§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Defence what will be the greatest age of the Shackleton aircraft by the time they are replaced by the Nimrod AEW aircraft.
§ Mr. MulleyThe Shackleton originally entered RAF service as a maritime reconnaissance aircraft in 1951. The AEW version was extensively refurbished before taking up the AEW rôle in 1972 and has since then been subject to the routine processes of repair and modification. As a result, little of the original aircraft now remains unaltered. With certain further modifications they will be140W capable of remaining in service until replaced by Nimrod AEW aircraft in the early 1980s