The first Nimrod MRA4 PA04 aircraft to be accepted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) has successfully completed its trial flight.

The MRA4 took off from the BAE Systems Lancashire test air field at Warton, Lancashire, to complete the 1,600 mile flight.

The Nimrod aircraft covered Guernsey’s Battle of Britain air display, the Jersey International Air Show, flight trials at the Aberporth Bay test range in Wales and conducted a flypast at RAF Kinloss.

The MRA4 can use its radar to scan an area the size of the UK in ten seconds, detect submerged submarines and conduct long range search and rescue missions.

The aircraft is equipped with 90 antennae and sensors and contains six million lines of software code.