokesman said: “Difficult but necessary decisions taken in the SDSR, such as those to scrap Nimrod and retire the Harrier jets, have saved the taxpayer billions of pounds and helped wipe out the £38bn defence deficit.

“Long overdue and over-cost, only one Nimrod aircraft had been delivered. Significant technical difficulties remained and they had not passed airworthiness tests.”

He added: “Cuts to the Harrier force pre-dating the SDSR meant the force was too small to carry out operations in Afghanistan whilst maintaining a contingent capability for other operations such as Libya.

“Tough decisions like these have enabled the MoD to balance the budget for the first time in decades and invest in new capabilities to ensure our forces are well equipped for the future.”