combat aircraft

dispensers, Sea Eagle anti-ship missiles

and ALARM anti-radar missiles. The

supply of ALARM was initially denied, and

pictures of an RSAF aircraft carrying the

weapon were explained away by saying

that it was simply a convenient platform

with which to carry the missile to Warton

for testing! Skylash air-to-air missiles

were supplied for the F3s. All of this was

to be paid for by the delivery of up to

600,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

The formal contract was signed by

Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the then

Saudi Minister of Defense and Aviation,

and Sir Colin Chandler, head of the

Defence Export Services Organisation

(DESO), in February 1986.

By the time the contract was signed,

the irst RSAF Tornado — one of 18

diverted from RAF Batch 5 orders — had

already lown, making its maiden light on

February 7. The initial four Saudi Tornados

left Warton for Dhahran on March 26,

1986, where they joined the 7th Squadron

(a former F-5E unit). It functioned as the

RSAF Tornado operational conversion

unit, and its initial allocation of 24 aircraft

included 10 twin-stickers.

The RSAF had not operated a multi-

crew combat aircraft since the A-26

Invader. To train its Tornado navigator

students, the air arm took delivery of a

pair of BAe Jetstream 31M aircraft, which

equipped the 35th Squadron from 1986.

Some 24 Tornados had been delivered

to the 7th Squadron by the time

Operation ‘Desert Storm’ began on

January 17, 1991, but two had already

been lost before the war. Three more

arrived for the 66th Squadron, which

was formed at Khamis Mushait during

the summer of 1990. This unit’s initial

two aircraft left Warton on July 31 and

one more followed in August, by which

time Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait had set the

region on the path to war. Two further

aircraft followed on January 18, by which

time the 7th Squadron had also moved

to Khamis and temporarily absorbed the

66th Squadron, having 27 jets on charge.

The RSAF Tornados lew their debut

combat mission on the irst night of

‘Desert Storm’, attacking H-3 air base

following a strike against the same target

by six US Air Force F-111Es from Taif.

During the war, the Saudi Tornados used

JP233, slick and retarded 1,000lb and

2,000lb bombs. They tended to refuel

from RSAF KC-130H tankers, whose slow

speed made it more diicult to integrate

the RSAF Tornados into the overall

allied efort.

By the time the war ended, the 7th

Squadron had lown 590 interdiction

sorties, while the Tornado ADVs of the

29th Squadron completed 451 sorties

from their base at Tabuk near the

Jordanian border. A single Saudi Tornado

Above: Two 7th

Squadron IDS

shortly after

delivery to the

RSAF training

unit at Dhahran.

Panavia via

Luigino Caliaro

Below: A 66th

Squadron IDS at

Dhahran around

1991, armed

with live 1,000lb

bombs. Ian Black

TYPE REPORT // TORNADO IDS

30 December 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net