The Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant (ADV) was a long-range, twin-engine
interceptor
Interceptor may refer to:
Vehicles
* Interceptor aircraft (or simply "interceptor"), a type of point defense fighter aircraft designed specifically to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft
* Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, a police car
* ...
version of the
swing-wing
A variable-sweep wing, colloquially known as a "swing wing", is an airplane wing, or set of wings, that may be swept back and then returned to its original straight position during flight. It allows the aircraft's shape to be modified in fli ...
Panavia Tornado
The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS (inter ...
. The aircraft's first flight was on 27 October 1979, and it entered service with the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
(RAF) in 1986. It was also operated by the
Italian Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 28 March ...
(AMI) and the
Royal Saudi Air Force
The Royal Saudi Air Force ( ar, الْقُوَّاتُ الْجَوِّيَّةُ الْمَلَكِيَّةْ ٱلسُّعُوْدِيَّة, Al-Quwwat Al-Jawiyah Al-Malakiyah as-Su’udiyah) (RSAF) is the aviation branch of the Saudi Arabia ...
(RSAF).
The Tornado ADV was originally designed to intercept
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
bomber
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...
s as they were traversing across the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
with the aim of preventing a successful air-launched nuclear attack against the United Kingdom. In this capacity, it was equipped with a powerful
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
and
beyond-visual-range missile
A beyond-visual-range missile (BVR) is an air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) that is capable of engaging at ranges of or beyond. This range has been achieved using dual pulse rocket motors or booster rocket motor and ramjet sustainer motor.
In additi ...
s; however, initial aircraft produced to the F2 standard lacked radars due to development issues. The F3 standard was the definitive variant used by the RAF, the RSAF and the AMI (which leased RAF aircraft).
During its service life, the Tornado ADV received several upgrade programmes which enhanced its aerial capabilities and enabled it to perform the
Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) mission in addition to its interceptor duties. Ultimately, both the RAF and RSAF retired their Tornado ADV fleets; the type has been replaced in both services by the
Eurofighter Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...
.
Design and development
Origins
The Tornado ADV had its origins in an RAF Air Staff Requirement 395 (or ASR.395), which called for a long-range interceptor to replace the
English Electric Lightning F6 and
McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR2.
The requirement for a modern interceptor was driven by the threat posed by the large Soviet long-range bomber fleet, in particular the supersonic
Tupolev Tu-22M
The Tupolev Tu-22M (russian: Туполев Ту-22М; NATO reporting name: Backfire) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s. According to some ...
.
From the beginning of the Tornado IDS (
interdictor
An interdictor is a type of attack aircraft that operates far behind enemy lines, with the express intent of air interdiction of the enemy's military targets, most notably those involved in logistics. Interdiction prevents or delays enemy f ...
/
strike
Strike may refer to:
People
* Strike (surname)
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
*Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
) development in 1968, the possibility of a variant dedicated to air defence had been quietly considered; several American aircraft had been evaluated, but found to be unsuitable. However, the concept proved unattractive to the other European partners on the Tornado project, thus the UK elected to proceed in its development alone. On 4 March 1976, the development of the Tornado ADV was approved and it was announced that 165 of the 385 Tornados that were on order for the RAF would be of the air defence variant.
[Leek 2015, p. 23][
]
In 1976, The British Aircraft Corporation was contracted to provide three prototype aircraft. The first prototype was rolled out at Warton on 9 August 1979, before making its maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...
on 27 October 1979 with David Eagles
Lieutenant Commander John David Eagles AFC FRAeS (born 1935) is a British former test pilot and former Fleet Air Arm aviator.
Early life
Dave Eagles was born in Brighouse in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1935, now in Kirklees. He attended Mi ...
.[ The second and third development aircraft made their first flights on 18 July and 18 November 1980, respectively.][ During the flight testing, the ADV demonstrated noticeably superior supersonic acceleration to the IDS, even while carrying a full weapons loadout.][Eagles 1991, p. 91.] The testing of the prototypes was greatly aided by the use of real-time
Real-time or real time describes various operations in computing or other processes that must guarantee response times within a specified time (deadline), usually a relatively short time. A real-time process is generally one that happens in defined ...
telemetry
Telemetry is the in situ data collection, collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic data transmission, transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Gr ...
being broadcast back to ground technicians from aircraft in flight. The third prototype was primarily used in the testing of the new Marconi/Ferranti AI.24 Foxhunter airborne interception radar.
The Tornado ADV's differences compared to the IDS include a greater sweep angle on the wing gloves, and the deletion of their kruger flaps, deletion of the port cannon, a longer radome for the Foxhunter radar, slightly longer airbrakes and a fuselage stretch of 1.36 m to allow the carriage of four Skyflash
The Skyflash, or Sky Flash in marketing material, was a medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile derived from the US AIM-7 Sparrow missile and carried by Royal Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms and Tornado F3s, Italian ...
semi-active radar homing missiles.[Laming 1996, p. 97.] The stretch was applied to the Tornado front fuselage being built by the UK, with a plug being added immediately behind the cockpit, which had the unexpected benefit of reducing drag and making space for an additional fuel tank (Tank '0') carrying of fuel.[Evans 1999, p.121] The artificial feel of the flight controls was lighter on the ADV than on the IDS.[Eagles 1991, p. 89.] Various internal avionics, pilot displays, guidance systems and software also differed.
The Tornado F2 was the initial version of the Tornado ADV in Royal Air Force service, with 18 being built. It first flew on 5 March 1984 and was powered by the same RB.199 Mk 103 engines used by the IDS Tornado, capable of four wing sweep settings, and fitted to carry only two underwing Sidewinder missiles. Serious problems were discovered with the Foxhunter radar, which meant that the aircraft were delivered with concrete and lead ballast installed in the nose as an interim measure until they could be fitted with the radar sets. The ballast was nicknamed ''Blue Circle'', which was a play on the Rainbow Codes
The Rainbow Codes were a series of code names used to disguise the nature of various British military research projects. They were mainly used by the Ministry of Supply from the end of the Second World War until 1958, when the ministry was bro ...
nomenclature, and a British brand of cement called Blue Circle
Blue Circle Industries was a British public company manufacturing cement. It was founded in 1900 as the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd through the fusion of 24 cement works, mostly around on the Thames and Medway estuaries, toget ...
.
Tornado F3
Production of the Tornado ADV was performed between 1980 and 1993. The Tornado F3 made its maiden flight on 20 November 1985.[ Enhancements over the F2 included RB.199 Mk 104 engines, which were optimised for high-altitude use with longer afterburner nozzles, the capacity to carry four underwing Sidewinder missiles rather than two, and automatic wing sweep control.][Evans 1999, p. 126] The F3's primary armament when it entered into service was the short-range Sidewinder and the medium-range Skyflash
The Skyflash, or Sky Flash in marketing material, was a medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile derived from the US AIM-7 Sparrow missile and carried by Royal Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms and Tornado F3s, Italian ...
missiles, a British design based on the American AIM-7 Sparrow.[Butler 2001, p. 101.] The F.3 (originally F.Mk3) became operational in 1989, with an automatic maneuver device system incorporated, enabling the flight control computer to automatically adjust the sweeping of the wing to obtain the optimum flight characteristics. This was similar in concept to the automatic sweeping wing (ASW) capability of F-14
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program after the ...
, a capability that greatly enhanced maneuverability but did not exist on any previous Tornado IDS and ADV models.
Capability Sustainment Programme
In order to maintain the Tornado F3 as an effective platform up to its planned out-of-service date of 2010, the Ministry of Defence initiated the Capability Sustainment Programme (CSP). This £125 million project, announced on 5 March 1996, involved many elements, including the integration of ASRAAM
The Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM), also known by its United States designation AIM-132, is an imaging infrared homing (heat seeking) air-to-air missile, produced by MBDA UK, that is designed for close-range combat. It is in ...
and AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, and radar upgrades to improve multi-target engagement. Additionally, pilot and navigator displays would be improved, along with the replacement of several of the onboard computer systems.[Nicholas 2000, pp. 29–30.] The CSP saw the removal of a non-standard state of aircraft; various upgrades, in particular to the Foxhunter radar, had led to a situation described as "fleets within fleets". The Foxhunter radar caused difficulties in the upgrade programme, in particular the integration of the new AMRAAM missile.
Cost saving decisions meant that the CSP did not fully exploit the capabilities of the AMRAAM or ASRAAM missiles. AMRAAM uses two mid-course updates after launch to refresh target information prior to its own seeker taking over; however, the CSP did not include the necessary datalink to provide this capability. The ASRAAM was not fully integrated, which prevented the full off-boresight capability of the missile being used.[Nicholas 2000, p. 30.] However, in June 2001, the MoD signed a contract for a further upgrade to allow for these midcourse updates. This upgrade, together with updated IFF
In logic and related fields such as mathematics and philosophy, "if and only if" (shortened as "iff") is a biconditional logical connective between statements, where either both statements are true or both are false.
The connective is bicon ...
, was known as the AMRAAM Optimisation Programme (AOP) and was incorporated in the remaining F3 fleet between December 2003 and September 2006.
A further upgrade, disclosed in early 2003, was the integration of the ALARM
An alarm device is a mechanism that gives an audible, visual or other kind of alarm signal to alert someone to a problem or condition that requires urgent attention.
Alphabetical musical instruments
Etymology
The word ''alarm'' comes from t ...
anti-radiation missile to enable several Tornado ADVs to conduct Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) missions. The F3's existing radar warning receivers formed the basis of an Emission Location System (ELS), which can be employed to detect and locate operational radar systems in the aircraft's vicinity, while two ALARMs could be carried on pylons under the fuselage. Twelve aircraft, sometimes known by the unofficial designation Tornado EF3, were converted under a Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) as part of the build up to Operation Telic, the 2003 invasion of Iraq and operated by No. 11 Squadron RAF.
Performance
According to aviation historian Michael Leek, from the onset of the type's development, the Tornado ADV encountered "...controversy and many questions over the ADV's performance and suitability - controversy which stayed with the aircraft for much of its service life".
The Tornado ADV was designed to serve in the role of an interceptor
Interceptor may refer to:
Vehicles
* Interceptor aircraft (or simply "interceptor"), a type of point defense fighter aircraft designed specifically to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft
* Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, a police car
* ...
against the threat of Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
bombers, rather than as an air superiority fighter
An air superiority fighter (or air-superiority fighter) is a fighter aircraft designed to seize control of enemy airspace by establishing tactical dominance (air superiority) over the opposing air force. Air-superiority fighters are primarily t ...
for engaging in prolonged air combat manoeuvering
Air combat manoeuvring (also known as ACM or dogfighting) is the tactical art of moving, turning and/or situating one's fighter aircraft in order to attain a position from which an attack can be made on another aircraft. Air combat manoeuvres ...
with various types of enemy fighters.[Eagles 1991, p. 88.] In order to perform its anti-bomber primary mission, it was equipped with long range beyond visual range
A beyond-visual-range missile (BVR) is an air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) that is capable of engaging at ranges of or beyond. This range has been achieved using dual pulse rocket motors or booster rocket motor and ramjet sustainer motor.
In additio ...
missiles such as the Skyflash
The Skyflash, or Sky Flash in marketing material, was a medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile derived from the US AIM-7 Sparrow missile and carried by Royal Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms and Tornado F3s, Italian ...
, and later the AMRAAM
The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM (pronounced ), is an American beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. It is 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter, and employs ...
; the aircraft also had the ability to stay aloft for long periods and remain over the North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
and Northern Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
in order to maintain its airborne patrol.
The capability of its weapon systems was a dramatic improvement over its predecessors. Compared with the Phantom, the Tornado had greater acceleration, twice the range and loiter time, and was more capable of operating from short 'austere' air strips. Older aircraft were reliant on a network of ground-based radar stations, but the F3's Foxhunter radar was capable of performing much longer and wider scans of surrounding airspace; the Tornado could track and engage targets at far greater distances. The Tornado also had the ability to share its radar and targeting information with other aircraft via JTIDS/Link 16 and was one of the first aircraft to have a digital data bus, used for the transmission of data between onboard computers.
Operational history
Royal Air Force
On 5 November 1984, the first interim Tornado F2 was first delivered to the RAF, and its short career came to an end shortly following the improved Tornado F3 entered service. These aircraft were used primarily for training by No. 229 Operational Conversion Unit RAF
Conversion units and operational conversion units (OCUs) were training units of the Royal Air Force (RAF).
History
With the introduction of new heavy bombers, the four-engined Short Stirling, Avro Lancaster, and Handley Page Halifax, the Roya ...
until they were placed in storage. The F2s were intended to be updated to Tornado F2A standard (similar to the F3 but without the engine upgrade) but only one F2A, the Tornado Integrated Avionics Research Aircraft (TIARA) was converted, having been customised by QinetiQ for unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
(UAV) trials at MoD Boscombe Down
MoD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the southeastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the De ...
.
In November 1987, No. 29 (Fighter) Squadron became the first RAF squadron to be declared operational with the Tornado ADV.
The Tornado F3 made its combat debut in the 1991 Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
with 18 aircraft deployed to Dhahran
Dhahran ( ar, الظهران, ''Al-Dhahran'') is a city located in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. With a total population of 240,742 as of 2021, it is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Together with the nearby citi ...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
. The aircraft deployed to the region were later upgraded in a crash program with improved radar and engines, better defensive countermeasures and several adaptions to the weapons systems to improve combat performance in the Iraqi theatre; however, they still lacked modern IFF
In logic and related fields such as mathematics and philosophy, "if and only if" (shortened as "iff") is a biconditional logical connective between statements, where either both statements are true or both are false.
The connective is bicon ...
and secure communications equipment. They therefore flew patrols further back from Iraqi airspace where encounters with enemy aircraft were less likely, and did not get the opportunity to engage any enemy aircraft.[Lake 1997, p. 126.] From August 1990 to March 1991, the RAF's F3 detachment flew more than 2000 combat air patrol
Combat air patrol (CAP) is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft. A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, ...
sorties.
Following the Gulf War, the RAF maintained a small squadron of F3s in Saudi Arabia to continue routine patrols of Iraqi no-fly zone
A no-fly zone, also known as a no-flight zone (NFZ), or air exclusion zone (AEZ), is a territory or area established by a military power over which certain aircraft are not permitted to fly. Such zones are usually set up in an enemy power's te ...
s. The Tornado F3 saw further combat service, from 1993 to 1995 as escort fighters in Operation Deny Flight
Operation Deny Flight was a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operation that began on 12 April 1993 as the enforcement of a United Nations (UN) no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The United Nations and NATO later expanded the mis ...
over Bosnia, and in 1999 flying combat air patrols during Operation Allied Force
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...
in Yugoslavia; during these extended overseas deployments, the F3 proved troublesome to maintain at operational readiness when based outside the UK. Following lengthy delays in the Eurofighter programme to develop a successor to the F3 interceptor, in the late 1990s the RAF initiated a major upgrade program to enhance the aircraft's capabilities, primarily by integrating several newer air-to-air missiles.
In 2003, the Tornado F3 was one of the assets used in Operation Telic, Britain's contribution to the Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
. An expeditionary force composed of No. 43 (F) and No. 111 (F) Squadrons (known as Leuchars Fighter Wing), and No. 11 Squadron RAF and No. 25 Squadron RAF (known as Leeming Fighter Wing), was deployed to the region to carry out offensive counter-air operations. The Tornado F3's of Leuchars Fighter Wing operated all over Iraq, including missions over and around Baghdad, throughout Operation Telic. Due to a lack of airborne threats materialising in the theatre, the F3s were withdrawn and returned to European bases that same year.
As part of the ''Delivering Security in a Changing World
The 2003 Defence White Paper, titled ''Delivering Security in a Changing World'', set out the future structure of the British military, and was preceded by the 1998 Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and the 2002 SDR New Chapter, which responded to t ...
'' White Paper, on 21 July 2004, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon
Geoffrey William Hoon (born 6 December 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire from 1992 to 2010. He is a former Defence Secretary, Transport Secretary, Leader of ...
detailed plans to reduce the number of Tornado F3 squadrons by one to three squadrons. This represented 16 aircraft and was the first stage in the transition to the F3's replacement, the Eurofighter Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...
, which entered operational service with the RAF in 2005. In April 2009, it was announced that the Tornado F3 force would be reduced to one squadron of 12 aircraft in September 2009. The last operational Tornado F3s in RAF service were retired when No. 111 (F) Squadron, located at RAF Leuchars, was disbanded on 22 March 2011.[Hoyle, Craig]
"UK retires last Tornado F3 fighters."
''Flight International,'' 22 March 2011.
In addition to the RAF's Tornado F3s, in 2007, QinetiQ leased four Tornado F3s from the MOD for the purpose of conducting weapons testing activities. QinetiQ's force of four F3s remained flying beyond the RAF's retirement of the type, in their latter service they were being used for aerial testing of the new MBDA Meteor
The Meteor is a European active radar guided beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) developed and manufactured by MBDA. It offers a multi-shot capability (multiple launches against multiple targets), and has the ability to engage high ...
air-to-air missile, and thus were the only flying examples in the UK for a time. Their final mission was flown on 20 June 2012, and the last three flown to RAF Leeming
Royal Air Force Leeming or RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 1991, it ...
for scrapping on 9 July 2012.
Italian Air Force
In the early 1990s, the Italian Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 28 March ...
(''Aeronautica Militare Italiana'', or AMI) identified a requirement for a fighter to boost its air defence capabilities pending introduction of the Eurofighter Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...
, expected around 2000. These fighters were to operate alongside the service's obsolescent F-104ASA Starfighters. The Tornado ADV was selected from, amongst others, the F-16. On 17 November 1993, Italy signed an agreement with the RAF to lease 24 Tornado F3s from the RAF for a period of ten years. The lease included 96 Sky Flash TEMP missiles (a lower standard than the version in RAF service), training, logistical supply for ADV-specific equipment and access to the RAF facility at Saint Athan.
First training of AMI pilots began in March 1995 at RAF Coningsby
Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and ho ...
while technicians gained experience at RAF Cottesmore
Royal Air Force Station Cottesmore or more simply RAF Cottesmore is a former Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, situated between Cottesmore and Market Overton. On 15 December 2009, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth announced that the ...
and Coningsby. The first aircraft was accepted on 5 July 1995 and flown to its Italian base the same day. Delivery of the first batch was completed by 1996; these aircraft were deployed at Gioia del Colle in Southern Italy. The second batch was delivered between February and July 1997, these aircraft were of a slightly higher specification.[ In early 1997, the AMI cancelled a series of scheduled upgrades to its Tornado fleet, stating that it was placing priority for funding on the developing Eurofighter instead.
The Tornado proved unreliable in Italian service, achieving serviceability rates of 50% or less. ''Air Forces Monthly this'' ascribed to the AMI underestimating the different support requirements versus the Tornado IDS, a lack of spare engines (which were not included in the lease agreement), and a lack of equipment.]
In 2000, with major delays hampering the Eurofighter, the AMI began a search for another interim fighter. While the Tornado itself was considered, any long term extension to the lease would have involved upgrade to RAF CSP standard and structural modifications to extend the airframes' service life and thus was not considered cost effective. In February 2001, Italy announced its arrangement to lease 35 F-16s from the United States. The AMI returned its Tornados to the RAF, with the final aircraft arriving at RAF Saint Athan on 7 December 2004. One aircraft was retained by the Italian Air Force for static display purposes.
Royal Saudi Air Force
On 26 September 1985, Saudi Arabia and Britain signed a memorandum of understanding towards what would be widely known as the Al-Yamamah arms deal, for the provision of various military equipment and services. The September 1985 deal involved the purchase of a large number of Tornado aircraft; including the Tornado ADV variant, along with armaments, radar equipment, spare parts and a pilot-training programme for the inbound fleet, in exchange for providing 600,000 barrels of oil per day over the course of several years.[Cordesman 2003, pp. 217–218.] The first Al-Yamamah agreement ordered 24 Tornado ADVs and 48 Tornado IDSs. The RSAF received its first ADV on 9 February 1989.[
U.S. analyst ]Anthony Cordesman
Anthony H. Cordesman (born August 1, 1939) holds the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and is a national security analyst on a number of global conflicts.
Career
He earned his B.A. ...
commented that "the Tornado ADV did not prove to be a successful air defence fighter... The RSAF's experience with the first eight Tornado ADVs was negative". In 1990, the RSAF signed several agreements with the US to later receive deliveries of the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle, and thus had a reduced need for the Tornado ADV; Saudi Arabia chose to convert further orders for up to 60 Tornado ADVs to the IDS strike variant instead.
In 1991, during Operation Desert Storm
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
over neighbouring Iraq, RSAF Tornado ADVs flew 451 air-defence sorties, operating in conjunction with RSAF F-15s. In 2006, it was announced that, in addition to Saudi Arabia's contract to purchase the Eurofighter Typhoon, both the Tornado IDS and ADV fleets would undergo a £2.5 billion program of upgrades, allowing them to remain in service to at least 2020. The Eurofighter has now replaced the Tornado ADV in the air-defence role.
Variants
;Tornado F2 : Two-seat all-weather interceptor fighter aircraft, powered by two Turbo-Union RB.199-34R Mk 103 turbofan engines. Initial production version, 18 built.
;Tornado F2A : F2 upgrade to F3 standard, but retaining F2 engines, one converted.
;Tornado F3 : Improved version, powered by two Turbo-Union RB.199-34R Mk 104 engines, with automatic wing sweep control, increased AIM-9 carriage and avionics upgrades. 171 built for the Royal Air force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
(RAF) and Royal Saudi Air Force
The Royal Saudi Air Force ( ar, الْقُوَّاتُ الْجَوِّيَّةُ الْمَلَكِيَّةْ ٱلسُّعُوْدِيَّة, Al-Quwwat Al-Jawiyah Al-Malakiyah as-Su’udiyah) (RSAF) is the aviation branch of the Saudi Arabia ...
(RSAF).
;Tornado EF3 : Unofficial designation for F3 aircraft modified with ALARM missile capability.[
]
Operators
;
* Italian Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 28 March ...
(1995–2004)
** Gioia del Colle Air Base, Bari
***12° Gruppo (1995–2004)
***21° Gruppo (1999–2001)
**Cameri Air Base
Cameri is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northeast of Novara.
Cameri borders the following municipalities: Bellinzago Novarese, Caltignaga, Casta ...
, Novara
Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It i ...
***21° Gruppo (1997–1999)
;
* Royal Saudi Air Force
The Royal Saudi Air Force ( ar, الْقُوَّاتُ الْجَوِّيَّةُ الْمَلَكِيَّةْ ٱلسُّعُوْدِيَّة, Al-Quwwat Al-Jawiyah Al-Malakiyah as-Su’udiyah) (RSAF) is the aviation branch of the Saudi Arabia ...
(1989–2006)
**Dhahran Airfield
King Abdulaziz Air Base () , also known as Dhahran Air Base and formerly Dhahran International Airport, Dhahran Airport and Dhahran Airfield, is a Royal Saudi Air Force base located in Dhahran in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Located west ...
, Eastern Province
***29th Squadron (1989–2006)
***34th Squadron (1989–1992)
;
* Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
(1979–2011)
**RAF Coningsby
Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and ho ...
, Lincolnshire, England
*** No. V (AC) Squadron (1987–2003)
*** No. 29 (F) Squadron (1987–1998)
*** F3 Operational Evaluation Unit (F3 OEU) (1987–2004)
*** Fast Jet & Weapons Operational Evaluation Unit (FJWOEU) (2004–2006)
*** No. 41 (R) Squadron (2006–2011)
*** No. 65 (R) Squadron (Shadow identity of No. 229 OCU) (1986–1992)
*** No. 56 (R) Squadron (1992–2003)
***No. 229 Operational Conversion Unit RAF
Conversion units and operational conversion units (OCUs) were training units of the Royal Air Force (RAF).
History
With the introduction of new heavy bombers, the four-engined Short Stirling, Avro Lancaster, and Handley Page Halifax, the Roya ...
(1984–2003)
**RAF Leeming
Royal Air Force Leeming or RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 1991, it ...
, North Yorkshire, England
*** No. XI (F) Squadron (1988–2005)
*** No. 23 (F) Squadron (1988–1994)
*** No. XXV (F) Squadron (1989–2008)
** RAF Leuchars, Fife, Scotland
*** No. 43 (F) Squadron (1989–2009)
*** No. 56 (R) Squadron (2003–2008)
*** No. 111 (F) Squadron (1990–2011)
**RAF Mount Pleasant
RAF Mount Pleasant (also known as Mount Pleasant Airport, Mount Pleasant Complex or MPA) is a Royal Air Force station in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The airfield goes by the motto of "Defend the right" (while the m ...
, East Falkland, Falkland Islands
*** No. 1435 Flight (1992–2009)
Specifications (Tornado F3)
See also
References
Citations
Bibliography
*''Aeroguide 21: Panavia Tornado F Mk 2/Mk 3.'' Ongar, UK: Linewrights Ltd. 1988. .
*Butler, Tony. ''British Secret Projects: Jet Fighters Since 1950''. Hinckley, UK: Midland Publishing, 2001. .
*Cordesman, Anthony. ''Saudi Arabia Enters the Twenty-first Century: The military and international security dimensions''. Greenwood Publishing, 2003. .
*
*Eagles, J.D
"Preparing a Bomber Destroyer: The Panavia Tornado ADV."
''Putnam Aeronautical Review'' (Naval Institute Press), Volume 2, 1991, pp. 88–93.
*Evans, Andy. ''Panavia Tornado''. Wiltshire UK: Crowood Press, 1999. .
* Hunter, Jamie. "Panavia Tornado: Rebirth of the MRCA". ''International Air Power Review'', Volume 13, 2004. Norwalk, Connecticutt, US: Airtime Publishing. pp. 46–79. . .
*Jackson, Robert. ''Air War at Night''. Charlottesville, Virginia: Howell Press Inc. 2000. (see pp. 139–144).
*Lake, Jon. "Panavia Tornado Variant Briefing:Part Two". ''World Air Power Journal'', Volume 31, Winter 1997. London: Aerospace Publishing. pp. 114–131. . .
*Lambert, Mark. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1993–94''. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Data Division, 1993. .
*Laming, Tim. ''Fight's On: Airborne with the Aggressors.'' Minneapolis, Minnesota: Zenith Imprint, 1996. .
*Leek, Michael. ''The Panavia Tornado: A Photographic Tribute''. Pen and Sword, 2015. .
*Nicholas, Jack C. "Sustaining the F.3". '' Air International'', July 2000, Vol 59 No 1. pp. 28–31. .
*Mason, Francis K. ''The British Fighter since 1912''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1992. .
*Moir, Ian and Allan Seabridge. ''Aircraft Systems: Mechanical, Electrical and Avionics Subsystems Integration.'' New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2011. .
*Smith, Dan. ''The defence of the realm in the 1980s''. Taylor & Francis, 1980. .
*Szejnmann, Claus-Christian W. ''Rethinking History, Dictatorship and War: New Approaches and Interpretations''. Continuum International, 2010. .
*
External links
Panavia website
at FAS.org
Tornado ADV
at Aerospaceweb.org
Unofficial Panavia Tornado site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panavia Tornado Adv
1970s British fighter aircraft
1970s international fighter aircraft
Variable-sweep-wing aircraft
Twinjets
Panavia Tornado
Aircraft first flown in 1979
Fourth-generation jet fighter