// TORNADO TRIBUTEn April 14, 2018, four Tornado
GR4s slipped into Syrian airspace
under the cloak of darkness to
deliver a lethal blow to Syrian regime
chemical weapons storage facilities at Him
Sinshar, west of Homs, in response to the
alleged use of such deadly toxins against
civilians in Douma the week before.
Each dispatching a pair of bunker-
busting Storm Shadows, the RAF Tornados
were taking part in a co-ordinated
mission that once again proved the
value of these combat veterans.
It was the latest phase of a complex and
constantly evolving mission in the Middle
East. When the US began air strikes against
so-called Islamic State (IS) in Iraq on August
8, 2014, it was to signal the start of this
enduring commitment for the Tornado GR
Force (TGRF), which is likely to be its last.
The size of the Tornado Force in 2014
was sufficient to enable the mission under
Operation Shader to run concurrently with
the Afghanistan commitment, but the end
of fixed-wing operations under Herrick
in November that year gave the Tornado
squadrons some much needed breathing
space. The rapidly contracting TGRF was well
aware of its March 31, 2019 out-of-service date
amid an unrelenting deployment schedule.
Six jets from No II(AC) SquadronO
It’s fitting that the Tornado GR4 will likely remain on operations
until its retirement. Operation Shader over Iraq and Syria has
bookended its impressive combat record, and it will continue
as the RAF looks towards the type’s impending withdrawal from
service, as Jamie Hunter explains.66 http://www.airforcesmonthly.comTornado
Tribute
Last blast
Above: Carrying a live Paveway IV, a GR4 crew takes on fuel from a Voyager during an Operation Shader
mission. Crown Copyright/Cpl Graham Taylor Below: Offi cer Commanding No IX(B) Squadron taxies out for a
training mission from RAF Marham in April 2018. Jamie Hunter