The Aircraft of British Aerospace and BAE SYSTEMS 1977 - 2017 93THE MULTI-ROLE TORNADO
reductions MFG1 was disbanded in 1993
and MFG2 also stood down in 2005.
Fifty-one of the Marine’s Tornados then
became part of the Luftwaffe as a
dedicated Reconnaissance Wing and the
Marine’s anti-shipping strike role was
passed to the Luftwaffe.
Initially when the Tornados entered
service they formed five Luftwaffe strike
wings. In August 1995 these Tornados
had the distinction of flying the
Luftwaffe’s first offensive action since the
end of World War Two when its ECR
Tornados destroyed anti-aircraft radars
with HARM missiles during the Balkan
Conflict. Tornados have continued to be
deployed in offensive operations and
from 2007 to 2010 six aircraft operated in
Afghanistan in support of the Allied
Mission.
By 2010 the number of German
Tornados has been reduced to just
eighty-five ECR/RECCE variants as the IDS
aircraft are not being upgraded and are
gradually being phased out with the
delivery of the Eurofighter Typhoons. The
eighty-five aircraft remaining in service
have received life extension and
comprehensive modernisation
programmes, weapons improvements
plus a software update. The German
Tornados planned out-of-service date is
2025.
Italian Air Force
The Aeronautica Militare Italiana received
99 newly built Tornado IDSs plus one
refurbished pre-production aircraft, P.14.
The first Italian Tornado registered
MM50000 flew in September 1981 and
deliveries to the Air Force began in May of
the following year and were completed in
- Italian Tornados initially served in
four squadrons and had nuclear capability
under ultimate US control within NATO.
Following delivery, twelve were rebuilt as
Electronic Combat and Reconnaissance
(ECR) similar to the German versions.
Italian Tornados have been employed in
the 1991 Gulf War, over Bosnia, Kosovo
and currently in Afghanistan.
Owing to the late delivery of
Eurofighter in the early 1990s the Italian
Air Force had to find a temporary and
partial replacement for its ageing
Lockheed F-104s. While 60 of the F-104s
could be upgraded this was well below
the number of air defence aircraft
required so from 1995 until 2004 the
Italian Air Force leased air defence variantTornado F3s from RAF. This 24-strong fleet
was made up of 20 F3s plus four F3Ts
twin-stick trainers.The importance of Tornado to
BAe/BAE SYSTEMS
Nearly 1,000 Panavia Tornado aircraft were
produced and delivered to the air forces
of Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom
and Saudi-Arabia. The last aircraft was
delivered to the RSAF in March 1998,
making the Tornado the largest European
military aircraft co-operative programme
at that time.
Tornado enabled BAC/BAe to finally
utilise its variable-geometry experience
and to produce a fine aircraft in
collaboration with others. The threat of
cancellation so prevalent in British aircraft
projects was diminished by the very
nature of an international collaborative
programme. It has proved to be a fine war
machine as exemplified by the RAF’s
employment of it in eleven offensive
operations from ‘Operation Granby’ in
1990 through to ‘Operation Shader’ in- ■
Data Tornado GR4
Length 54ft 10in
Wingspan 45ft 7½in (extended)
28ft 2½in (fully swept)
Height 18ft 8½in
MTOW 60,000 lb
Max speed M2.2 (high altitude)
M1.1 (low altitude
Range 810 mls (combat)
Crew 2
Powerplant Turbo-Union RB199 mk 103
2 x 17,270 lb with reheat
Armament 1 x 27mm Mauser cannon, Brimstone,
Storm Shadow, Paveway 2-4, ASRAAM
The first
Luftwaffe ASSTA 3.0
(Avionics System
Software Tornado
Ada) production
aircraft 45+57
performed its first
flight at Airbus
Space & Defence’s
Manching site in
February 2012.
(Airbus)On 14 August 2014 Panavia celebrated the
40th anniversary of the Tornado with a
flying display and party in Manching. This
RAF GR4 ZD844 is properly adorned too.
(BAE SYSTEMS)