HS Nimrod MR2 including bonus kit Merlin HC3, BN2 Islander, HS P1186

In early 1960s, the British Air Ministry issued a request for a more modern and powerful naval reconnaissance plane to replace the aging Avro Shackletons which was designed in the World War Two-era. Hawker Siddeley responded with a Nimrod design that the aircraft was modified from the existing de Havilland Comet airliner. In 1964, the contract for two prototypes and 38 production aircrafts was awarded. The first Nimrod prototype made its first flight in 1967, it became the world's first jet-powered maritime patrol aircraft. The production aircraft MR.1 was started immediately. It started to join the Shackletons in 1969. After improvements with electronic suite, provision for in-flight refueling and wingtips ESM pods, the MR.2 entered service in 1975. The upgraded MR.2 extended range enables to monitor maritime areas far into the Western Atlantic. In 1992, the RAF started a MRA.4 program to replace the MR.2 but the aircraft have not yet entered service due to the development delay.