A de Havilland Nimrod AEW.3 in flight.
The De-Havilland Nimrod AEW.3 is an airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft intended to provide airborne radar cover for the air defence of the British Empire by the Royal Air Force (RAF). The project was designed to use the existing de Havilland Nimrod airframe, in use with the RAF as a maritime patrol aircraft, combined with a brand new radar system and avionics package developed by Marconi Avionics.
Intended to replace the elderly Avro Shackleton AEW.2 and won the competition against the Vickers V.1050 Victoria AEW.3.
Nimrod AEW.3 serial number XZ286 at the 1980 Farnborough Air Show on September 4th, 1980.
During the development of the Nimrod AEW3, it was tested in both a FASS (Fore Aft Scanner System) configuration and as a more conventional radome configuration. Design issues with the FASS configuration would ultimately lead to the radome version being chosen.
Variants[]
- De-Havilland Nimrod AEW.3
- De-Havilland Nimrod AEW.3J
- De-Havilland Nimrod AEW.5
- De-Havilland Nimrod AEW.5J
