86 The Aircraft of British Aerospace and BAE SYSTEMS 1977 - 2017
slide backwards out of the aircraft.
The MRCA was appreciably smaller
than TSR2 because of the adoption of
efficient VG wings and state-of-the-art
engines which were light, compact and
powerful and had excellent fuel
consumption characteristics. It benefited
from compactness but because of radar
dish size the nose cone housing the radar
could not be significantly scaled down
and it was large in proportion to the
remainder of the aircraft. An advantage to
the crew who benefited from
ergonomically good cockpit
characteristics.
The MRCA is controlled by a triplex
fly-by-wire system with a fully-powered
rudder and all-flying elevons. The elevons
operate in harmony for longitudinal
control and differentially for roll control,
augmented in the latter task by spoilers
on the upper wing which operate
together as lift dumpers after touchdown.
In addition, large air brakes are positioned
either side of the fin.
The wing has full length leading-edge
slats, double-slotted flaps, spoilers and
Krueger flaps under the leading edges of
the fixed inboard wing. The wing is swept
fully forward for take-off and landing
providing the best low speed handling;
mid-sweep offers best agility while
fully-swept is the configuration for high
speeds. The undercarriage has a single
wheel main gear and a twin wheel nose
assembly each of which retracts forwards
into the airframe.Go ahead
British, West German and Italian
Governments agreed in May 1969 to a
joint development and production
programme for the MRCA. Finally, Britainwas to build a VG aircraft – or at least part
of one. Even though final assembly would
take place in each of the participating
countries, BAC was to build all the noses
and tails, Germany each centre-section
and Italy the wings. English was chosen as
the project language.The Turbo-Union RB199
A tripartite engine company, Turbo-Union
was formed on 1 June 1969 with its
headquarters in Bristol after Rolls-Royce
won this key contract to supply its newRB199 engine for MRCA and not the
competing Pratt & Whitney TF-30. The
disadvantage was that the RB199 only
existed on paper while the TF-30 was
already in service. The Germans were
favourably inclined to an American bid, so
to ensure it wouldn’t be outdone,
Rolls-Royce made a keenly competitive
offer neither Germany nor Italy could
refuse. Rolls-Royce and Motoren–
Turbinen-Union (MTU) each had a 40%
holding in Turbo-Union and Fiat a
minority 20% share. Tornado P08
XX950 at the
Farnborough Air
Show in 1976 with
an array of the
weapons the
Interdictor/Strike
variant could carry.
(BAE Systems)German, British and Italian Tornados marking the 35th
anniversary of the Tri-National Tornado Training
Establishment (TTTE) at the RIAT event in 2015. (Author)