stood down, it left the 7th, 75th and 83rd
Squadrons to ly the upgraded examples.
During February 2013, BAE Systems
also reported that the delivery of Storm
Shadow missiles to the RSAF under
TSP was ‘progressing in line with the
agreed program schedule’, and that inal
deliveries were due by the end of the
year. A follow-on weapons contract was
awarded in March 2013, however, with
deliveries scheduled to begin in 2014.
The situation with Brimstone is less
clear. It seems that TSP integrated the
weapon on the Tornado IDS, and that
the RSAF received an initial Brimstone
capability in 2015. A small number of
missiles were ired in Saudi Arabia for
test and evaluation purposes, but the UK
Ministry of Defence stated in early 2016
that the RSAF had not formally acquired
the weapon.
For low collateral damage, the RSAF
Tornados now use the Raytheon Paveway
IV dual-mode bomb, which can employ
laser or GPS guidance. Initially blocked by
the US, the £150-million RSAF Paveway
IV purchase was inally cleared in 2014,
following a four-year wait.
The inal pair of TSP Phase 1/2
development aircraft returned home
in April 2013 and December 2014. On
August 1, 2013, while announcing its half-
year results, BAE Systems revealed that,
‘discussions have commenced regarding
further capability enhancements
expected to be contracted during the
second half of 2013.’ Indeed, two new
RSAF aircraft arrived at Warton to serve astrials Installation aircraft for TSP Phase 3.
These comprised serials 703 (ZE114) and
760 (ZE119). In fact, TSP Phase 4 is now
under way and is understood to involve
Link-16 connectivity.Now and the future
RSAF Tornados have been kept busy
in operations against so-called Islamic
State (IS) targets in Iraq and Houthi rebel
insurgents in neighboring Yemen since
2009, and especially during the recent
Operations ‘Decisive Storm’ (March
25-April 21, 2015) and ‘Restoring Hope’
(April 21, 2015 to date). Indeed, this
enduring commitment has been a major
focus for the entire RSAF.
Reuters reported that one RSAF
Tornado was lost on January 7, 2018,
while performing a combat mission over
Saada province in northern Yemen. The
two crew members were, reportedly,
safely recovered. Houthi forces claimed
they had shot the Tornado down while
the Saudi state news agency said it had
been lost due to ‘technical reasons’.
With talk of a further 48 Typhoons
for the RSAF, the Tornado’s days are
numbered despite ongoing upgrades
and the release of spares as the RAF GR4s
are retired. The second batch of Saudi
Typhoons is expected to be delivered in
full RAF Project Centurion coniguration
with Storm Shadow, Meteor and
Brimstone plus an E-Scan radar, meaning
they will be ideally placed to directly
replace the last Tornados in the early to
mid-2020s.Above left to right:
The two TSP test
aircraft at Warton
are the only flying
examples that
retain the original
camouflage.
IDS 703 (ZE114)
is carrying
Damocles and a
Paveway IV.
Neil Bates
ZE119 (760) toting
a Damocles pod
on final approach
to Warton during
TSP trials.
Joe CampionTYPE REPORT // TORNADO IDS
34 December 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net