Crowood - Tornado

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P N V

TORN O



n v

~ •• ••

ndy vans

he rowoo ress



cknowledgeDlents

ontentsMy sincere t hanks t o all who aided in the

preparation of t hi s b oo k. [ n p ar ti cu la r I

would l ike to would l ike to single out

Gordon Bartley from BAe f or h i e xc el -

lentsupportand enthu ia m andt o m en-

tion the following in no oruer of prefer

First publ ished in 1999 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury Marlborough

Wiltshire SN82HR

e nc e: Fit Lt M ik e Tomlinson Wg Cdr

Alan Threadgould Fit L t aroline Hogg

CRO RAF Coningsby FIt Lt Maggie

P[easent CR O RAF Leeming RAF

Cottesmor Gary Parsons of f4 Aviation

Shirley Grainger at W.Vinten Paul J

Perron Graham Causer Dave Stock Wg

CdrStuart B[ack F[t Lt Steve Morris Fit

L t Ian Donovan ofNo.617 quadron Sgt

Rick Brewell Dale Donovan RAF trike

Command PR Panavia A via t i on and

John Oliver at Rolls Royce.

Introduction

1 FROM T HE A SHES

THE TORNADO DESCRIBED

3 TORNADO IDS

4 ELECTRONICTORNADOS

5 MARITIME STRIKE

6 TORNADO RECON AISSA CE

7 TORNADO AIR DEFENCE VARIA

© Andy Evans 1999

All rights reserved. 0 part of this publication may be repro-

duced or t ransmit ted i nany form orby any means elect ronicor

mechanical including photocopy recording or any informationstorage and retrieval system without permission in writing from

the publishers.

British LibraryCataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book

is available from the British Library.

ISB 1861262 19

Designed and produced by Focus Publishing

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Bookcraft Bath

Appendix Tornados in Detail

Glos ary

Index



ntrodu tion

H PTER E

Fro l The s

By today s exacting military st andards t he

uccess of the Panavi a T ornado is an

hi toric a c hi e ve m en t , a n d o n e that mustmake this tri-national programme o ne o f

t he great est feats of international military

and political c o- op er at io n o f t he 2 0t h

century. R at her t han being the proverbial

camel otherwise known a a horse put

together by a committee), the Tornado

h as p ro ved i ts el f t o b e a t ru e thorough

bred, able t o del iver as advert ised in all

weathers. The latter is t he cornerst one

o f th e Tornado s performance, as there

are pai nful ly few airc ra f t i n A T O t h at

can functi on by night, by day, i n fog, i n

rain or snow, and moun t real i t ic

offensive operations.

A l t hough m any would argue that the

b e tw ay t oensure youraircraft can still fly

i fyour runways are knocked out is t o h a v e

a t ot al ly V/STOL force, designers and

commanders have, up to now, resisted thisat all costs, as is shown by the size o f t h e

worldwide Harrier force. Future aircraft

wil l be endowed with such items as vec

tored thrust for improved STOL perfor

mance; Tornado was conferred wit h an

excell ent short field ability, by virtue of

the power of its engines, which included

thrust reversers, and the arrangment of its

flaps and slat. It off ers a compromise

bet ween t radi t ional runway and STOL

p er fo r ma nc e, a nd it must also b

remembered that even t he uni que H arri er

requires a take-off run to carry anything

l ike a worthwhile payload.Many avi ati on hi stori ans would doubt

less say that the famous De Havilland

Mosquito was the original Muiti-Rol

Combat Aircraft,but the arrival of the jet

age brought a p le th or a o f n ew a ir cr af t

into the skies. Their designers c lu n g t o

t hei r t radi ti onal one aircraft-one mis

sion t h in k in g , a n d therefore a ir forces

found themseleves with specialized fight

ers, bombers and reconai ssance ::tircraft.

As budgets became tighter, many promis

ing p ro je ct s b eg an to be discarded

through financial or political pressure,

and a n u mb e r o f countries began to seethe sense in committing to bi -nat i onal or

tri-national military projects, or al t erna

t ively were persuaded to buy American .

In Europe the growing ovi et t hreat post

war l ed Brit ai n, G e rm a ny a n d Italy to

agree t o p r od u ce a s in gl e a ir cr af t t yp e

6

that could fly a wide var ie t y o f c o m ba t

missions, and yet still be t ail ored t o m e et

the needs of the individual user nations.So was b o r n t h e M R C A -l at er Tornado

- and a management company, Panavia

Aviation, was created t o oversee the pro

ject which was to be a swing-wing, low

level bol1,btruck , also capable of defence

surpression, stand-off l as er d e ignation,

ant i-shi ppi ng and reconnai ssance tasks,

with further consideration for

a dedicated interceptor variant. Th e

progr:: tmme was a triumph of co-ope

ration, which incredibly faced few hitche

and has produced perhaps the greatestair

craft of i ts t ype i n the world today. This

a u th o r s c o m pu t er spell check has no

knowledge o f th e word P a na v ia , a n d

instead uggests Panacea , which the

T or n ad o h as ably demonstrated it is

Proven in battle aswell as i n keep ing the

peace, t he Panavi aT ornado hasa singularhistory, a nd with Mid-Life Upgrade

programmes in p lace , the aircraft wil l

cont i nue t o play its part in European and

in Middle Eastern defence policies well

i nt o t h e n e xt century.Andy Evans

Background to MRC Project

On S July 1967 Denis Healey, t he n t he

United Kingdon s Minister of Defence,

announced that France had withdrawn

ro t he A ng lo -F re nc h Variable

C;cometry AFVG) aircraft project and

that he was authorizing the British com

p ani es in vo lv ed , Br itis h Aircraft

C orporat i on B A C ) and Bristol iddeley,

to continue variable-geometry tudies to

an am ended specification. This seemed to

fly in the face of government pol icy as

t hc adm ini strat ion had for the previous

tcn years b ee n d en yi ng a ny n ee d for

m anned com bat aircraft, and was a t t he

t im c n e go t ia t in g t o buy fifty American

F-l l l K wing-wingers for the RAF

BAC had, infact , b e en o n e of the orig

inators of variable-geometry technology,

Test firing the WK Mauser canon B e

a nd t he T or na do c a n t race i ts roo tst o t h e fascinating world of the intrig

ly-named polymorphic aircraftconf

tion studies - in othcr words, aircra

c a n c ha ng e t he ir s ha pe in f li gh t -

neered at Weybridge by t he renown

Barnes Wallis, w ho h ad d on e more

o n th e subject in the decade foll

World War Two t h an a n yo n e else.

his colleagues at Wart on di scovere

advantages of having a w ing that

spread o ut t o a wide span wit h h ig

slats and f la ps f or a short take-off

heavy l oads , be cleaned up and

pivot back for supersoni c f li gh t. I

these tudies that eventually resul t

t he B AC P S design, a two-seat var

geometry fighter-bomber upon w hi c

Anglo-French Variable Geom

AFVG) st rike-att ack ai r raft wasb as ed . I n 1958 t h e W a rt o n team,

7



FROM TH SHESFROM TH SHES

rototyp P 1 i n i t sg r i sh r ed nd whit olour scheme e

as therc w as lirr le commonality hetw een

the British a nd F re nc h requiremcnt,

although a bi-national design would have

been easier and cheaper. Britain already

had its PAS a i rf r am e d e i gn , the RB.153engine ;l1ld the avionics from the by now

cancelled) T R .2 , r e ad y and w a itin g f or a

suitable c u s to m er . A s an aircraft destined

f or F re n h s er vi ce , but not blessed with

t h e F r cn c h h a vi n g design leadership, the

A FV G never stood much chance of being

a su cess, sincc D a s sa u lt w as continuing

with its o wn s wi ng -w in g p ro je ct , t h e

Mirage G , a nd c on ti nu cd t o insist that

any collaborative a ir cr a f t b e p o we r c d by

thc A nglo-F rcnch) M45 engine.

Thcre wasalso the F rench government,

which did everything possible to dclay

a nd c om pl ic at e t h e aircraft, constantly

changing its specification a nd t he n um

b er s i t r eq ui r ed . At the a m e t i me , the

French usec l their participation in the

AFVG to squeeze the best possible terms

out of the British for the on-going collab

orative helicopter d ea ls - w hi ch l at er

became the Gazelle, P u ma a n d L yn x - f or

which thc French also managed r o g ai n

the leadership, and a llth is came alongside

thc baggag brought along by their joint

o w n r s hi p of the J a gu a r p r og r am m e .

Furthermore, as t h e U n it e d Kingdom was

trying a t t he time ro enter t he om mon

Market a s the European Union wa then

known), the British wcrc obliged for

political reasons adopt a s o ftly- o f tly

approach to the FV G p r o je c t.

Inevitably, t h e F r cn c h pullcd out of thc

project, but studies continued in t he U K

u nd cr s uc h n am es as KVG, VG C ,

CA Advanccd Combat ircraft) and

Future CA, with the M45 engine bcing

replaced by the R olls-R oyce R B .153.

B A C cnginccrs w cr c a bl e t o d o e n ou g h

testing to perfect twO areas that were vital

to building a s w ing - w in g acroplane. One

was the wing p i vo t b c ar i ng a n d t h e h i gh

ly s tre s se d w ing r o ots and centre-section

box linking thc pivots, all ofw hich casued

major problems on the F- I l l . The other

was the high-lift slats and flaps which

w er e e sential if the f ull g a ins of variable

geometry were to b c r e alize d . By mid

\96 B AC W ar to n h ad b ui lt a nd te ted

a n e x ce l le n t wing pivot u si ng a T e fl o n

bearing, w hich dcmonstrated the required

safelife forfatigue-free service in the most

d e m an d i ng k i nd o f flying, low-level tran

sonic arrack. Another a n d m or e c o mp r e

hensive f u ll- sc a le r ig proved the ccntrc

w in g b o x, not a s a r e se a rc h r oo l but as a

proposed p r od u ct i on i t em b u il t by hard

rooling and subjectedto production type

inspection.

Despite having already been stung by a

8

collaborative d e al, Br ita in w as once again

looking t o w or k with its Europcan allies

on a multi-national programme, a d ca l

that was m ad e m or e p l au si b le b y the

a b a nd o n men t o f t h c U K s o - ca lled Ea s t

of Suez commitments, w hich r e s ulte d in

the R F s radius o f a c t io n being signifi

cantly reduced. On 10 July \967, a tcam

from Warton visited t he M un ic h h ca d

quarters of EWR-Sud, an aircraft-industry

consortium f or me d i n 1 95 9 by Heinkel,

Messcrschmirr and Bo lko w - later abbrc

v ia te d t o MBB with the asso iation of

B lohm, w ho included in thcir dcsign tcam

the f am ou s K ur t Tank - to develop a

Mach 2 V/ l aircraft to a ATO

r e qu i rc m en t . E W R l a te r b e ca m e a s ub

sidiary o f t he n ew g ia nt Messerschmirr

Bolkow-Blohm MBB), and were collabo

r at in g w it h t hc n it ed t at e o n a n c v cn

more a mb it io us a nd c om pl ex d va nc ed

Ver tical tri ke AV ) a i rc r af t . M BB

teamed up with Fairchild R epublicon this

upersonic single-seat project w hich fea

tured wing-out lift engines in the forward fuselage.

BA pr opos ed German collaboration

with KVG o r a no t he r PAS-derived

swing-wing aircraft, w i th t h e Jaguar ro be

made p ar t ly i n Germany) as a n i nt er im

aircraft. This proposal was eventually

deem d unacceptable, in part because of

heavy s al es e ff or t by orthrop with its

530 Cobra: orthrop had convinced the

Luftwaffe that i t w ou ld be p oss ib le r o

design a s i ng l e m u l ti - m is s io n a i rc r a ft

m uc h s im pl er a nd l ig ht er than AV to

replace its F - I0 4 t a rf i gh t er a n d G .9 1 a ir

naft. In January 1968, Germany was

Jllined by other major ATO F-I04 user

I ta ly, Be lg ium a nd t he et he rl and s,

with Canada taking part m er e ly a s an

l lbs e rv e r - f or what was entitled the MRA

75 o r M u lt i -R o le A i rc r af t for 1975 i ts

proposed service entrydate).

Th is ef ccti vely torpedoed a

Jaguar/UKVG deal, but i t a lso helped kill

A V S. I n the second half of 1967, the MBB

engineers slowed down work on VS a nd

g o t d o wn to non-jet-lift studies nor dis

similar t o t ho se b ei ng u n de r ta k en a t

Warton. Engineers a n d d i pl o ma t s from

M un ic h a nd B on n t al ke d t o a ll p os si bl e

collaborators, b ut B AC seemed by far the

hest bet because of common objectives

and t im es ca le . M BB h ad , h ow ev er ,

already begun work on the

Kam JffIugze g K F) , wh i ch was t o b e a

lightweight, single-seat, singlc-engined

fighter-bomber. Although i t w as t or al ly

incompatille with the big, twin-engined,

rototyp P 2 e

two- eat KVG, i t d id f ul fi l a r

ment c lo se r r o the RAF s needs tha

the AImee de [ Air s requirement f

AFVG.

B A C e e me d r e ma r ka bl y relaxed

w h o c o u l d h a ve design leadership

collaborative project, h a vi n g s h ap e

driven the A nglo-F rench Jaguar d

not having full control. They were

ever, nervous that if the inexper

Germans led a project in more

n a me , t h e result could b e d is a t ro

this time the KVG had faded

oblivion, to b e r ep la ce d by t h e

Advanced Combat A i rc r af t , a n

t w i n- B S 14 3 - en g i ne d F u tu r e C

Aircraft which was slightly smalle

K VG , a n d w as o ff er ed a s a solut

the participants in MR 75.

Their interest was encouragin

much so that on 2 5 J ul y 1 96 8, B

Germany, Belgium, Canada, Italy a

etherlands s ig ne d a memorand

u nd er t a nd in g t o e xp lo re t he i r re

ments f or a joint project, w hilst B

Germany, Canada a nd t he e the

agreed to f u nd a f e as ibility s tud y. B

and Canada quickly dropped out

p r oj e ct , s i nc e t h ey required an a

9



FROM THE SHESFROM THE SHES

Prototype P 2 taking on fuel from a No Squadron Victor tanker e

t ha t t he a ir cr af t w ou ld b e f it te d w it h

two of the compact yet powerful RB.199

turbofans.

The resul t was a design that was a fai r

amalgam of all the [larties' requirements

and bore a very close resemblance to the

original UKVG, and went on to become

the basis for what would soon be known

as t he Mul ti -R ol e Combat Aircraft

(MRCA). The configurat ion was agreed

at a meeting in Manching on 14 March

1969. The partners agreed that d e p it e i t

higher cost the British-designed forward

fusel age wit h a tandem seating arrange

ment and state-of-the-art avionics would

be adopted, despi te t he German prefer

ence for a much cheaper single-seater

with much more basic systems. Th e

British design had F-I04-e que semi-circular air intakes; the German design had

simpler intakes above the wing root , and

in order to maximize high supersonicper

formance, the Italians pressed for a more

sophisticated raked intake with variable

ramps, s im il ar t o that used on the

Concorde; t hi s was accep ted. Another

interesting point was the agreement that

the aircraft should carry internal gun, a

fact that would have surely beendeclined

had the project been undertaken ten

years earlier when the gun was seen as

uneccessary in the light of 'all-missile'

armed aircraft.

The RAF, having lost the T R.l and F-

II IK was by this t ime d e p er at e to

replace their Canberras, which were fast

b ec omin g o b o le te a nd needed to be

replaced by 1970 at the latest. The cyni

c al , h ow ev er , s ug ge st ed that MRCA

stood for Must Refurbish Canberra

Again .

Panavia was officially formed as a joint

industrial company on l March 1969,

and shares were al located o n t he basis,

originally, of one-third each for BAe and

MBB, and one-s ix th each for F ia t and

VFW-Fokker. (VFW-Fokker pulled ou ta t

an earl y s tage whe n t he e th er la nd s

d ec id ed t o buy t he Amer ic an F-16

instead, and the workshare was redistrib

u te d. ) I t wa s d ec id ed t ha t t he MRCA

would have three a ss embl y l in es , i n

70

Britain, Germany and Italy. At t hi s t ag e

there were st il l two d is tinct versions of

the aircraft. The Panavia 100was a single

seater optimized for interception and

desi gned for t he German, Italian and

Dutch air forces; the Panavia lOO was a

two-seat st rike aircraft destined for the

German avy a nd t he RAF and fitted

with integral fuel tank in the wings. The

three governments et u p a s in gl e c us

tomer, called AMMO ( ATO MRCA

Management Organization) made up of

the senior executive - un ifo rmed and

civilian - controlling the programme for

each government. AMMO policy deci

sions were undertaken by the organiza

tion's executive branch, NAMMA ('A'

for Agency) , w it h a l arge s t af f of special

i t s killed in such matters as advanced

aircraft technology, mili tary operat ions,

international contract law and various

political considerations; AMMA was

accommodated in the same bui lding as

Panavia. Panavia was prime contractor for

the entire Tornado programme and was

tasked with the management of all [loten-

l ial suppl iers and specifications for the

fifty-odd major avionic item. AMMA

had t he j ob o f a dmin is te ri ng System

Engineering GmbH, Easams at Camberley

(UK), ESG (Germany) and SIA (Italy).

MRCA project definition was complet

ed in Ap ri l 19 70 and the development

and manufac ture of proto-type aircraft

was authorized later that year. The three

governments authorized the industrial

[lartner to prepare for production on IS

March 1973. The aircraft was of a v er y

traditional construction, without the use

of composi te material technology: the

MRCA was o ne o f t h e last conventional

l igh t a ll oy f ight ers t o be bui lt , w it h the

usual mix of machined forgings, chemi

cally- and mechanically-milled integral

ly-stiffened skins and honeycomb-stabi

lized structures.

The Germans wanted to use an

advanced Autonetics radar, while Britain

[lrcferred a Europeansolution, or a cheap

er radar from Texas Instruments. Control

force were another area of conflict, and a

compromise h ad t o be found between the

Bri ti sh prefe rence for l ight s t ick forces

and the traditional American heavier

controls wh ich wer e p re fe rr ed by the

Germans. More serious than any ac tua l

technical problem, however, was a wide

spread campaign of criticism and mi in

formation. One accusa t ion made in

Germany and Italy was t hat the MRCA asproposed would not meet the requirement

as original ly stated. This was t rue, but

ignored the fact t ha t t he requirement

itself had developed, and t hat theMRCA

w oul d be a much more mil i tarily useful

a ir cr af t. I n a s ar ca st ic r en ce to its

multi-role capabilities, the aircraftgained

the unkind German nickname of

eierlegende Wolhmilchsau - egg-laying,

wool-bearing, milk-giving pig To other

i t was s imply The English Aeroplane .

Every del ay , every technical problem,

every care le s utterance was seized upon

by the MRCA s d et ra ct or a nd used

against the programme. Many believed

that a campaign was being undertaken by

a number of S aircraft companies, who

saw the MR A as a threat to their own

potential European fighter sales.Britain'srole in the project included th

provision andoperationof two Buccaneer

avionics test -beds, XTl and X l

which were converted by Marshalls of

Cambridge, and XA903, an Avro Vulcan

which would act as an RB.199-34R

engine testbed. MBB was responsible for

the avionics integration a nd t he

control system, Aeritalia was

responsibility for the clearanceof e

stores, while Fokker would build t

and the full-span trailing-edge flap

workshare wa s r ev is ed when

Netherlands withdrew from the

early on.

The earl y days of t he MRC

gramme were fraught w it h de lay

by the n ee d t o g et agreement from

partners to find common solutions

were accep tab le to all, a nd t o wo

workshare and methods by which

essary duplication of effo r t co

avoided. In order n ot t o lose furth

in the flight test programme,

decided that t he deve lopment

wou ld b e shared by a r el at iv el

n umbe r o f p ro to ty pe s, w it h a

ba tch o f pre-production aircraft.

originally been thought that eve

totypeswould be sufficient , but th

bergrew to thirteen beforea comp

o f n in e flying prototypes was re

Construction of the proto type be

ovember 1970. Politically, b

practica y t he re h ad t o be th ree

test centres - one per partner na

but, asfar as was possible, fl ight te

were not duplicated. Britain bu

used four prototype, Germany th

Italy two. However, this does not

true reflection o f t h e e xt en t o f t h

al B ri ti h leadership o f t h e MRC

gramme, w ith BAC operating on

more prototype than MBB. The M

was given t he name Panther i n

1969, an appellation which was

lived, and subsequent ly became

universally as the Tornado .

As a worki ng b as is the Torna

described by Panavia thus:

An aircraft With cont inuomly var

geometery wing wi th leading-edge

a l l g l e ~ lip 67° maximum , o n mo

positions up to 6 3° when 2,2501tr

t an ks a re c ar r ie d . Th e aircraft w

classeJ as h avi n g mode s t o v er a ll d

sions and loading to minimize low-al

g us t r e sp on s e an d f it t ed w it h w in g p

thar rcrain thei rs to resal ignment. Fu l

double-slotted wings a r e t o he fitted to

e r w it h an in>et rudder, actuated by

t r ol le d t and em hydr aul ic j ack s. Fu l

wing ed ge s la t s a r e t o be i ncludedwi th

up spoilers/lift dumpersand Krueger fla

the leading-edge of each w in g box.

type airbrakes wi ll b e f i tt e d o n each s

77



rototype P 03/XX947 fitte with a buddy buddy r u lling pod. BAe

flight conditions. The c ho e n aircraft was

the XA903, the last Vulcan B.l to remain

in service, which h ad previously been

u sed a the flying test bed for Concorde s

e ng in e, a nd t hu already had su itable

stressing and instrumentation f or a l ar ge

belly pod. Aeri tal ia and Mar halls jointly

made a near representation of the left half

of a n M RC A body with a functioning

variable inlet, dummy reverser, engine

and gun. When gun f ir ing began f rom

Tornado P06 i t was mainly to confirm the

Vulcan results. XA9 3 was painted in a

whiteanti-flash colour scheme, the imu

lated MRCA fuselage being in royal blue.

ightning

IWKA Mauser-Werke a t Obendorf had

pioneered the revolver cannon during

World War Two, and they deve loped a

n ew g un for the Tornado, the 27mm

Machinen Kanone , w i th a high muzzle

velocity and firing either Diel or Dynamit

Nobel electrically-ignited ammunition.

Development of the gun was assisted bya

Lightning F.2A leased by the MoD to

IKWA lauser on behalf of Panavia.

Based a t W ar to n a nd m ai nt ai ne d a nd

flown by BAC s ta ff , i t was u sed to rrove

the Mauser cannon. There was little diffi

culty in f i tt ing the new gun on t he left

side of the Lightning s belly tank, previ

ously occupied by a 30mm Aden gun. Air

firing with live ammunition took place at

\Vest Freugh and Eskmeals in southern

Scot land ,and the cannon wa one of the

first major Tornado items to be cleared for

production.

uccaneer

Buccaneers X T2 72 a nd XT2 5 were

equipped with the Tornado s radar and

avionics ~ y s t m s Desc rib ed a s CDMT

Buccaneers, the a i rc raf t were based at

Warton from ovember 1974.

Completely rebuilt by Marshalls of

Cambridge, these CD Stage 3 -rigged

a i rc ra f t f lew a ll the l arge r i t ems in the

Tornado avionic systems; however, they

were unable to simulate the Tornado

automated terrain-following and weaponsdelivery systems.

MRCA Prototypes

Th e first M R / To rn ad o p ro to ty pe ,

POI/D-9591, was structurallycomplete in

F RO 1 THE ASHES

theau tumnof 1973 and was taken byroad

from the MBB factory a t Ot tob runn to

Manchingon 12 ovember 1973, where

i t was a s semb led toge ther w ith eng ines

which had be n cleared for ground run

ning only. Airborne development had

b egun w it h t h e f ir t testing of an early

prototype RB.199 und er t h e Vulcan in

Apr i l 1973. I t was p lanned to complete a

320-hour programme within an eighteen

month per iod , u sing ucces sive engines

under the Vulcan. Unfortunately, the

Vulcan suffered unexpectedstructural and

electrical trouble which greatly reduced

its flyingrate . This wa extremely serious,

as during the period between 1974-77 the

engine was the p a ci ng i tem in the

Tornado flight programme. Therefore the

Tornado s f ir st f l ig ht was delayed wh ile

Panavia waited for flight-cleared engines

to be delivered.

I t was decided t ha t t he firs t a ircraft

should fly a t Manch ing , and 0 the

responsibility for the firs t general han

dlingand performance measurement trials

would fall into MBBs hands. However, as

t h e G erman partner s main as ignment

concerned th e t he integration o f th e

avionics and flight-control s ys tem w it h

aircraft 4, a compromise was struck:

POI wou ld fly at Manch ing , bu t in the

hands of a Bri ti sh p i lo t; the backseater

wou ld b e a German. There was naturally

intense competition mak e t he firstflight, and R.P. Bee Beamont would have

been the obv ious cand ida te for the role

had he not been appointed Panavia

Director of Flight Operations

During delays throughout the first half

of 1974, PO 1 was continually updaled to

progressively higher technical standards.

t t he s ame t ime i t was s ti ll a r e la t iv ely

basic aircraft, packed with tr ials instru

mentation in p lac e of operational avion

ics. The delays and technical hitches were

soon forgotten when , on 14 August 1974

when BAC Military Aircraft Division

Ch ief Test Pilot and Project Pi l ot MRCA

Paul Mille t and ils Meis ter took POI,

callsign Luna-23 , aloft. In dull and over

cast weather they accelerated d own the

runway with wings at 26°, partia l flap and

full afterburner selected; ro ta t ing , they unstuck c lean ly and c l imbed away at

progressively steeper ang le , to s tay ins ide

the gear-down l imit . Afterburner was

gradually reduced until, with a Luftwaffe

TF-104G watching from one side and a

G-91T from the other, the aircraft settled

into cruise at 10,000f t, s ti l l in take-off

configuration. Millett checked behaviour

in a simulated approach, i n c ase a quick

return was necessary; then h e c le an ed

POI u p and checked hand l ing in turns at

su cc ess iv el y h ig he r p ee d t o 300kt.

Arriving back at Manching, the flaps were

again lowered to the take-offsetting and

t he g ea r e xt en ded. M il l et t d el ib er at el y

flewa missed approach,and landed on the

second. Thrust reversers weI used as well

as jab s of wheel brake. Everything had

gone perfectly. The thirty-minute flight

had covered all of the planned te point,

and there was no sign of a systemfailure or

a f au lt indication. Millett and Meister

made a second, fif ty-minute , flighta week

af te r the first, checking wing sweep s to

45°, single-engine flight, the effect of air

brakes and flight control with certain fail

ure modes simulated. For the th ird flight,

on 29 A ug us t, t he t wo p il ot c ha ng ed

places. On this third mission, Meister

explored handling with the wings at all

angles to 68°, with no trouble at all.

Increasingly POI became unrepresenta

tive of the product ion Tornado and so,

while la te rp ro totype took over the mea

surement of aerodynamic factors such as

drag and performance, PO 1 concentrated

on enginedevelopment. I did most ofthe

proving of the reverse installation, previ

ously developed on engine test-beds, and

perfected di rectionaI stabiIity on the run

way at ful l r ev er se th ru st ; for thi s , mod ified buckets were used which attach the

airflow the fin to keep the rudder effec

tive. Additionally, in spring 1977, POI

wa f it te d with a gantry on the rear fu e

lage housing a spin-recovery parachute. It

was a ls o g iv en a hydrazine-fuelled

M on of ue l E me rg en cy P ow er Unit

( EP ), intended to allow emergency

engine rei ight . 1t had been p lanned to re

engine PO I with the full-thrust Dash-04

engines in m i d- 19 77 , b ut t he se t oo k

longer develop and did not ge t in to the

air in POI until March 1978. These were

the first fu ll - th rus t ngines to fly allowing

c lea rance beyond Mach 1.92. In 1979

POI, s ti ll i n i ts o ri gi na l colour scheme,

was busy with various engine, SA and

other investigations.

The first British prototype P.02/XX946,assembled in England, made its maiden

flight on 30 October 1974 from Warton,

again flown by Paul Mille t, th is t ime with

Pietro Paolo Trev is an in the back. This

wa the first a ircraft with fully variable

engine intakes, enabling it to work a ros s

the Tornado s entire peed range, and was

later used for envelope expansion, engine

development and preliminary in-flight

refuelling trials. Uniquely, P02 was fitted

with small square-section fairings o n t he

tips of its tailplanes which were flutter

exciter a lt ho ug h t he e were later

removed , leaving smal l b l is ter on the

tailplan t ip s - another facet un ique to

this air raft. P.02 was at first painted red

and white like POI, and was regarded as

the workhorse of the prototype f le et ; i t

certainly flew the mos t h ou rs . I ts main

tasks were to explo re the flight envelope,

and carry out stalling, p inning and bo th

the low-speed and extremely high-speed

investigations.

The third Tornado to fly was another

UK aircraft, P03jXX947, which made its

maiden flight on 5 August 1975, in the

hands of BAC chief te pilot, Dave

Eagles, and Tim Fergu son. I t was the first

Tornado with dual controls and, as the

aircraft destined for stalling and spinning

FROM THE ASHES

tr ia ls, was fitted with an emergenc

recovery c hu te a nd a Sunds

hydrazine MEPU. XX947 was the

Tornado to be delivered in a camou

co lour scheme, a l though several

earlyaircraft weresimilarly repainte

s ome l at er p ro to ty pe s mad e their

flights in Panavia garish red and

house colours . It was also the first a

fitted with a nose radome , rath I t

repre entatively shaped fairing.

Oneo f the few serious incidents

flight development programme befel

on 4 October 1976. The aircraft m

landing in torrential rain on a r u

covered in varying amounts of sta

water. Pi lot T im Fergu son was una

s top the aircraft sliding diagonally o

runway, striking the grass verge and

ing to rest on the nosewheel, rear fu

and wingtip. The result was the stiff

of t he main leg mounting brackets,

sion of reverser geometry to improv

72 73



FROM THE ASHES

By prototype P.07 t h e T or na do was

h c gi n ni n g t o m a tu r e, a n d t h e p r ot o ty p es

wcre e m er g in g w i th change resulting

f ro m f li gh t t e t i ng . As f ar a s p os si bl e i ts

standard duplicated P.04 0 that each

could backup the other, but i n f ac t P07

Introduced a near-production autopilot

a nd s pe n t a full y ea r o n i n te n si v e low

tlying o v er p ec i al l y d e si g na t ed route,

m os t o f t he m across the Blac k Fo re s t,

p r ov i ng t h e m o st vital of all the aircraft s

sub-systems - the one linking t he T FR ,

radar altimeters, flight controls, S

HUD a nd w ea po n a im i ng . P au l Millet

flew prototype P 08/X X 949 on IS J ul y1976, with Ray Woolett in the rear

cockpit. This a ir cr a f t w as u se d f or avion

ics and w capons aiming development tri

als, and was the second dual-control

traincr. The final prototype P09/X-S87,

a n I t al i an a ir cr a ft, w as almost joined by

thc first pre-production machinc

P.II/98+0I ) w he n t he pair made near

simultaneous f irs t f ligh ts on 5 F eb ru ar y

1977. P ietro T revisan was accompanied

FROM THE SIIES

by Manlio Q uarantelli f or P.0 9 s m

fl igh t Th is prototype w as u se d f or f

trials and clearance of external s tor

well as c li ma ti c t ri al s a nd a ut

development. A mongst its other

was the testing of t h e G er m an r

nai sance pod, a nd t h e a ir cr a f t w as

t ua ll y c am o uf l ag ed , w it h prom

Dayglo stripes and a plethora of ca

tion markings. T h e t e nt h prototyp

a static te s t a ir fr a m c a n d n e ve r flew

A of the aircraft carried exte

instrumentation a n d t e le m et r y e

ment, w ith some 460 instrumentedp

per aircraft, capablc of transmittingISO parameters simultancously. Som

tures seen on the prototypes were

lived or temporary, including exte

lengthened nose-mounted test instru

tation probes and forward-looking c

fairings which sometimes replaced th

w a rd f in mounted R H A WS antenn

ing. All of the prototypes were upg

repeatedly during their liv s demon

ing a n d p r ov i ng n e w e q u i p m en t a n

Italian pr t typ P OS BAe

1977 P04 was often engaged in weapon

trials, and i t wa the first to fly with the

MW- J anti-armour dispenser.

The early prototype w er e l i mi t ed to

Mach 1.3 and 40,000ft by the lack of fullyrated e n gi n es , b u t e ar l y f l ig ht t ri al s s ti ll

progressed relativelysmoothly. On e of the

m o st s e ri o us problems encountered

a lm os t t he o nl y a er od yn am ic p ro bl em

encountered in t h e e n t ir e p r og r am m e

w as e x ce s siv e b a se d r ag , w ith somedirec

t i on a l i n s ta b i li t y a t t r an s on i c speeds

M a ch 0 .9 t o M ac h 0 . 9 5) a nd a tendency

to snake at about Mach 09. W a r to n h a n

dled most of t h i i n ve s ti g at i on , t r yi n g a

large number of often s e e min g ly tr ivia l

c h an g es t o the profiles o f t he spine and

rear fuselage. nlike the F-111 there was

never a drag problem; i t w as just that the

boundary la ye r w as breaking away at the

base of the fin, causing mild directional

instability at h ig h u bs on ic speed. Thi

was eventually solved by the refinement

of the fairing below t h e r u dd e r filling thegap between the jet pipes a n d t h e b o tt o m

of the rudder), the addition of new vortex

generators at the base of the fin, adjacent

to the rudder leading edge, a n d l a te r by

u si ng a r ed e i gn ed r ea r f us el ag e, of slim

mer form. T hese improvements consider

ably improved the airflow a r ou n d t h e tail

u n it a n d r ed u ce d d ra g, a s w el l a s solving

the tability problem.

Th e fourth Tornado was P04/D-9252

later 9 +05), wh ich Han Friedrich

R ammensee and i s M e is t er t o ok intot h e a i r o n 2 September 1975; this aircraft

w as f itte d w i th a n a l mo s t r e pr e se n ta t iv e

a n d i n te g ra t ed a v io ni c s system, and wa

used t o p ro ve t h e a vi on ic s system. The

aircraft wasalso briefly tufted for aerody

namic investigations. It w as u se d f or the

low-level automatic t e r ra i n f o ll o wi n g

radar, digital autopilot, navigation system

a nd g ro un d m ap pi ng r ad ar testing, and

was later a s i gn ed t o w o rk with the MW

I dispenser.

I ta ly s f ir t Tornado P.OS/X-586) was

f lo wn s ol o, i ts r ea r cockpit full of instru

mentation, by P ie tr o T re vi sa n o n 5

December 1975 and was the only proto

type t o h av e a r e ally unlucky early histo

ry: i ts f ir st f l ig ht w as d el a ye d some five

months by the unavailability of suitable

engines. In high-visibility w hite/red, itcarried national markings unlike 01 and

0 2, a nd was a particularly attractive

machine. Tasked with flutter and load

measurement, it h ad c o mp l et e d j u st s ix

flights when, in January 1 976 , i t was

severely damaged during a heavy land

ing , perhaps better d e s cr ib ed a s a crash ,

at Caselie, which w as c a us e d p r ima r ily b y

the over-sensitivity o f t h e pitch charm I

Th e aircraft nose hit t he g ro un d w it h

such force that major structural damage

ensued; it was l uck y that t h e a c ci d en thappened at Caselle, as t h is m a de repair

a n e co no mi c o pt io n, b ut P 05 was not

back in the sky until March 197 . This

inevitably l ef t a h ol e i n the programme,

b ut t ha nk s t o r ea dy -m ad e c on t in ge nc y

plans, P02 was able to t a ke o v er P05 s

f l ut te r w or k, h a v in g i n s t ru me n t at i o n

already installed. After a lengthy rebuild,

POS was used mainly for weapons tr ia ls; it

also carried the C AS MU Skyshark stand

off dispenser weapon.

Th e s i xt h p r e- p ro d uc t io n aircraft,

P06/XX948, was a sembled at Warton

a n d i n tr o du c ed a new r e ar f u se lag e of

slightly slimmer profile to cure the prob

lem of directional instability at transonic

speed d e sc r ib e d a bo ve . X X 94 w as f lo wn

010 by ve Eagles and wa u e d for

stores tr ia ls; it w as a lso the first aircraftfitted w it h t he 2 7m m M au se r guns. The

next of the prototypes w as a German air

craft, P07/98+06, wh ich was f low n by

N i ls M e is t er o n 3 0 M a rc h 1976, with Fritz

Eckert in the back seat. This was the first

aircraft with a complete avionics suite,

and wa therefore used for avionics trials.

-

P 2 l ights itsafterburners BAe

5



Prototype P 1 taxies outfor a ground testing sortie. Note the presence of the red mes

Pre production aircraft P 12 BAe

for the f ir st t ime on 5 F eb ru ar y 1 97 7,which w as , a s re la ted above , ea rl ier the

same d ay as the ninth and f ina l f lyin g

prototype. This was probably no co inc i

deiKe, a s i t w as w i de ly reported that a t r i

n at i on al a gr eemen t b ound t he p ar tn er s

fly a pre-production jet b e fo r e a ll nine

proto types hadgo t in to the air. Certainly

the British and German pre-production

aircraft had been rolled out some months

earlier.

PII/9 +0 I, a German twin-sticker,

could be identified by the product ion

standard f in f il le t. The first German

a mbled two-pilot a ir cr a ft, i t w as o r ig i

na y tended to have gone to

Germany s Official Test Centre (OTC) at

Manching f or f in al contractual perfor

m an ce t e ts, but was k ep t b ac k by

Panavia for the measurement o f total air

craft drag. The second pre-production

aircraft, Pl2, wa Britain XZ630, assem

bled a t Wa rt on and the f ir t Tornado

delivered in tri-national markings, but

with a Br itis h s e ria l number. This aircraft

had the Dash-03 engines, and became

the first Tornado to be delivered to an

FROM THE ASHES

official test centre when it was f lownfrom Warton to the A ir cr af t a nd

Armament Experimental Establishment

( A AEE ) a t Boscombe Down on 3

February 1978, with BAC s Tim Ferguson

and Roy Kenward a t t he helm.

The o the r four pre-production aircraft

w er e v er y c lo se to production standard.

P.I3/98+02, a n ot h er G e rman mach in e,

was f lo wn by Fri tz Soos, wi th Rai ner

Henke in the rear cockpit, f or its maiden

flight on 10 January 197 , and was the

first Tornado with a k inked ta ilp lane

leading e d ge . Br ita in s P15/XZ631 first

flew a t Wa rt o n on 24 ovember 197 in

t he h an ds o f J er ry L ee and Jim Evans,

and this aircraft was th e first with a p ro

duction rear fuselage a nd t he first with

t he w et fin intended f or a ll RAF air

craft. The only Italian pre-production

aircraft, P14, flew on 26 March 1 97 9 i n

t he h an ds of Man li o Oua ra nt el l i a nd

Egidio appi; it introduced production

wings. PI6/98+ 3 was the last fly

with Armin Krau thann and Fritz Eckert;

this aircrafthad the definitive production

fuselage, was the first aircraft assembled

on the MBB assembly line at Manching,and w as a ls o u se d te st the Kormoran

anti-ship missile, a long with the fourth

prototype (98+05). I t w as later upgraded

to full product ion s tandard though it,

along with a handful o f t h e G e rman and

Ita I ia n a ir c ra f t, w as never issued to a

f r on t -l i ne u ni t. Th e pre-production

aircraft were also r eb ui lt w it h full

production-standard wings.

Tornado Production

Production o f t he Tornado was divided

i n to n in e b a t h e .The Tornado was devel

oped in two basicversions: the Interdictor

trike 10 and the Air Defence Variant(ADV). The ID can be further divided

into four role-specific groups: overland

strike, electronic warfare, reconnaissance

and maritime trike. The stories of the four

IDS variant a nd t he ADV will be

described in detail in later chapters, after a

description ofthe basic aircraft in hapter

2. The batches in w hi ch t he y were

produced were as follows:

atch I

This initial batch included twenty-three

RAF IDS aircraft and twelve twin-stick

ers. The RAF serial numbers ran from

ZA319-ZA330 and from ZA352-Z 362,

and the aircraft w e re a s sig ne d to the

TITE at RAF Cotte more whe re t he y

h av e r em ai ne d e ve r s in ce , t ho ug h a

handful have moved on , main ly to deve l

opment and t ri al d ut i es . TITE aircraft

h av e no t been re tro fi t ted w ith LRMT ,

and re ta in RB.199 Mk l 1 engines. They

are down-rated (reportedly to

36kN/8,093Ib) because the air r af t r ou tinely fly without pylons, the thrust

reduc tion ensur ing l igh ter f a ti gu e l if e

usage. Batch I included seventeen

German aircraft, including the four teen

t r ai n er s GTOO I-0 14 , s er ia ll ed from

FROM THE ASHES

43+01-43+ 17, a n d v ir tu al l y all

assigned to the TITE; t he y h av e

r ema in e d w it h t ha t u ni t e v er s

There were no I ta lian aircraft in Ba

atch

The 110 Batch 2 Tornados were ass

p lane se t number 44-153. There

fifty-five RAF IDS air r af t in Ba

(ZA540-564 and ZA5 5-614, incl

s ixteen tw in-st ickers (ZA540, -54

5 44, - 54 , -549,- 5 5 1, - 5 52 , -555, - 5

594, - 595, - 598, - 599, - 602, - 604,

612 (8T0I3-028 ) . The RAF Bat

aircraft were initially assigned to

TWCU and to Nosl5, 27 and

Squadrons. Batch 2 al o included

German ai rcraft GS004-G 5030

GTOI5-GT027, twenty-four for

76 77



FROM THE ASHES

A No 2 Squadron Tornado GR B in ort America R

Batch 9

MFG 2 There were no Italian a ir cr a f t in

Batch 6.

Batch 9 consisted of forty-eight 10 air

craft for Saud i Arab ia. This brought

Tornado production to 978.

Batch 7

Batch 8

Batch was to have cons isted of twen ty

s ix a ir c r af t f or t he RAF and thirty-fi\ e for

the Luftwaffe, but they were subsequently

cancelled.

The 1 22 a ir cr a f t built as Batch 7 w or e

the se t numbers 808-929. The produc

tion of Ba rc h 7 a ir fr a me s included twen

tY- even 10 aircraft for the RAF,

including six twin-stickers and fourteen

built as reconaissance-configured

GR.\ As. The seven non-reconnaissance

configured operational aircraft went to

the Bruggen-based squadrons. Pana\ ia

also delivered twenty-eight audi IDS,

( inc lud ing e igh t twin-stickers and six

buiIt to G R .I A standard) as p art o f

Batch 7 Batch 7 a ls o included twenty

four RAF 3 f igh ter s and another eight

AOVs ordered by Oman, bu t d iver ted to

t he RAF a F 3s Germany s thirty-fi\ e

Tornado E C Rs s ee Chapter 3 ) u se d the

final German identities, GS256-290,

and w er e d el i v er ed a s p ar t o f B at ch 7

They w or e s er ia ls running from

46+23-46+57. Aga in , t h er e were no

Italian a i rc r af t i n B ar ch 7

FROM THE ASHES

Batch 6

Batch 6 included sixty-eight ID and

twenty-four 3 f igh ter s f or the RAF, a m i

sixty-three I D S o r igin a lly destined forLuftwaffe, with none for the

Marineflieger. The fifteen Luftwaffe twin

s t ic ke rs w or e s er ia ls 45+6 , 45+61,

45+62,45+63,70,45+73,45+77,45+99,

46+03,04,46+05,46+06,46+07,46+08,

and 09. Twenty-four o f t h e aircraft wer

i n f ac t, delivered to the Marineflieger s

Batch 5 consisted of 1 73 a ir cr af t. I t w as

planned to include twenty for the RAF,

but on ly two of these w e re a c tua lly d e liv

e re d, a s GR. lAs. The rest o f t he aircraft

planned for Batch 5 w er e destined for

audi Arabia. Batch 5 Tornado ID aircraft carried a Mil td 1553 digit al data

b us , a 1 28 k L i te f Spirit III computer, and

a n ECM t ra nsminer wi th chaff/flare d is-

pensers coupled to t h e a ir cr af t , RWR

suite. Batch 5 a ls o included fifty-two RAF

fighter and seventy aircraft for Germany,

with Italian Tornado productionconclud

ing with the final twenty-nine AMI air

craft. The German and Italian Batch 5

a ir cr a f tw e r e a b le to operate the AGM

HARM, a l though the missile was harmo

nized only on d el iv er y t o the

Marinefl ieger.

Batch 5

September 1985. Batch 4 production for

Germany to tal led s ixty -four a i rc raf t ,

G 087-142 and t he e i gh t twin-stickers

GT040-047. I tal ian Bat h 4 production

included a i rc ra f t I 034 - IS 060, w it h n o

twin-stickers.

Batch

Tornado Batch 4 comprised 162 aircraft,

allocared plane set numbers 318-479. Of

these, eighteen were F 2 fighters and 144

were lD . Fif ty- th re e w e re RAF I D S a ir

craft (5111-155) including eight

twin-stickers. They w er e s er ia ll ed

from ZD7 07 -7 20 , Z D7 38 -7 49 ,

ZD788-793. ZD808-812, ZD842-85 Ia nd ZD 90-8 95 ; t he twin- st ic ke rs were

ZD7I1, - 71 2, - 71 3, - 74 1, - 74 2, - 743 ,

- 2 and - 4 2. A ll w er e p ow er ed fr om

t h e s ta rt by the RB.199 Mk103. The

RAF Bat h 4 Tornados were produced

p r ima r ily f or RAF Germany s Bruggen

Wing, t he last b ei ng d el iv er ed o n 3 0

Batch

This consisted of 1 64 a ir cr a f t, which

were assigned plane set numher

1 54 -3 17 . S ix ty -e ig ht o f t he B at ch 3

a ir cr a f t w e re RAF lOS , i nc lu di ng e ig ht

twin-stickers. These a ir cr af t s ho ul d

have had ZB-,eries serials, but an

administrative e rr or a ll o ca t ed them

elsewhere, and the aircraft therefore

had to he g iv en ZA serials actually

lower t ha n t he Batch 2 a ir cr a f t which

preceded them. The Batch 3 a ir cr af t

also had a Marconi ARI18241/2 RWR

in plac e of the original Elenronica

ARII 241/1. These a i rc r af t w er e m os t

ly delivered to t he R AF Ge rm any s

L aa rb ru ch W in g, t ho ug h the first

e le ve n w en t to the TWC , with a

few going to the Mar ham W in g.

The Laa rb ru ch -b as ed a ir cr af t w er e

s ub se qu en tl y r e- en gi ne d w it h the

RB.199 Mk103.

9



THE TORN DO DESCRIBED

he ornado escribed

Squadron LeaderRobbie Stewart draws

cons, and displays the replies as alphan

m er ic c od es i n t he correct positions

t he comhined di.,play. This gives t

iden ti ty o f e ac h b ea co n a nd i ts bear

and distance from the aircraft. Groun

mapping video is displayed simultaneou

ly. This provides either ground fixes

a im p oi nt s, or assi. ,t s rendezvous w

friendly aircraft or ships.

The TFR is underthe main radar and

phased array antenna has the vital duty

emu ring thar, no matt e rhow close to t

ground the Tornado i es , i t never h

anything. The polarization of the sign

is circular, to minimize weather problem

The two-lobe monopulse beam

two-bar between ° left and °rig

of the forward centre-line and betwe

the e le va ti on s o f _ 20 ° and 10°. Inbanked turn t his scan is at first opened

linearly; for faster turn rates i t is switch

a f ig ur e- of e ig ht s ca n w it h t o

a zimu th o f s ome J 5°, the scan bei

steered i n to t he turn by up to 7° so th

the aircraft can sec where it is goi

(which is no longer st raight ahead). F

rate. Ground-Map Narrow s can a nar

row one-bar azimuth sector, usually

related to a drift-stabil ized centre.

On Boresight Contour Mapping elimi

nates all objects below the stabilized hori

:ontalplane through the aircraft, and sup

pli es vi deo si gnals from everything that

penet ra t es above t hi s p la ne , s u ch as a

mountain p ea k, r a di o m as t or t all t rees.

Height Find is a versatile mode in which

tilt angle to an identified surface target is

m easured, gi vi nga new input to t hecom

puter for height computations. A r an ge

lineappears on t h e display which the nav

igator can align over the target.

tn th ir to Ground Ranging mode

the antenna is pointed by azimuth/cleva

t io n command s from t he c ompu te r ,

thereafter perform ing acqui sit i on, range

l oc k- on a nd t ra ck in g a ut om at ic al ly

against either ground clutter or discrete

targets. The output is digital data giving

slant range, range-rate (that is rate of

c hang e o f r a ng e, v it al f or w ea po n a im

Ing), azimuth/elevation pointing angles

and a s ig na l to t he opera tor that range

tracking has heen accomplished. Lo k-

on is a mode in which the computer

c ommand t he antenna to point in the

right direct ion, and feeds the radar with

the predicted range data, the radar subse

quently locking on to the surface target

to feed the computer w it h a ll r a ng e and

angle t racking data for weapon aiming.In t hi s m od e the antenna does not

r e sp on d t o azimuth/elevation commands

from t he computer , but t o g ua r d against

possible lock-on to th e w ro ng t ar ge t i t

does accept a lock-on reject signal thar

ma ke s il br ea k loc k and re-en te r the

acquisition phase.

The A ir t o A ir T ra ck in g mode is

rather similar. When hostile aircraft, or a

friendl y i n-fl i ght refuel li ng t anker, arc i n

the vicinity, t he c ompu te r provides

pointing command, and the radar looks

in the direct ion indicated and init iates a

range search. After range l ock-on the

m ode sw it ches t o angle tracking, sending

the da ta to accept a lock-on reject sig

nal, causing it to break l ock and re-enter

the c q u i ~ i t i o n p h ~ e Otherwise, noth

i ng w il l deflect i t; i f l ock-on is interrupted d ue t o signal fading or host il e ECM

the radar k e e p ~ outputt ing tracking data

from t he l as t- known par amet er s u nt il

tracking is resumed.

The final mode for the main radar is

Beacon , in which i t i nterrogat es friend

ly aircraft, g round o r surface-ship hea-

wi t h t he best possiblesystems for its role .

One o f t he mai n features apart from the

radar syst em w as to b e a h ig h d eg re e of

computerized fault detection, a nd t o satis

fy this the ai rcraft w as fi tt ed w i th a com

prehensi v e B ui l t- I n Test Equ ipment

(BITE) s ys te m w it h a number of easily

accessi b le L ine Replacemen t Unit s

(LRUs) i fa fail ing module was detected.

n LRU is a ingle box which can he

pulled out and repl aced i n a fel l seconds

by a ground crewman.

The radars can operate in a number of

mode. r o und t andby l l o w ~ continu

ous operationat loll power to save current

and permit adequate cooling with ground

fans; it is normally select ed bya sw it ch on

o ne o f t he main l and ing gears. Standby

pn)\ ides ful l power to everything except

the transmitter high-\ oltage circuits, and

can normally only h e s e le ct e d i n the air.

Test is a speci al mode with a dummy

load, the BITE auto-matically detecting

94 per cent of all possible faults and iso

lating 8l .6 per cent t o a s in gl e L R U .The most common airborne mode is

Ground lapping , and t hi s in turn is

<l\ ailalle in any of four sub-modes, each

usahIe from ground level to the stratos

phere. Ground-Map Spoiled is the nor

mal mo de , g iv in g a gen ral picture of

t he t er ra in a he ad , w it h t he n av ig at or

able to cont rol scan angle and rate.

Though certain radar information can be

f ed t o the pilot s HUD or - m or e r ar el y

_ his moving-map display, t he norma l

presentation is onto o ne o f the naviga

t or s C RT s. Where necessary the radar

p ic tu re c an upd at e t he display and specific, accurate radar fi xes can b e m ad e.

In t he Ground-Map Pencil mode the

radar sends out a n ar ro w pencil beam

for vari ous mapping or t racki ng purpos

es. Ground-Map Wide g iv es a one-har

azimuth patt e rn wit h t he navigat or free

t o sel ect the antenna tilt angle and

CH PTER TWO

though f ull a ir - to -a ir f ac il it ie s a rc a ls o

available. Earlier it was suggested that the

T ex as I n st rumen ts r ad ar was chosen

because i t w as cheaper and less advanced

t han t he Aut on et ic s set - ho we ve r, it

remains an exce l len t choice and more

than capable of the tasks set it. The R F

was at t he t ime o ne o f the acknowleged

experts in all-weather attack avionics, and

t hey w ere determined to fit the Tornado

navigator enters h is route in to the CPGS via the computer keyboard uthor

By far the largest and most important

sensor aboard t he Tornado i its ra dar.

Th is u ni t is actually twO radars, both

made by Texas Instrumen ts: a G M

ground mapping) radar and the TFR

terrain-following radar).The installation

occupies t he whole nose of the aircraft

and is opti m ized for ai r-t o-ground usc,

The R adar Sy stem

20



T h e T FR and main radar share their

ow n com puter - qui te separat e from the

m ai n c o mp u te r - w h ic h h a nd l es such

t as ks as m an ag em en t o f t he gimbals

antenna bearings) a nd c an l imits, s c a n

m o d e, d isp lay s and, in the case o f th e

T FR , t he complex calculations to main

tain safe ground clearance.

10 fitted is a ra d ar al t im et erbui l t i nt o

t he under ide o f t h e aircraft to provide an

accurate digital hei ght read-out at low

levels. This is not fed d i re c t t o t h e back

seater, but i so important to the pilot that

it can appear on two of his displays, ando m et im e s o n t h re e . Another secondary

r ad ar i the Doppler, which continuously

measures ground speed along four slanting

beam re fle c ted from the surface. This

p r ov i de d i gi t al al ong-t rack and across

track velocity data for the main computer.

The Doppler is o n e o f the twO prime nav

i gati on system s, t he o th er being the

Inertial avigation System I which

h a s its ow n com put er t o convert accelera

tions into velocities and d i st a nc e s. A

Tornado exposed . Author

THE TOR ADO DESCRIBED

reversionary navigation capability i pro

v id ed by the Secondary Attitude and

Heading Reference SAHR) with a t w in

g y ro p la tfo rm and a magnetic d tecto I

which m onit ors t he at t i tude and heading,

but is not n o rma lly c a lle d upon if other

systems work correctly.

Other Sensors

The m o st b a sic o f t h e aircraft s other sen

sors is the pi tot-static system, which mea

sures dynamic p re s u re to provide theb a sis for calculated true air p ee d . I n the

T o rn a do u c h c a lc u la t io n i o ne of t he

dut ies of t he A i r-D at aC om put er DC),

w hi c h h a s its ow n st ored programmes to

feed the a v io n ic s w it h a c cu r at e digital

data on t h e a t mo s ph e ri c e n v ir o n me n t.

Another is the laser rangefinder, which

can measure accurate r an g e t o a t a rg et at

the lo w g raz ing a n gle s a s s o c ia te d with

u nd er t he radar a t ta c ks w h ic h would

defeat ra n ge find in g b y m o s t ra da rs. The

22

laser can also det ermi ne t he range to a

fixed p o in t m o re a c cu r at el y than the

ra da r, b e ca u s e of i ts v er y m u ch s h or t er

wave l engt h, and it can also operate in a

passive search m od e t o l oc a te targetsdes

ignated by a separate l as er f ir ed f ro m

another aircraft or b y frie n dly tro op s on

the ground.

ePGS Planning

In both variants of the aircraft the flight

p la n c a n b e r e co rd e d b y the c re w wh ils t

on th e groun d using a Cassette

Preparation G ro un J S ta ti on C PG S) .

This consists of a computer k e yb o ard , a

screen and a s p ec ial map table. The nav

ig a to r p lac e s the c ros s h a irs of his hand

hand-held cursor o ve r e ac h target or

way-point, pressing t he b u tt on t o e n te r

e ac h i nt o t po in t a ut om at ic al ly as the

cursor button screen. The information is

then loaded onto a standard cassette

tape and inserted into the aircraft s

Th e n a v ig a t or s c o c k pit . BAe

autopilot, and if nece sary the tape could

fly the mission .

Mission Management

A ny T ornado mission is usually managed

by the navigator. With h is s ys te ms i n

Planning Mode , o ne o f his TV t ab s a sthe television-type d is pl ay i n t he cockpi t

are known) is fi r t made to fit the mission

territory, inserting latitude and longitude

lines. Waypoints then appear as A, C

and so on, an d t he targets as small

tr ian g le s m a rke d with an X After take

off, the ystem continuously receives

T HE T O RNADO DESCRIBED

information from the sensors, w hi c h

navigator studies and occasionally uses

updat e t he system. A s t h e T o rn a do trav

d ow n t he t ra ck the first waypoint

position is displayed by a s ma ll c ir

m oving al ong the fixe d tra ck line . Wh

the mission is overl and t he navigat or w

have inserted the position of a ll id en t

a bl e l an dm ar ks , o r fix p o in t s, w happear as I, 2 3 and so o n. A s t he sm

aircraft-circle approaches each fix poi

the navigator k ee ps a sharp look out

it, and usually tells the pilot, who h a

better view ahead. The exact position

each fix point h e lps re fin e the accura

of t he navigat ion, so that each fix po

23

THETORN DO DESCRIBED THETORN DO DESCRIBED



RB.199s at full power propel a Tornado GR.1A of No.IIIAC quadron along Laarbruch s runway. Author

be restored a t t h e t o uc h o f a key. The avFormat based on aircraft s present posi

tion, show n a s a s ma ll f ix ed circle a t t he

centre, around which a circle of 95 per

cent certainty , and a much larger range

circle with a boxed N on it to s h ow t h e

direction of true north. Superimposed on

this a vertical l in e p a ss ing through the

IZ 0 lock p o si t io n s h ow i ng t h e c u rr e n t

track, which r ea d o ff a s ca l e a t t he t op

of the screen. T herefore, changing head

ing cause the scale to s lide p a st t h e t r ac k

line, while the boxed moves ,moothly

around the range circle. Planned Track

PLTK) ,pc1t out digitally, with parallel

I ine s s c ale d a f ixe d distance a p ar t t o ,how

cross-track e r ro r i f a ny ) , a, well a, the

n e xt w ay p oi n t, t h e n e x t t r a c k beyond the

waypoint and many other things a s w e ll.

Blocb of data in the upper corner, show left) di,tance in nautical miles t o t he

next fix p o i nt a n d to t h e n e xt waypoint,

a nd r ig ht ) t he system t i me w hi c h may

or may not a ls o b e the precise t im e o f

day), t he t im e t o t h e n ex t w aypoint and

t he t im e t he aircraft early or late. This

only s r a tc h es t h e surface o f t he naviga-

t io n p ro ce s, a nd t hi s b oo k hardlyintended to be a technical manual

B etween the tab-displays the big com

bined display on which present position

s ee n a t the centre of a derailed coloured

topographical map and a detailed radar

display. The moving r a dar vide o picture

overlaid onto t h e m o vi n g map, and any

discrepancy helps the study the situation

as shown by the I S and Doppler.

Cockpit

Flying t h e T or na do c l o, e t o t h e speed of

sound at tree-top level d e m an d s t h e full

attention of the crew. Having t w o c re w

m ake t he ta b o f o pe ra ti ng t he radar,

updating the navigation and monitoring

t h re a ts m or e m a n ag e al l e. The crew ares t ra p pe d i n t o t h e ir M a rt i n Baker Mk I A

zero-zero ejector s ea ts i ns i de a spacious

a n d e r go n om i c c o ck p it w h ic h remark

ably quiet for such a c la ss of a irc r af t. I n

t h e f r on t s e at the pilot has his traditional

controls, as w ell as h i s H D, moving-map

display, terrain-following E -scope ancl

24

radar warning equipment directly in frontof him. In the rear cockpit tw o identical

CRT displays with in teg r al k e yb o ar d s f or

communication with the main computer

a s w e lla s f or navigation and mission plan

n i ng d o m in a t e t h e forward view. Between

them the navigator s combined map

p in g r ad ar a nd moving-map display;

below these a hand controller which

used for designating and updating naviga

tion/ w eapon aimingdata in conjunction

w ith the radar/map display.

The RB.199 Engine

During 1967 an intensive study by the or

m e r B r i t o l idde1ey now Rolls-Royce)

team at Patchway in Bristol developed an

afterburning turbofan that reached a p er formance far b e yo n d t h a t w h ic h h ad b e en

intended to power FVG. They also

d e li b er a te d o v er t h e Rolls-Royce-devel

o pe d t e ch n ol o gy o f using three separate

rotating s p oo ls: lo w- LP), intermediate

I P) a nd high-pressure H P ) . P i on e er e d

originally in the RB.Z civil engine, this Close-upof the afterburner cans on a erman Tornado IDS. uthor

25

TilE TORN DO DESCRI ED THETORN DO DESCRI ED



RB 99 being prepared fo r f i t t ing in to a Tornado F BAe

flight envelope, and other changes to g

higher thrust ; these engines entered

ight programme in March 1977. In 1

the Dash-03 powered most Tornado pro

types, but the main engine o n t h e test

was the Dash-04, with even more refi

ment . RB.199 Mkl 3 engines power

later Tornado ID aircra ft , although so

Mk1 I e ng in es , to the initial product

tandard of lightly lowcr thrust, arc stil

service. The T or n ad o A D V uses

Mkl04 engine which has Full utho

Digital Electronic Control (FADEC) a

a n e x te n de d j e t pire for imrroved reh

efficiency, giving added t hrust and reduspecific fuel consumption in reheat . Al

t h e c u rr e nt p ro d uc t io n e ng i ne s h

FADEC. RB.199 Mk105 engines , wh

a rc s imi la r to Mk1 03 b ut h av e a hig

pressure rat io fan and increased thr

power the Tornado Electronic Com

and Reconnaissance ECR) aircraft

Germany (see Chapter 4).

contract to Turbo- nion, began fl ight

dcvelopment in the Vulcan, whi l t simu

hucd Mach 2 f li gh t was i nves ti ga ted i n a

supersonic test cell at t he a ti ona l Ga

Turbine Establishment at Pye tock.

Th e p e rf o r ma n c e t a r ge t that were

agreed for the Dash-OJ engine fell well

short o f t h e intended production figure,

and between 1971-76 Turbo-Union trans

formed engine rerformance through a

series of devel opm ent engines, culminat

ing in the Dash-04 which was virtually the

same as t he product i on powerplant. The

first major improvement, the Dash-02,

achieved increased thrusts at all regimesw it h n o i nc re as e in gas temperature,

chiefly by o pe ni ng o ut t he a nn ul us area

between the IP and LP turb ine stator

blades to give a greater corc airflow. This

was an i m po r ta n t e n gi n e a n d a few wer

s ti ll f ly ing in 1979. The Dash-03 intro

duced broader fan b lades t o cure a f lu tt er

problem at h ig h r pm in one part of the

The ix-stage HP compressorwas driven

by a s ing le -st age a ir -cool ed turbine

advanced a s a ny i n the world a t t he time,

with entry gas temperature of over

1, 32rC at ful l power. Thi shaf t a lsopowered the accessories, which were

located o n t h e underside o f th e engine for

easy access once installed. Th e combus

tion chamber was of the annular typewith

vaporizing burners and iv s outstanding

fuel cconomy for long-range interdiction,

as wel l as very h igh thrust for short take

offs, M a h 2 p er fo rm an ce a nd c om ba t

manoeuvring. Most unusually, the engines

were Iinked via gearboxes to a cross-drive

which is automatically engaged should

the engine speeds differ by more than a

specified l imit , t h an e i th e r e ng in e c an

drive all secondary power suppl ie .

Th e i mp or ta nc e o f t he programme

prompted the use of a Vulcan flying test

b ed w it h a r ep re e n ta t io n o f t h e left half

of an MRCA bod ee p. l l ) , and while

this installationwasbeing built, prototypc

engine began to appear t o the RB.J99-0 I

st andard, and the first made a su cessful

bench run at Patchway on 27 September

1971. Further prot ot ype ran at Bristol,

M u ni ch a nd Turin during the following

year, and on 9 April 1973 thechief test

pilot of Rolls-Royce, John Pollitt, under

Bristol , wi th another off ice i n Munich

next to Panavia. The production alloca

tion was as follows: Rolls-Royce produced

t he i nl et , LP ca se, fa n, combustion

system, H P t ur b in e c om pl e te , t u rb i necasings, aft erburner and fuel control sy

tem; M TU t he IP and HP compressors,

intermediate casing, acces ory drive and

gearbox, by-pass duct o u t e r e n gi n e cas

i ng ), I P turbine a n d d r iv e -s h af t , and

reverser; and Fiat the LP t u rb i ne c o m

plete,LP drive-shaft, exhaust diffuser, rear

j e t- p ip e a n d variable nozzle. Unlike the

Tornado airframe the RB.199 was

de igned to use al l thc latcst technology.

The three-stage fan, which was aerody

namical ly derived from the much larger

fan o f t h e Rolls-Royce Pegasus engine, i

assembled by prec is i on Electron-Beam

W e ld i ng E B W) , a n d the fan s ta t ors a re

also al l welded. The EBW construction

aves weight compared t o t he traditional

insertion of separate blades, and also

reduces vibration. Replacement of dam

aged blades by cutting and welding has

been dem onst rat ed. The IP compressor

rotor, w i th t h r ee stages, is also an EBW

structure, and is driven by a single- tage

air-cooled turbine.There were no variable

stators, the only airflow trimming control

being an IP blow-off.

Cutawayof the RB 99 BAe

design appeared to make the engine more

complex, but i n fac t made i t small e r and

shorter, and reduced the number of parts.

Each o f t he three spools couId run at it

own best speed without the n eed fore x tc n si v e v a ri a b le b l ad i ng , and fewer

s tage were t here fore needed t o a c hi e ve

the desired pressure ratio. The new pow

crplant was called the RB.199.

In March 1969, as t he M RC A was

defined and Panavia was formed , an

engine competition was hel d. Pratt Whitney did their utmost to promote the

various advanced devel opm ents o f t he i r

T F30, i ncl udi ng the new J T F2 2 a n d the

parcr JTFI6, b ut n on e quite m::lt hed

the requirement; the company was also

handicapped by U ecurity, and event u

ally withdrew. General Electric perhaps

tried harder, wi th t he G E 0; however,

the RB.199 was 0 demon trably superior

that on 5 eptember 1969 the RB.199

34R was e lec ted , and o n 3 0 September

an international consortium was formed

to produce i t.

Th e consortium was c a ll e d T u rb o

nion Ltd, Rolls-Royce of Britain and

M a ro r en u n d T u rb i ne U n io n M u nc h e n

MT U ) o f G e r m an y e a ch taking a 40 per

cent share and Fiat of Italy taking 20 rer

ccnt . T urbo-U ni on s head off icc was at

26 27

THE TORN DO DESCRI ED



appropriate correcting command going to

the control urfaces.

A ir cr af t p ee d and h ei gh t ( dynami c

p re ss u re ) from the Air-Data Computer,

wing sweep, airbrake and spoiler position

data a re a ls o t aken in to account by the

C S. Thi ensures that opt imum con

trol re s po n s e is obtained throughout the

flight envelope i n a ll configurations. In

the main operating mode, with the MD

loop in operation, the fly-by-wire system

automatically compensates for g u sts d is

turbing the a ircra ft s fligh t p at h, a nd

give t he same crisp handl ing character

istics regardless of external load carried.

The C A incorporates a f ai lu re l og ic

which cont i nuous l y moni t ors and con

solidates the triplex electrical signals to

m ee t t he fa ilu re s u rviv a l requirement

andto avoid nuisance disconnects due to

tolerance bui ld-ups or normal system

transients.

When multiple s y st e m f a il u re s are

detected, mode r e ve rs i on i f ir st t o direct

e le ctric al s ig na llin g , in s te a d of the M D

l oo ps . u b equent, additional, fa ilu re w ill

cause the engagementof the normally de

clutched mechani ca l back-up syst em ,

which provides an adequat e ge t-home

c a pa b ility. To prevent loss of cont rol or

spin entry at high angles of incidence, the

Tornado is p rovi ded w it h a pin

P re ve nt io n a nd I nc id en ce L im it in g

System (SPILS) This system reduces theroll-and-yaw command authori ty avail

able t o t he p il o t at high incidence angles

by taking the ru d de r p e da l and roll stick

posil ion signals from the C A and

scheduling e ach o f t h em as a function of

in c id e n ce . It augments the pi tch stiffne

to p ro vi d a m or e pr eci e incidence con

trol, effectively limiting attainable inci

dence angles by feeding the incidence sig

n al s b ac k to the pitch ch anne l o f the

CSAS, so that a c ri ti ca l v al ue is not

exc d ed. P IL S compri e the computer

and cont rol panel mount ed on t he left

h and con o le in the pilot s cockpit.

The Autop ilo t and F li gh t D ir ec to r

System (AFDS) provides automatic flight

control of the aircraft, reducingthe pilot s

workload and increasing the al l -weather

e ffe tiv en e s s of the weapons system. The

t wo FDS proces ors compute autopilot

command ignals, which a re ro ute d t o t he

CSA ,and flight director command sig

nals, which a re r o ut e d f or d is pl ay t o t he

HUD and to t he A tt it u de Director

ndicator 01). The following modesare

provided: Basic Mode (at t itude and head

in g h ol d) ; H ea di ng A cq uir e; Tr ac k

Acquire; Altitude H ol d; M ac h H ol d;

Radar Height Hold; Terrain Following;

Auto Throttle; and Approach. To en ure

fligh t a fe ty, the AFDScont inously moni

tors and compares the N attitude infor

mati n w it h that of the A HR . hou ld

the data f ro m t h es e t w o s e n so rs d if fe r by

more than a p re - se t amount, the auto

pilot will automatically d ise n ga g e, w ith

the appropriate warning indication. An

instinctive cut-out facility on the cont rol

column enables the pi lot to quicklydisen

gage the autopilot.

Defensive Systems

Tornados from the t h ree part ner na ti ons

differ conSiderably in their ECM fit. RAF

a i rc r af t c ar r y a BOl-I07 chaff and flare

d is pe n s er p o d o n t he ir starboard outer

wing pylons and a S ky hadow ECM podon t he p or t o ut er w in g p yl on , w hi ls t

German a ircra ft c a rry a BOl-tOl t o port

w it h a Cerberu l l , I II or I V E C M p od t o

s t ar b oa r d. M o re r e ce n tl y some German

aircraft have beenseen using the S-pro

d uc e d A /ALQ-1l9 instead o f t he usual

Cerberus , espec ia l ly in s or ti es o v er

Bosnia. Marinef l ieger Tornados carry

A ja x E CM pods instead of Cerberus ,

w h il s t I t al i an a i rc r af t u se t he BO l- I 02

a lo ng w it h t he with Cerberus pod, or

alternatively with the EI monica EL/73

E C M p od . Over Bosnia, Italian Tornados

c a rrie d a l pod under each w ing , p re

sumably one loaded with chaff and one

28

w ith flares . British , German and Italian

a ircra ft a re a lso ab le t o carry t he AIM-9

idewinder AAM on the inner faces of

their inner wing pylons.

Th Tornado a ls o c a rr i es c a rr i es an

extensive Defensive A id s S ub ystem

(DA ), which provides warnings to the

crew and whi chcan neutralize or severely

decrease the effectivene s of a ir - to -ai r

interceptors, u rfac e -to -a ir m iss ile s and

anti-aircraft artillery. It consists of the fol

lowing major components: threat warning

receivers and displays; active ECM; and

chaffand flare dispensers- chaffand flares

can b e d i sp e n e d simultan ously or as an

a l te rna t ive t o ac ti ve ECM. The threat

warning receivers an be programmed

before the flight with the characteristics of

expected t h re a t. On the Ita lia n v a ria n t,

the AECM equipment i an internally

mounted self-protection jammer, enabling

the carriage of a chaff/f1are dispen er pod

on eachoutboard pylon. Th exp ndables

capacity is therefore doubled. The (IT)

advanced (GE enhanced) ra da r w a rnin g

equipment is able to operate i n a h ig hl y

dense signal environment. It can inter

cept, identify and di play enemy emis

s ion s , in c lu d ing command guidance RF

signals, and allows automaticactive or pas

sive countermeasure actions.

The highest-priori ty ident i fied threats

can be presented via synthetic symbology

on the dedi cat ed displays, o r o n th e TVtab/CEDAM. The ARWE provides a

functional interface to cue threat data for

HARM operation in self-protectmode or

unplanned at tack with threat library load

via the avionics bus with the M i s i on

Data Transfer System (MOTS). The two

aerial /RF heads are located in the lead

ing and t rai li ng edge of the fin, provid

in g re a r azimuth coverage of I 0°. These

aids, combined with Tornado s s m all s iz e

and high-speed terrain following ability,

minimize t he acqui si t ion capab il it y of

enemy radars. This gives Tornado a v er y

high degree of urvivability, even in the

most hostile environments.

Tornado production was authorized on 10

larch 1 97 6, w i th a pl anned s t ar t da te of

I J uly, some time before the first of the

pre-production a i rc r af t h a d b ee n f lo wn . I t

was estimated that the first batch of twen

ty aircraft for the UK, s ix te e n for

Germany and f ou r f or I ta ly w ou ld take

around eighteen months to complete.

For the RAF, the basic LOS

(lnt rdictor/Strike)version was to be

known as t hc Tornado GR.I, (Ground

Attack/Reconnaissance Mark 1 whilst

Germany, Italy and - later on - audi

Arabia chose to retain the IDS

designation. Th e mai n d if fe re nc es

betwecn British, German and Ita lia n ID S

a i rc r af t l ie i n the individual user nation s

choice of avionics equipment, which are

d e s crib ed in later e c tio n s . U n iqu e ly, a ll

RAFGR. Is havean extra 121 gal fuel tank

in their tailfins,giving the aircraft an additional internal fuel capacity of 28Sgal

S 421tr), an advantage exploi ted on the

British TfTE aircraft, which gained addi

t ional endurance over the Ge rman and

I t al i an m a ch i ne s . H o we ve r, t hese have

since beende-activated (inpreparation for

Gulf War s e rvic e, a s a precaution incase of

A A or smallarms hit .

The Tornado GR. 1 and 10 bombers

look ex terna l ly i den ti cal , t hough new

batches i n troduced improvements and

important m o dific atio ns . To the casual

observer, perhaps the b es t m et ho d o f

defining the various Tornado batches i by

their external fit: l at e r RAF a ircra ft a re

f it te d w it h a Las r Rangef inder and

M a rke d Ta rge t Seeker (LRMTS) in an

external fairing, andthe later German air

craft can carry HARM ant i- ra da r

m is ile s. H o w ev e r, th i c an be deceiving:

some early-batch aircraft have 2-4 been

rerro-f i tt ed wi th equipment normally

associated wi th later batches. Tothe more

s er io us -m inded, s er ia l n umbe rs and

squadron m a rkin g s a re perhaps the best

batch indicators.

CH PTER THREE

orn do S

Bo lt-o n IFR p rob e s w e re int roduced

someo f t he RAF machines: al though

a common sigh t on the Germany-b

aircraft, they w e re u se fu l for the UK

tioned To rna d o s, g iv in g them additio

range t o s tr i ke t a rg et s i n E ur op e s h

t hi s b ecome nec es ary. An intcres

asidewas the RAF interest in fittin g

i n tensi ty n i gh t formation-flying lig

such as can be een on -built airc

One Tornado was outfitted for t rial

Germany, but the id ea w as short-lived

Weapons Systems

Ascan be expected with their w ide r

of tasks, the in d iv idu a l a ir a rms u se a

range of weaponry on t he ir Tornado

the s trike ro le , RAF Tornados wer

carry the indigenously designed and

duced WE.I77B free-fall nuclear bo

29

TORNADO IDS TORNADO IDS



2 ft 2in 8.6m)

45ft7in 13.9m)

54ft lOin l6.7m)

19ft 8 i n 6 m )

l aximum peed Mach 2.2

l,nOgal (7,270Itr)

1,9 Igal(7,500Itr)

30, OOlb (13,950kg)

61 ,700lb 2 kg)

craft. The systemi pre-flight-checke

the BITE system. The navigator

programme up to five attack packages

his control panel. The type of weap

release quantity, relea e modes

intervals and fuzing modes can a ll be

programmed. Any of these packages

then be cal led to instant readiness a t

press of a single button.The M accrel ease cues from th e M C and, in

e v e nt o f a computer failure, substitute

own release cues. Th e usc of re

grammable memories in the S

p r ov i de s t a ct i c al flexibility, and o

software changes arc required to integ

new weapons.

Th e Tornado is fi tted wi th th

underfuselage and four w ing pylons

the carriage of over nine tons

pecification - Tornado ID

Weights:

empty

maxImumtake-off

Dimen ions:

WIngspanswept

forwarJ

length

height

Performance:

Fuel capacity:maximum internal

maximum external

of establishing the precise height above

the target. Alternatives are the Texas

Instruments radar in elevation mode, the

radar a l t im e t er o r b a ro - in e rt i al h e ig h t,

t he l at t er t og et he r with 2- memorized

target elevation. At medium altitudes,

the GMR is used for height finding a

well as baro-inertial height.

The MC uses the stored ballisticharacteristics of the selected weapon,

t h e e x ac t target relative position a nd t h e

aircraft s v locity, attitude ami drift data

t o d et er m in e precisely the weapon

release point

Th e S to r es M an ag em en L SysLem

( MS) is a duplex system containing two

p r oc e s o r s a t e a ch channel. It controls

the selection, arming, release and firing of

all weapons and stores carried on the air-

Tornado GR.1 front a n d r e ar c o c k pit . BAe

range of w eapons, including some items

left over from the F -1 04 G t ar fi gh te r

days. The aircraft can carry a variety of

US Mk a-type bombs, either slick or

retarded, t h e H u nt i ng BL755 B a n d

a related above, nuclearw eapons. In the

s am e v ei n as the RAF and its JP233,

Luftwaffe Tornados carry the ungainly

l o o ki n g MB B /Di e h l M W -1 d i sp e ns e r ,

detailed on p ag e 55. Another unusual

store very o c c as i o na l l y c a r ri e d by

the Luftwaffe Tornados is the Dornier

Aerial T ar ge t S ys te m, used for

gunnery training.

Th e weapon a im in g a nd deliverysystem provides t h e T o rn a do with the

ability to carry out attacks i n a ll weather

conditions, by day o r n ig ht , w it h a

previously unknown level of accuracy.

The following modes of operation are

available: planned targets; straight-pass

attack with retarded bombs or dispenser

w ea po ns , w i th d ir ec t o r offset-point

aiming; dive attack, bombs; loft attack,

bombs; air-to-surface missiles; air-to

ground guns; unplanned targets (targets of

opportunity); bomb, using Continuously

Computed Impact Point CClP);

and bombs, using CCI P p lu la se r target

seeker.

For planned targets the co-ordinates are

part of the mission plan and are

stored in the M . For t ar ge t w he re , for

t a ct i ca l o r t o po g ra p hi c al reasons, directacquisition is to be avoided , up t o t hr ee

offset points in t h e t a rg e t v i ci n it y c a n be

pre-programmed and used for aiming with

no loss in accura MC-predicted system

target or offset location appears t o the

navigator as a marker cross on the radar

screen, o r t o t h e p i lo t on the HUD. Using

the hand controllers f or a f in al u pd at e,

either crew member can adjust his display

marker or lock the rangingsensor, radar or

laser, onto the t ar ge t t o f ee d accurate

three-dimensional co-ordinate, as well as

range a nd a ng le d at a, to the w apon

re lease of tware i n t h e M C. The system s

flexibility a ll ow s a quick, one-button

bl ind/visuaI or offset/target changeover to

usc the be t p os si bl e target position

update routine.Targets of opportunity use

the CC1P symbology w ith manual release.

Due to the l ow graz ing angles of

sensors pointing at a tar ge t from low

altitudes, precise I lative height is

required to minimize along-track errors on

the ground. The laser r a ng e r t o g et h er

with the updated height from the

navigation system arc the primary means

30

sin e heen replaced by the G E C T I AL D

pod,described on p ag e I 12

RAF Tornados also carry a range of spe

cialized weapons uch a the Hunting

BL755 clusterbomb, iin both original and

improved forms. A weapon u n iq u e t o t h e

RAF Tornado is t he H u nt in g JP233

bomblet dispenser, used primari ly in the

anti -airfield role. In peacetime, T ornado

more often s impl y c ar ry ML Aviation

C BL 2 00 p ra ct ic e b om b carriers, fitted

w it h 3 kg flash a nd s mo ke b ea n- ti n

b om bs m ad e by P ortsmouth A viation,

which accurately s i mu l at e t h e ballistic

characteristics of a normal bomb.

Luftwaffe Tornados al 0 use a wide

The RAF tested l o w i n ten s i ty n i g h t fo r m ati o n l i g h ts during the early 1 9 90 s a s a way to aid

night formation flying. via Mike Tomlinson

The RAF s Mk13 22 1 0001b bombs can be f i t te d wi th a Hunting M k 1 17 p a r ac h u t e r e t a r d ing

ta i l fo r low level use as is demonstrated here. BAe

slick fordelivery from medium level or for

lofting attacks; for low-level use, the same

w e ap o n c a n be f itted with a Hunting

Mkl17 parachute-retarding tail. Forpreci

s io n use t he b om b c an be f it ted with

Paveway II/III guidance kits, with a new

nose which incorporates a lasersensor and

control fins, plusa new tailfitted with 1 01 -

out stabilizing fins. This brings the basi

I,0001b bomb up to thestandard of the

GBU-16. The Tornado force was unable to

elf-designate targets for its LGBs for many

years, and in time of conflict t hi s rol e

would have fallen to the older Buccaneers

using their A /AVQ-23E Pave Spike pods

- as i tdid in the Gulf War. This system has

TOR ADO IDS TORN \DO IDS



During the i nt er -w ar y e ar s 0 .1 6 s er ve d a

16Squadron

quadron used t h e c o de range EA - E

the aircraFt c od ed F is by traditi

named MacRobert s Reply aFter o n e o

the unit s wartime Stirlings.

O/ erta A/ eTW - Hidden t hi n gs a

revealed

No.9 Squadron s Batemblem. Author

T h i s s q ua d ro n served o n t he W es te rn

Front as a reconnaissance unit in World

War On e beFore converting to the

bomber role w it h w hi ch it has been

assosciared ever ince. As the First RAF

G er ma ny T or na do u ni t, N o. 15 b eg an

receivingTornados at RAF L aa rb ru h on

5 July 1983 oFFicially Forming on I

ovember 1983 and b e in g d e cl a r ed

o p er a ti o na l t o ATO on I J ul y 19 4.

The s q ua dr on h ad a nuclear strike

commitment until this was taken over by

the Royal Navy. No.15 was one of three

L aarbruch casualties in t h e p o st - Gu l F

W ar c ut ba ck s, a nd t he s qu ad ro n flew

home to the K For disbandment on 31December 1991. Disbandment wa how

ever short-lived as the unit s number

plate re-appeared o n t he aircraFt o f t he

Tornado OC U at L o ss i em o ut h , t h is

becoming 0.15 R e se r ve ) S q ua d ro n .

During its time at L aa rb ru ch , 0 .1 5

A i m S u re

No. 15 Squadron

Bri.iggen Wing to Form b u t t h e first to be

equipped w ith JP 233. A ircraft For 0.14

Designate) Squadron b eg an t o a rr iv e

in April 19 5 with the squadron

celebrating its 75th anniversary on 3

February 1990 and it was 0.14

Squadron s CO who led the First Tornado

deploymentto the GulF during O peration

DeseTt Shield. In late 1993, 0.14

quad r o n r e c eiv e d the bulk of the RAF s

TIALD-capable a ir cr a Ft Fro m 0.617

quad r o n u s in g the code range BA - BI .

JP233 in act ion. Laying down and detonating tw o types of weaponsimultaneously make

very difficultfor enemy engineers to effect repairs. BAe

0 9 Squadron

RAF Tornado Strike Units

14Squadron

PeT noctem volamus - We f ly b y Night

I s p r ea d m y w ing s a n d k e ep my promise

N o.14 S quadron wa the First R F C u n it

deployed to E gy pt i n World W ar O n e,

remaining in the ar a until 1945. More

recently it was the last squadron of the

In i ts e ar l y d ay s 0.9 wa involved in

air-ground wireless trials and From the

1 92 s s er ve d a s a bomber unit. A For me r

Vulcan squadron, 0.9 disbanded on 29

April 1982 to r e -f o rm a s the world s First

Front-line T ornado squadron w hen i t r e

emerged at Honington on I June 19 2

The squadron participated in a Green

Flag e x er c ise in March 19 5 although it

h ad t ak en s om e months to become

combat-ready. The s qu ad ro n m ov ed t o

R A F G ermany on I October 19 6 in the

process swapping i ts o r igin a l a ir c ra Ft For

n e w L R M TS - eq u i pp e d a irc r aFt Fro m

Batch 4. It celebrated by w i nn i ng t h e

prestigious Salmond Trophy - awarded toR AF G s qu ad ro ns For b om bi ng a nd

navigation accuracy - in the same year.

The squadron wa n o mi n a te d t o b e co m e

the First user of t h e A L AR M missile and

began receiving ALARM-capable aircraFt

even while the m is si le i ts el F w as s ti ll

being tested w ith the squadron s strength

increasing From t we l ve t o e i gh t ee n a t t h e

same time. D ur i ng t h e Gulf War 0.9

Squadron provided eight of its ALARM

capable aircraft For use in Operation

Desert SWTm but they were destined to be

flown by aircrew From 0.20

Squadron, while NO.9 s p il ot s a nd

navigators flew c o nv e nt i o na l b o mb i ng

missions with the Tabuk- and Muharraq

based detachments.

squadronsconverted to the Tornado From

the Jaguar during 19 5 these being No.17

and 0.14 with the Final depature of the

Jaguars beingmade during 0 tober. These

R A F G T ornado units Formed part of the

2nd lIied Tactical i r F or ce ATAF),

wh i h al so contained air elements From

Belgium the N etherlands, WestG ermany

a nd t he n it ed tates.

prioritybeinggiven to the squadronswhich

h a d b e en o p er a ti n g t h e B uc c an e er in the

overland rol . The First to do s o w a s No.15

Squadron, which reFormed on the Tornado

at L aarbruch in October 19 3. T h is u n it

had previously o p er a te d t h e Buccaneer

and wa Followed by RAFG otherB u cc a ne e r u n i t, 0.16 quadron, in

February 1984. N o .2 0 q u ad r on , previous

ly a Jaguarsquadron based at Bri.iggen re

equipped w ith the T ornado in June 1984

also at L aa rb ru ch . 0 .3 1 Squadron, For-

merlya Jaguarunit, tood-up at BrLiggen in

ovember 1984 whilst t wo m o re R A FG

A birdst r ikeon the nose ofth is GR.1 resulted in quite a b i to f b en t metal. In this instance

the errant bird was whipped over the canopy, thus avoiding being ingested in to the

engines Author

b ei ng t h e First OC of a n o p er a ti o na l

Tornado squadron. The squadron was a

Former Vulcan B.2 unit, as was 0.617

S quadron w hich reFormed on Tornados in

Ma y 1 98 3 at Marham, along with N o . n

S q ua d ro n , w h ic h r e ap p ea r ed in August

19 3 . I n addition to these Front-line unitsa h an dFu l of Tornados were assigned to

the T ornadoO perational E valuation Unit

at Boscombe Down.

W it h t he Full complement of three

home-based squadrons successFuliy

e t ab li h ed unit in R A F G ermany began

t o r e- eq ui p w it h the T o rn a do , h i g he r

32 33

TOR O II>S TORN O IDS



Familiarization

Lay-down/

toss bombing

Dive bombingProgress check

Night flying

Air combat

Operational phase

Flying

0.27. Squadron served in France a

Quam Cel/errine Ad Astra - W

speed t o t h e ·tars

Main Student Training Course

9-12 weeks, dependant on weather)

War Two . I t h ad b ee n a jaguar u

Bri.iggen and it disbanded there

june 1 98 4, r e fo r mi n g as a To

squadron at Laarbruch o n t he sam

0.20 Squadron was another unit

fell v ic ti m t o the defence cuts im

after t h e O p ti o ns for Change d

review. 0.20 officially disbanded i

1 99 2, r e- em er gi ng i n a new guis

September, its historic numberplate

saved from extinction and re-alloca

t h e H ar r ie r OC U, w hi c h b e ca m e

Reserve) quadran.

NO 27 Squadron0 .1 7 S q ua d ro n i n it i al l y s e rv e d in

Macedonia i n W or ld W ar O n e, estab

l ishing itself as o ne o f t h e RAF s premier

f ig ht er u ni ts . It forms part of the

BrLiggen Wing, sharing t h e c o m mi t m en t

to p ro vi de a ir cr af t a nd aircrew for

Operation juml the British e l em en t o f

Operation outhem Watch ( se e page 75) .

The squadron uses the c od e r an ge

CA - CZ a lo ng w it h i t highly im a gina

tive zigzag m a rk i ng s a n d mailed fi t

emblem. 0.17 Squadron is due to dis

band i n 2 00 2 w he n t he BrLiggen Wing

r e tu r ns t o t h e UK.

No

20 Squadron

Facta non Verba - Deeds not words

One of the RFC s top-scoring units in

W or ld W ar O ne , 0 .2 0 S qu ad ro n w en t

on to f ight in Ind ia and Burma in World

No 17 Squadron

Excel ere Conrende- S trive to Excel

All three nations are represented in th isshot,ledby B-50 from ASquadron,with G-3

BSquadronand 1-43 from the Standards.Squadron, and it wouldnot be unusualfor a

pilot to beflying a German Tornadowith an Italian student BAe

reconnaissance unit, remaining in Germany

po t-war. It became RAF Germany s second

Tornado unit on I March 1984, h av ing

received its first a ircraft on l3 December

1983. I t was ba sed a lo ngs id e No.15

Squadron at Laarbruch, and also converted

fram the Buccaneer. No.16 Squadron com

memorated its 75th anniversary by painting

o n e o f i ts a ircraft overall b lack, witha huge

yellow aint on i t t ai l f in .

pooled, so a British student, for example, might

well find himself with a German instructor in an

Italian aircraft. Areduction in t he n e ed for new

aircrew led to a reduction in the unit

establishment in 1989, to eighteen German,

sixteen RAF and five Italian aircraft. The 200th

mE main course graduated on 19 February

1994. mE tail numbers were pre-fixed with B

for British, G for Germanand T for Italian, with

BR British Reconnaissance) codes being

b r ie f ly u s ed by recce-earmarked aircraft

assigned to t he u ni t w hi le w a it in g for their

GR.1A conversion. In 1997 it was announced

that the mE would disband in 1999, with the

Germans moving their training programme to

the USA. RAF crews will be trained by an

expanded No.15 R) Sqn at Lossiemouth. RAF

Tornados assigned to the mE differ from the

German and Italian lOSs by virtue of their finfuel tank, which gives them better endurance.

mE aircraft a r e a lw a ys flown slick , that is,

without 2-11 pylons or stores, again making

t he m m or e aerodynamic and therefore more

fuel efficient.

ABOVE: Pilot and instructor head out for

a training sortie. Note the useof the

InternationalOrange flying suits. Author

RIGHT: The TTTE crest.

Author

LEFT: Pilot and

instructor strap in

ready for pre-take

offchecks. Author

BELOW: German, Italian and British

Tornados share the Cottesmore flight

line, though German training will move

to Holloman AFB in Germany in 1999.

Author

Tri-National TornadoTraining

Cottesmore before No.1 Course arrived on

5January 1981.

The unit built up to an initial establishmentof

twenty-two German, twenty-one RAF and

seven Italian aircraft, conforming to the 42.5 per

cent,40 per cent and 17.5 per cent funding spilt

between the nations. Instructors were provided

in the same ratio. The standard Main Course

lasts thirteen weeks, with a nine-week flying

phase providing thirty-five flying hours for pilots

and twenty-eight for navigators. The first eight

hours are flown with instructors, before crews

team up. By t he e nd of the course, crews can

fly an academic attack sortie, with automatic

TFR. The mE also provides shorter Instrument

Rating Examiner courses, SeniorOfficers famil

iarization courses and Competence to Instruct

courses for TTTE instructor pilots and

navigators.Instructors and students are divided into

three squadrons A , B , and C , irrespective of

nationality, and there is a separate Standards

Squadron. Aircraft are nominally assigned to

one of the four squadrons but a r e a c tu a ll y

A tri-national agreement, similar to t he o ne

which established the original PanaviaTornado

programme, set up a jointtraining programme

for the three nations and four air arms involved.

The objective was to have all aircrew trained

up to squadron level, though this aim was

dashed w h en G er ma ny p ul le d o ut of the

proposed common weapons and tactical

training phase, w h ic h h a s therefore always

been a nationalresponsibility. Based at an RAF

Cottesmore in Leicestershire since 1975, the

Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment or

mE { triple-T-E l saw its first personnel begin

to arrive from April 1978. Although it remains a

component of the RAFs NO.1 Group under an

RAF station commander, the unit is truly multi

national, with senior positions being rotated

between the B r it is h, G e rm a n a n d Italian

officers with aircraft from all users being basedat the site. Aircraft began to arrive on 1 July

1980 and the first instructors nine pilots and six

navigators) trained on the Service Instructor

Training Courses at Manching from 5 May 1980.

They in turn trained additional instructors at

34 35

TOR ADO IDS TOR: JADO IDS



No.17 Squadron s reduced size

nose marking. Author

NO 17 Squadron s mailed f is t t a i l badge. Author ABOVE: Tornado GR 1 ZA 5 4 6/ J B o f No.27 Squadron a former Vulcan u n i twh i c h has

operated the t y p e s in ce 1983

BELOW

ZA470/FL when wi th No.16Squadron. Author

7

TORNADO S TORNADO S



ZD461 DK No.31 Squadron sanniversary s h i p. A u t h or

bombs emit a puff of smoke so the

controller can plot their fall and

the results. The Tornado s two

cannon are loaded with bal l ammu

for air-to-ground strafing practise.

A staff of 170 cares for T W

Tornados under the direction of a

E n gi n ee r i ng O f fi c er and two

Engineering Officers . Two shif

worked, f ive days per week, Mon

Friday and each aircraft generates

30-35 f ly ing hours per month. A

strength is some twenty Tornados

divided between standard strike v

and dual-control t rainers which, i t

b e s tr es se d, a re f ul ly combat-ca

Even all owing for upda te progra

that me an s a b ro ad s pr ea d of a

standards to be accommodated. A

uni t s B at ch I and 2 aircraft h a ve

ret rofi tted with lasers under the f

fuselage, whilst during 1990 the

f leet was f it ted with refuelling

during p r im a ry s e rv i ci n g wh

T WC U Tornado is fitted either one or

two CBLS 200 pods, holding up to four

miniature bombs of either3kgor 4kg size.

The actual masses differ from t h e n o mi

nal weights, at 3.39k and 14.57kg, respec

tively.) These resemble full-size bombs in

their trajectories following release.

The 3kg practice bomb behaves l ike

parachute-retarded 1,0001b bomb or

BL755 c lu st er b omb, a nd may b e f it te d

with different sizes of circular drag-plate.

Forward throw is typically 2,000ft when

released from 500ft at 550kt i na 10° d ive.

The longer, thinner 4kg m at ch es t he

1,0001b slick bomb, and for toss bombing

a I , 500f t r el ea se i n a 30° climb at 550kt

wil l see the weapon t rave l four mil es

6.7km). When simulating the ]P233

dispenser system, the 3kg bomb is used as

a n a pp ro xi ma ti on , t he pilot s HU D

s ho wi ng 3 kg b al li st ic s so that the

accuracy of a i mi n g c a n be assessed even

t ho ug h t he b om b wil l fal l t h e w ro n g

place. O n h i tt i ng the ground, pract ice

its No.45 Squadron guise, a TW CU To r na d o s it s o n t h e H o n in gt o n h a r ds t a nd . W it h

d is b a n dm e n t o f t h e L a ar b r uc h To r na d o w in g , h o w ev e r , N o . 4 5 S q u a d r on w a s s u c ce d

b y N o .1 5 R e s er v e L a n d t h e unit moved to Lossiemouth. Author

h av e b een us ed h ad t he u ni t ever been

transferred to SACEUR control in

times of war. No.45 Squadron was

allocated the wartime tailcodes LA - LZ ,

but t hey were rarel y seen, except dur ingtheG ulf War when at leasttwo aircrafthad

these codes applied. The 0.45 Squadron

identity was dropped on 31 March 1992,

with a formal disbandment as the T WC U

shadow . No.45 Squadron s ident ity was

transferred to the Multi-Engine Training

S q ua d ro n o f No.XX FTS, re- fo rming as

such on 1 j ul y 1993. T WC U formally

adopted the new shadowidentity of No. 5

(Reserve) S quadron on 1 Apri l 1992 and

moved from Honington to Lossiemouth on

the 1st of November 1993.

B e ne a th t h e fuselage of each of the

P h a nt o m a n d j a gu a r squadrons, none of

w ho m h a d o p e r at i on a l e x pe r ie n ce o n t h e

Tornado. By 1984, however, the first

front-line Tornado a ircrew were be ing

posted back to the TW CU as instructors.

A s T ornado instructors w ithdirect opera

tional e xp er ie nc e o n t he aircraft , they

could give t h e u n i t t he p ot en ti al t o serve

as a n a d di t io n al f ron t- li ne squadron in

time of crisis or war, and as a so-ca ll ed

shadow squadron during peacetime. By

1984 t h e s q ua dr o n h ad t we nt y pilot

instructors,fourteen navigator instructors,

and four pi lots and four navigators who

ran the simulator.

The No.45 Squadron numberplate

was allocated as the Reserve Squadron

identity ofthe T WC U in 1984. This would

ALARM-capable Tornado unit. Its aircraft

carry the codes DA - DZ .

As related earl ier,plansfora Tri- ational

Tornado Weapons Conversion Unit were

abandoned. R A F t rainees were therefore

sent from the TTTE to the purely British

T o rn a do W e ap o ns C o nv e rs i on Unit at

R A F H onington, w hich was formed from

1 Augus t 1 980, w it h the first training

course beginning on 12 january 1982.

TW CU geared-up to allow new

squadrons to form o r c o nv e rt every six

months. T WC U was originally staffed by

i ns tr uc to rs d r aw n from Buccaneer,

TWCU - NO.45 n IS ReserveSquadrons

38 39




ornado ir ServicingFlight

All major Tornado bases havean A

en icing Flight (A F for secon

sen ic ing of r e s id e n t a ir cr a ft. The

conducts inspections of a i rc ra f t

d el iv er ed t o t he hase and unde

sen icing tasks which are b eyon

means of a s q u ad r o n, but not co

enough f or o u tsid e help to b e c a ll

Another role is to hold spareaircraf

they a r e r e qu ire d , and it was i

connec t ion tha t ZA614 was delive

Honington in A u g us t \982 as a co

aircraft for t he r es id en t u ni ts

Squadron and the TWCU). The a

was m ar ke d o n the fin wit

ingeniously devised badge containi

letters of Tornado ASF , the last th

which w e re in the share of a Torna

craft. The word Tornado w as i n

ami the a i rc r af t i n r ed . I n Decembe

ZA614 was allocated to 0.9 quad

, b ut did not t ra ns fe r. I ns t ea d,

reserved for the TOEU a nd

orerating w it h t h at u ni t o n its for

in eptember 19 3.

--

Even before it b ec am e p ar t o f the

D ef en ce R es ea rc h A ge nc y ( now the

Def en ce Eva l ua ti on and Research

Agency), the Royal Aircraft

E. tabl ishment was a Tornado operator.

The RAE a c qu i re d i ts f ir st Tornado in

mid-19 3 in the shape of ZA326, the

eighth production Tornado GR.l and the

first Tornado a ss ig ne d t o p ur e r es ea rc h

as o pp os ed t o d ev el or me nt o f t he

Tornado weapon s ys te m s pe ci f ic al ly

which w as s u b se q ue n tly d ,lm a gc d hy an

APU fire at War to n on 31 J ul y 1 98 0.

The a irc r a ft w as r e pa ir ed , rerainted in

the RAE s rasrberry-riprle high-visibili

ty c ol ou r s ch eme o f g los s S ig na l R ed

RSC38 IC /427 , w hi te a nd Oxfor d Rlue

RS381C/I05 with white serial numbers

and red cheat line, and was assigned to

the Fligh t Syste rns Department at

Thurleigh, near Bedford. It is currently in

u se w i th the DRA s Experimental Flying

Squadron at B os co mb e D ow n. Z A 3 26

has been a DRA/RAE stalwart, and is

s till e m r1 0 ye d on numerous tr ia ls p r o

grammes including the RAPTOR recon

naissance pod evaluations.

R E DER

the JP233 a ir fi el d attack weapon,

improvements in thc e lec t ron ic warfaresuite and deve lopment o f passive night

flying operations using night vision

goggles and a f o rw a rd looking infra-red

s e ns o r. A further year of tr ia ls w as thcn

authorized, keeping the un it ac tive until

September 1986 w it h f ur th er o pe ra

t i on al w eapon d el iv er y a ss es smen ts ,

ECM/EW development and a l ive drop

of JP233 in the . By January \96

when Wg Cdr Ra: Ball w as arpointed

CO , thirty-eight tasks had been

received by the unit.

The unit gained permanen t s tatus and

on 5 October 19 7 was retitled as the

SAOEU, r ceiving HarrierGR.5s in 19

and later acquiring a J ag ua r a s w el l. The

unit was incorporatedinto the AirWarfare

Centre when it was formed on I J u ly 1 99 3.

The mainchange was to the unit insignia,

w i th a h l u e chevron containing a d isc w ith

the letters AWC replacing the old insignia

of three swords radiating out to f or m a Y

shape, superimposed on a r o un de l . This

badgewas itselfreplaced by a wingedsword

within the sameblue chevron.

assigned t o t he TOEU remained i n s to r

age at the base; one of these wasassigned to another unit h ef or e i t c ou ld

b e u se d. Fina lly , the TOEU w as f o rm e d

at Boscombe unde r W g C dr J ohn

Lum sden o n \ September \983.

M a rk in gs c om pr i se a r ed , d ar k g re y and

l ig ht b lu e c ir cl e on the fin containing

three s wo rd s in a Y pattern, this being

an adartation of the CTTO badge.

Single code le tte r s a r e c a r rie d a t t he rear

tip o f t h e f in, b e in g T , 0 E and ,

f or the four aircraft.

Initially the TOE was p la nn ed t o

have a t w o- ye ar existence, conducting

trials under the four main categories of

weapon s y ste m a c c ur a cy measurement;

electronic w a rf a re ; te r ra in f o llo win g s ys

t em ; a nd t act ic s. This involved a

deployment at Elgin AFB, U A

b etwe en A ug us t a nd o vemb er \ 9 4 as

well a f li ght s from other b as es i n the

K including those close to weapon

ranges. p to the time of its planned

disbandment, the TOEU had developed

opera t ing procedures f or la s er - g uid ed

bombs, optimum methods for delivering

taken at thesameloca tion) to be extend

ed f ro m \ , 6 00 to 2 ,0 00 h o ur s . The firstf e ma le f a st- jet rilot to g radua te from

Cottesmore was Fit Lt Jo Sal ter, who

wen t o n to fly t he GR. I B w it h 0.6\7

Squadron.

A clean ZA599 on a TWCU training sortie designed in this instance fo r th e navigator s

benefit. Author

Following the formation of the first

three UK-based Tornado squadrons,

RAF trike Command e s tab lish e d a s p e

cialist t r ia l unit to exped ite the devel

0rment of tactics and operating proce

dures for the T or na do , tr ik e a nd

reconnai sance force. The Tornado

Operational Evaluation nit - TOE

formed as a l od ge r u ni t a t Boscombe

Down on \ eptember 19 4 ami report

ed j oi nt ly t o t he C en tr al Tactics and

Trials Organisation at HQ RAF trike

C omma nd , a nd t o t he A EE. The

unit was a t ua ll y i ni ti al ly d es ti ne d t o

operate from Marham, to which i t f ir st

aircraft (ZA393) w as d e liv e re d on 1\

November 19 2, and four Tornados

Strike ttack Operational EvaluationUnit SAOEU

40 47

TORNADO IDSTORNADO IDS



manufacturer, twenty-three modifications

a nd n i ne o ve rh au ls . The first Tornado

ADV was received for familiarization on

1 January 19 6 when F 2 ZD933 f lew i n

from N o.29 OC a t C onings by.

Low-Level Tr ai ning i n Canada

As the Tornado s original raison d etre

was t o a t t a ck u n d er the radar great impor

tance was and st i ll is placed on low level

training. For t he u n it based i n Germany

this ha s pr ove d to be a major problem as nolow flying is allowed in the country, and

the available slots at U K r a nge s a r e always

at a premium. In response to this problem

the R A F i n cr ea se d its commitment to

undertake a greater percentage of the low

flying sorties at more suitable locations.

In October 1983 0 . 9 S q u a dr o n m a de the

first T o rn a d o d e pl o y m en t t o C F B G o os e

Bay in Labrador Canada for training, and

was followed by other units. R ather than

s huttle a ir cr a f t ove r the A tlantic, i t w as

d e ci d ed t o b as e a num be r of Tornados at

Goose Bay for an extended period, during

w h ic h t h ey w ou l d be f lown by crews from

several squadrons.

Accordingly, on 20-21 February 19 6

n i n e T o rn a do s w ea ri n g the i n si g ni a o f

Nos9, 27 a n d 6 1 7 S q u ad r on s were f lown

out w ith V ic tor ta nke r s uppor t. On arrival

one of their first dutie wa t o t a ke p a rt in

a Green Flag exercise attended by Nos20,

31 and 617 quadrons at ellis AFB in

the United tates, and it was

not u nt il A pr il that 0.31 Squadron

personnel flew out to C anada by

transport a ir cr af t t o b eg in training.

A ircrew of 0 .1 7 q ua dr o n t oo k o ve r on

10 May fol lowed by 0.617 on 21 June.

These aircraft were then flown hom e

during July but not before nine more from

osl5, 16 and 2 0 q ua dr on s h a d b e e n fer-

r ied f rom M ar h am t o G oo se Bay on 9

July. 0 .1 5 q ua dr on crews began usingt h is b a tc h for training on 1 August, fol-

lowed by Nosl6, 20 and 17. After

t ak in g p ar t in a Red Flag exercise at

ellis, th e second b at ch o f aircraft

r e tur ne d to the K

Th e majority of this training now

t ak es p la ce at Goose Bay the RAF

de ploying va r ying types a n d n u m be r s of

its a ir cr af t t o t hi s remote airfield each

year . For 199 the first deployment came

under the title of Western Vortex 9 . On

31 Ma r ch, e ight GR.ls s e t o f f for Goose

B ay f ro m RAF Bri.iggen in Germany,

f lo wn by aircrew of No .31 q uad ron

with the support of two VC IO C IK s of

N o. IO q ua dr on and a solitary VC IO

K.2 f rom 0.10 I qn, in an operation

t ha t t he RAF call a Storm Trail. At

Goose Bay RAF flying activity is steadi

ly inc re a sing, a nd as a r es ul t the unit

ha expanded to m e et t h e task.

A m o ng t h e main assets at G oose Bay

are th e large hangars t h a t areava ila ble to

visiti ng ai rcraft. T hesegian t hangarsnot

o n ly p r ov i de m or e than a v er a ge c o v er

an d work pace, butal 0 housetheopera

tions, adm in istrationand 1 riefing faci Ii-

ties. D ur in g w i nt e r t h ey also provide

much-neededshelter from the elements,

as t e mp e r a t ur e s o f t e n fall to around

3 °C T hcflyingseasonrun from April

t o O c t o be r , w h en a p p r ox i m a te l y 1,300

sortie will b e f lo wn . T he e ig htT o rn a do s d ep lo y ed t o G o os e Bay dur

ing 1998 will stay in orth A merica

for th e whole flying s e as o n: t h e y will

al 0 b e f lo wn to such locations as

N ellis AFB, Eidson AFB a nd CFB

C old Lake for various exercises.

RAF Camouflage

When they entered service, t he RA F

Tornados carried the s ta nda r d ove r land

D ar k S ea G re y B SC 38 IC/638 a nd D ar k

Green BS3 1C/64 1 w r a pa r ound c a m ou

flage s ch em e, t h ou g h t h e Gulf War saw

the a ir cr a ft involve d be ing ove r painte d in

the s o- ca lled Pink Panther de s er t s a nd

Ni ht ox Tornado

ABOVE: Tornado GR.1A ZA706/Ecarries the unofficial name

NightFox , following on the heels o f th e Ni g h tCa t J a g u ar a n d

the NightBird Harrier a l l o f which pioneered that type s

introduction to after-dark flying techniques. Author

BELO

Nigh

Seen hereover the Canadian forests in the la t e e v e n ing s u n, a N o .1 4 S q u a d r o n G R . l n o te

the m a p le le a f z a p o n the t a il ) a nd o ne from N o .1 7 S q u ad r o n h e a d h o m e to Goose Bay

from a low-flying exercise. Paul Bolland

Tornado GR 1A ZA706/E carries the

name NightFox which alludes to its

r ol e i n evaluating sensors intended

for the RAF s Tornado GRA upgrade.

NightFox was equipped with a FUR

sensor in an underfuselage pod

which unlike the internal fit on the

GR 4 which has its eye in an under

nose fairing was carried on one of

the shoulder stations. T h e p od w as a

o ne -o ff b ui l t by the ORA at

Farnborough the shell being con

structed by Cranfield Aviation with

the internal parts coming from the

already-proven Harrier GR 7 pro

gramme The aircrah s cockpitswere

NVG-capable and the SAOEU s

Special Projects Team installed an F

sticktopwith changed functionalityto

enable bettermanipulation ohhe FUR

system Also f it te d w er e a pa ir o f

Hindenburger fuel tanks stillin their

F paintwork thus extending the air

cr hs endurance.

4243

TORNADO IDS TOR I ADO IDS



45

ics, and that new, low observa

intakes w ou ld b e f it te d. The

w ou ld r ec ei ve a thin gold c oa

r e d uc e r a d ar c r os s - se c tio n and pr

were put forward to fit the a ir cr a

the 2 0, 23 0I b s t 9 0. Ok ) E ur oj et

enginesde ignedfor the Eu r of ig hte

o r w it h the RB.199 Mkl05 fit

G e rm a n T or n ad o ECR s ee p ag

with FADEC units i ncorp

Th e principal external chang

to be a n e w f a ir i ng u nd er t h

f o rw a rd f us elag e to h o us e a FLiR

t o b e c om pl em en te d by V

standard equipment.

Other features originally outlin

the GRA in c lu d ed a new Fe r ra n t

angle holographic HUD; a new

Industries M FD H OD for the p

Marconi Zeus RWR t o replac

e xi st in g ky G uardian equipment;

GEC stores management system;

panel as the other squadrons . The tail

code has beenchanged to w h ite and repo

sitioned towards the top rear o f t h e fin.

No 31 S q u ad r o n s u s u a l ly f la m b o y a n t g o ld s t a r can now be seen in a reducedform,applied to the side of the aircraft s nose. GaryParsons AViation

W it h t he C ol d W ar a t i ts p e ak , t he R AF

d re w u p a r e qu i re m en t , R A ) 417, for an

upgrade to its Tornado GR.I f le et t o

enhance their a b ility to penetrate hostile

airspace, to m a ke in cr e as e d u sc of more

accurate w e ap o ns f r om greater stand-off

ranges, and for t he m t o b e a bl e t o m a ke

electronic emission-less covert incur

sion into enemy territory. When first

mooted, the extent o f t h e T o rn a do M L U,

or GR A, upgrade modifications was

ostentatious to say the least. There were

rumblings t ha t t he f us el ag e w ou ld b e

stretchedto provide extra spacefor avion-

Toward the fu tu re - TornadoGR 4

fuselage, wirhin a smalleryellow/green bar

replacing the nose chevron. The unit s

code has also been m o ve d to the rearedge

o f t h e f in tip, r e du c ed in s iz e and changed

to w hite, a o pp os ed t o t h e previous black

outlined in w h ite .

0.31 qn h as f ol lo we d s ui t w it h i ts

b r i gh t g r ee n /y e ll o w chevron being

r e p la c ed b y a g r ee n /ye llow checkerboard

b ar i n an identical p l ac e t o that of 0.9

Sqn, with the unit s yellow star uperim

posed upon it. However, the original larg

er version is retained on the fin.

No.14Sqn hadalwaysusedasmaller nose

insignia, so the alterations her comprise

someslight relocationto fall into line with

other units, and the adoption o f t h e white

tail c o de o n t h e trailingedge of the fin.

N o. 17 S qn h a r et ai ne d it black/white

zigzag nose chevron, although in a much

r e d uc e d f or m , and once a ga in t hi s h as

been applied on the s a me f or wa rd n os e

44

reasons but also to make them e a sie r to

remove in order to s a n itiz e the aircraft

for c om ba t. W h er e possible, markings

were located on removablepanels foreasy

changing if the a ir cr a f t w as r ot at ed t o

another unit. At t h e t i m e of writing, only

the G ermany-based strike units a nd t he

UK-based F.3s have adopted uch

ch em es , a l th ou g h t h e first of 0.13

quadron s new T ornado GRAs were also

n o te d w it h a new toned-dow n style of

insignia. The other UK-basedsquadrons,

Nos2, 12, 15 R) and617, have yet to fall

into line, but as these a ir cr a f ta r e u se d f or

reconnaissance and maritime strike, they

seem Ie s like ly to be interchanged, so the

need for t h e a d op t io n of easier-to

apply/remove markings is not s o g r e a t.

In G ermany, N o.9 S quadron has seen

the famous f i n- m ou n te d b at e m bl em

in cr e as e in b r igh tne s s to a m or e m al a

chite green and m ov ed t o the forward

A No.2 ACI GR 1A i n A r c t ic g ar b f o r t h e NATO old inter

exercises h e ld in N o r w ay ,w h er e t h i s s t yl e o f paintwork is ideal in the snowy conditions. Author

ARTF scheme. Since the mid-1990sa new

s ch em e o f all-over M ed i um G re y L1R

Low Infra-Red) paint w as a p plie d, s tar t

in g w ith the overwater Tornado GR.l Bs

see Chapter 4). Winter camouflage has

al b ee n t ri al le d on a few

a irc r af t, m o st notably to t he G R. IAs of

os II AC) and 13 quadrons for their

r o le in t he A TO C ol d W in te r exercises

he ld in orway. This particular scheme

mirrored the RTF scheme applied to the

Jaguar and H mrier <lircraft that h a d p r ev i

o us ly b e e n in vo lv ed in the same areas.

arking ime

D ur i ng t h e la te 1 9 90 s, w it h t he R AF

Tornado force being committed moreand

m o re f r eq u en t ly to l i ve c o nf l ic t s, i t

became neccessary t o t o ne - do w n the

squadron markings carried o n t h e aircraft,

n o t o nl y for r e po r te d h e al t h a n d safety

TORNADO IDSTORNADO IDS



on time a n d i n

in flight, while

UK on 3 O c

analyzed, butw

mentof result

and subseque

Tornado demo

sortie witha le

ful ECM jamm

places for bot

was just bea

DeLauer, it wa

released to service.

Th e Tornado GR A programm

a c c o m p a n ie d b y separate r e q u ire m e

new stand-off precision-guided m u n

intended for use b y t he n ew varia

s u b se q u en t l y b y t h e n ew E ur of

S R A ) 1 24 4 c al le d f or a new n

weapon, but was a b an d on e d a l o n

t h e a i rc r af t s e x i ting n u c le a r r o le.

1 23 was also drawn up to find a st

anti-armour weapon, i ni t i al l y as

penser system, but fi l led in the e n d

M a r ra / B Ae B r im s to n e m u n i ti o n ,

S R A ) 1240 called for a shor

radiation missile. A f i n a l w

requirement, R A) 1242, c al l ed

bomb release, the flightcame down to low level wherethe terrain-following

radar of Tornado was used to advantage. Duringthis sector,fourmoretone

releases were made. The action was further complicated by the n e ed t o

climb to to 8,OOOft for a second refuelling between the second and third

bomb run. The timefrom bomb releaseto this RV datum wasa mere three

minutes A high-level return t o b a se completed the six-hoursortie. As Fit Lt

Dick Middleton said, I t was long periods of inactivity interspersed with

shortbursts ofhyper-activity .

Take-offtimings were again met and successful sorties flown, although

computermalfunction caused awild score for one memberof Team A. The

second sort ies, nominally the daylight one, became nocturnal for the

Tornados after an 1830hr take-off slot. The route and requirements were

identicalto the previoussortie,but flown in reverse. The aircraftlaunched

7

Front and rear cockpit of the Tornado GR 4; compare this t o t h e

standard GR shown on page 3 BAe

if ications. On 4 Ma y 1993, it was further

announced that the GE e S p ar t an a n d

covert radar altimeter h a d b e en dropped

f r om t h e upgrade.

Th e first GR A X Z6 3 1 ) was not ready

to m ak e t he type s much d e la y ed f i rs t

fl ight on 29 May 1993, so the second air

craft ZD7 0 8 ) w as u se d instead. A p a r t

from a huge G R A logo on the fin, the

aircraft had a forward-facing t e s t c a m e ra

in t h e le a d in g edge of the f i n R W R f a ir i ng

and a new FU R fairing b e lo w t h e nose,

offset to port adjacent to the usual

L R M T fair ing. T he F UR fairing was

f lo w n i n m o ck -u p f or m b y t he B os co me

Do wn F]T on a G R . I A before b e in g

Hunter; Fit Lt Dermot Dolan.Team B: Fit Lt Steve Legg; Fit Lt John McDonald;

Sqn LdrVic Bussereau; Sqn Ldr Aan Dyer-Perry.

During lateApril/earlyMay,three Tornados and two Victors detached to

Ellsworth AFB, as PrairieVortexI (the RAF code-name forits participation in

the SAC contest . to gain in-theatre experience of USAF operations.

Specifically,their jobwas to investigate operationsover the United States,

to fly representative sorties over routes and targets, and to collectfirst

hand intelligence and targetdata. The detachmentwas successful- al the

planned sort ies were flown - with the much-needed mapping and radar

data collected. Operat ing outof a USAF base into an FAA-controlled sky

presented itsown problems, butplans to dealwith thiswere formulated in

the light of the experience. The f inal three months of the UK work-up

started to bring the elements of training together. June was devoted to

academic radar offset bombing and tone-release techniques over the

Spadeadam range b y d ay a nd night,with the limited numberof modified

aircraft available. Further aircraft were used for trials with the repro

grammed Marconi Sky Shadow ECM pod, and all aircrewbecame current

in A AR techniques. Half-route simulations of 3-31/2-hour duration were

flown during July, including one AAR bracket. Pract ice bombs were

dropped overWest Freugh and the results analyzed. AAR techniqueswere

refined and E C M p od trials continued. By August,full route simulations of

5-6hourswere being flown, using Spadeadam, WestFreugh, Holbeachand

Wainfleet ranges by day and night. Despite carrying 330gal external fuel

tanks,the Tornados requiredat leasttwo AAR bracketsper sortie. The tech

nique worked successfullyduring the detachments, and brought theVictor

and Tornadotogether by day or night, in VMC or IMC, withoutground radar

assistance. At the rendezvous RVI point,the Victor wasrequiredto be Xnm

(Xkml ahead ofthe Tornado: usingthe Victor s IFF interrogator to ensure

long range accuracy, the Tornados ground-mapping radar, TACAN and

stopwatch timing, the tanker and receiver approached one another at

differentheights, timed to arrive atthe datum points.In mid-August, an advanceparty leftfor Ellsworth AFB to prepare for the

main partyof sx Tornados and threeVictors, which departedthe U K o n 29

August.Thisgavethe detachment, code-named Prairie Vortex II, thewhole

of Septemberto complete its in-theatre training. The work carried out by

Sqn Ldr Huckins and theadvanceparty, and thesubsequentpreparation of

route and targetcombatmission folders tailored to eachcrew, was t o p a y

dividends. The competition wassplit intotwo phases,with each crewflying

one live-bomb drop sortie, a nd o ne radar-offset simulated tone-bomb

release b y d a y and night. To ensure launching a competition sortie within

the XX-minute window , two aircraftwere always taxied to the end ofthe

runway,while ground parties stood by to correctanylast-minute problems,

in touchwith the aircrew and squadron operations r o om b y portable radio.

The first-phase sorties,flown on 3--4 October, involveda high-leveltransitof

two hours to the R ed F la g ranges over Nellis AFB with AAR support; a

thirty-minute run across the ECM range with jamming and fighter harass

ment from Canadian CF-D1 Voodoos directed by an E-3A Sentry (without

success ) to drop two bombs on targets using one offset; followed by

climb-out, AAR and return to base. The Tornados were launched on time

and performed successfully, although one problem occurred on a Sky

Shadow E CM p od which, fortunately, did not result in the Tornado in

questionbeing killed .

The next week began with whatshould have been the night sort ie of

phase two but, because ofthe squadrons order in thetake-off streamthis

becamethe daysortie.After thehigh-level sector with A A R a n d one tone-

So said Richard DeLauer, Under-Secretaryof Defense for Research and

Engineering in the US Departmentof Defense, in an off-the-record chatwith

the editorialstaffof the ashington imesat the end of October 1984. Mr

DeLauer chose his moment well - the very moment that RAF Tornados,

competing againstthe best USAF crewsthat could be fielded in the annual

Strategic Air Command Bombing Competition, made an almost clean

sweep Eligible to compete in three categories, the Tornado crewstookfirst

place in two and second in the other- as well as a second, athird and a

sixthplace in thethree events.The contest is widely regarded as one ofthe

most realistic of exercises, and the success of the Tornados is the more

remarkable considering that the RAF s Tornado GR.1s are low-level inter

dictorstrike aircraft ,while much ofthe SAC competition is f lown at high

level, and also thatthis wasthe Tornados firstappearance in GiantVoice,

a s S A C codenames the event.

HQ Strike Command decided in July 1983 that NO.617 Squadronwould

providetwo teamsof two crewseachto participate in the SAC competition

with the support of the Victortankers of No.55 Squadron. Although there

w as a phase in Giant Voice for the tanker support elements, the RAF

declined to enter theVictors, as theywere requiredto supportthe Tornados

during their competition sorties. Once the RAF decision to participate had

been taken, plans were m a de t o bring eightTornados up to the required

standard, in orderto f ly six tothe United States. This would ensure that at

leastfouraircraftwere always availablefor thecompetition sorties.Among

themodificationsrequired werea data-dump facility fortone-release scor

ing; increased waypoint/fixpoint numbers in the Ferranti Digital Inert ial

NavigationSystem;a stores-managementmodification to allowstoresjetti

son on take-off;inclusion of a n AFDS display on the HUD for use during low

level operations, and improvementsto the R WR a nd E CM pod to copewith

the EW elementof the competition.After each work-up sort ie at Marham, every Tornado was carefully

scrutinized to ensure maximum knowledge of systems and serviceability,

with afull debrief conducted between aircrew and chief tradesmen. Each

major systemwasscored outoften foraccuracy and effectiveness, and the

results fed intothe squadrons computer. Thus an instant record of individ

ual aircraft performance was availableat any stage.

The Victors,too,received theirshareof fine tuning,with particular atten

t ion being given to the avionics, and an IFF interrogator was installed to

ensure an accurate rendezvouswith theTornados. As Sqn Ldr Pete Dunlop

pointed out, The Victors couldn t winthe competition for us, butthey could

have lost it forus.

At leasttwo air-to-air refuellings AARs) were requiredfor eachcompe

titionsortie, so close co-operation between the Victors and Tornados was

essential. The location of both squadrons atMarham ensuredface-to-face

debriefs. With aircraftmodificat ions underway, selection of the aircrew

began. All squadron aircrewwere considered eligible:flying skill and big

matchtemperament were requiredof the pilots,while the navigators were

selectedfor their radarbackground and skill, plus competence in the full

s pe ct ru m o f t he T or na do s e qu ip me nt . The V ic to r c re ws w er e

constituted for the durat ion of training and the competition. By May, sx

crews h ad b e en selected for the first in-theatre detachment to Ellsworth

AFB, South Dakota.They completedidentical work-up routines, andt he final

selectionwas made, as required by S A C, i n September. The chosen crews

were:Team A : S qn L d r P e te Dick Dunlop; Fit Lt Dick Middleton; Fit Lt lain

rairie ortex

It s vulnerable,heavy and expensive. I justdon tthinkits a good plane.

TORN O IDS TORN O IDS

holographic HU D a l lo wi n g s t a nd a r d



A mock-up of the FUR fairing fitted to a GR. 1Ao f the Bascombe Down-based FJTS,

installed to trial the aerodynamic shapeof the fit. Author

be upgraded being a GR.I, w hi h a rr

a t W ar to n o n 1 A pr il 1 99 6 after a

period a t R AF t A t ha n ; t h e second

craft w as a G R . I A , Z A 3 7 1, w h ich a r

on 3 June 1996. It seemslikely that a

p r op or t io n o f t h e u p gr a de d a ir cr a f t

become GRAAs. The first Tornado G

to actually enter squadron s e r vic e

grey-clad ZD847/AA, which was deli

to No.9 quad ron in G er ma ny o n

M ay 199 .

Tornado

T ornado 2000 w as a proposed success

th e RAF s GRA which would

optimized for low-level, high-speed, lr an ge p en et ra ti on , a nd a bl e to c

stand-off weapons. The aircraftwould

ture a lo ng e r f us ela ge which would

tain greater fuel capacity and hav

stealthy faceted nose section to mini

blacked-out airfield, c1imh to height f or a

m edi um -l ev el t ra ns it , a nd s tow t he

goggles until t h ey a r e n e e d ed for the low

level p o rt i on o f t h e m is io n.

The w e ap o ns s ys tem h a s a ls o b e en c o m

pletely overhauled, and a Mil td 1553

d a ta h us f itte d, in order for GRA to f ully

integrate with current avionics and

weapons. This is c ou pl ed wi th a 1760

weapons bus that will allow the aircraft to

communicate with t h e n e xt generation of

smart weapon, such as the tOrln hadow

stand-off missile a nd t he Brimstone anti

armour weapon, and pass them update

until they are released from the aircraft.

In eptembel 1996, a Tornado G R.l A

spoofed as a GRA for static display a t t h e

Farnborough SBAC show. The aircraft,

ZA401, had big GRA logos applied, but

was otherwise unmodified. The choice of

a reconnai sance GR.1 A was not entirely

inappropriate, despite the first aircraft to

A braceof GR.4s formate for the camera, and from this angle it is hard to tell them fro

the standard GR.1 - apart fr om the huge GR.4 on the tail e

HU D symbology to be overlaid o n t he

FUR im ag e; a video recorder; the pilot s

MF D H D D; and a new fixed FUR sensor.

The F UR c an b e u se d by either crew

m e mb e r t o u p da t e t h e n a vi g at i on kit or

attack a t a rg et . This was a v er y much

downgraded upgrade t h a n t h a t which had

originally been planned.

Reflecting the To r na d o s r o le of low

level n i gh t a t ta c k, t h e c o ck p it h as a ls o

b ee n m ad e fully night vision goggle

V G ) c o mp a ti b le in a dd it io n t o t he

FUR ~ e n s o r has meant replacing all

the original equipment l i g ht i ng w i th

NVG-compatible bulbs, and the intro

duction of green floodlighting for ambient

cockpit lighting. On the central warning

p an el , t he old red captions, which

denoted a major aircraft pr oble m , be c a me

yellow a nd t he a mb er c ap ti on s became

green. T o t u r n t h e aircraftfrom non- VC

i nt o VG m od e involves j u ~ t one switch,

which extinguishes the n o rm a l l i gh t in g

andactivates the NV C bulbs, whereas the

GR.l relies o n d i m m i ng t h e n o r m al light

in g a s much as pOSSible to allow the usc of

VGs. While this is a reasonable ·hort

term o l ut i on , t h e faet t ha t t he VGs

amplify amhient light b y a f ac t or ofahout

10, 0 0 m e an that reflections a r ou n d t h e

cockpit of te nde gr a de the view o f t h e out

s ide w o rld . A ll the GRA aircraft are fitted

with V G a u to separation b ui l t i n to t h e

s ea ts , s o i n theevent

o f e j e c ti o n t h e goggles a r e b l o w n c l e ar of the helmet, reduc

ing the danger of evere neck injury. This

aIso gi ves the capabi Iity t o t a ke o ff f r om a

The prototype GR.4, ZD708 cranksup i ts

undercarriage. e

engineers a s f l ee ts within fleets . The

ML was the r ef or e de s igne d to regain

commonality across the force, w i th o n l y

t he G R AA aircraft he ing dif fe r e nt from

all the others. By th is t im e t he scope of

the upgrade h a d n a rr o we d even further,

a nd c ov er ed o nl y the in tallation of a

digital map display; G PS ; a n e nh an ce d

weapons control sy tem; a new wide-angle

2000-2002 - a t ot al of 142aircraft. nder

t h e O p ti o ns for Change and Front Line

First defence reviews the number of front

line Tornado GR. J squadrons wasreduced

to eight. This led to disparate standards of

software a n d m o di f ic a ti o ns t h r ou g ho u t

t h e T o rn a do force, w it h e ac h aircraft

be ing s uitable only f or its particular role

a nd n o other. Th is was referred to by the

48 49

TORNADO IDS TOR ADO IDS

The crew found out quit e l ate that they



The real thing. he GR.4FUR fairing on an operational GR.1A of No.13Squadron, looking

much more purposful in camouflage colours Gary Parsons Viation

ZA560, one ofthe RAF's all-blacks, and

actually borrowed from No.617 Squadro

The Luftwaffe began the 1970s

five lagdbombergeschwaderen fighter-bo

wings), twolagdgeschwaderen fighterwi

two AufJdiirungs geschwaderen recon

s an ce wings ) and a ffensch

w ea po ns s ch oo l) e qu ip pe d w it h

F -1 04 G S ta rf ig ht er , and

LeichtenknmJ fgeschwaderen Iight com

wings) with Fiat G91 . A ll needed rep

ment by t he m id -l 97 Os , a lo ng w it h

Marineflieger F-104 units. The G 91s

o ri gi na ll y t o h av e b ee n r ep la ce d b y

VAK-191 avertical take-offaircraft eveallycancelleddue to fundingdifficulties

that sti ll l eft a requirement for some

TOl1lado to replace the F-104s one for

Itsoon becameclear that the TOl1lado w

not be avai\;lble until the early 19 Os a

Luftwaffe S

during th Gulf War after ejecting

his stricken aircraft.

accelerating wing-over into a 1 00 ft , 600kt

pass pulling 7g Into the vertical, sweeping the

wings hackto 45°, and giving the illusion that

the jet was continuing to accelerate as we

climbed away.

Fit Lt ike Harland (left) and Fit t ike

Allton (right). ut or

The role of Tornado display remained

w it h t he T TT E c re ws f or the years

1995-96; i nc lu de d i n the 1996 di play

crew was quadran Leade r R obbi e

Stewart, who had been a prisoner of Iraq

While Mike Al lton concent r at ed on

flying the aircraft, Mike Harland in the

back seat ensured that all went smoothly:

The S t ri k e T o rn a do i sn t r ea ll y d es ig ne d for

flinging ahout the sky The higgest thing we had

going for us was that theTornado was noisy,and

we intended to capitalize on t ha t feature The

j e t l oo ke d a t i ts m os t i mp re ss iv e g oi ng v e ry

loud, very low v er y f as t , a n d we huilt on t ha t

concept, with, of course, a slow-speed pass to

show that we canoperate in that moJe We abo

addeJ an invertedpass,tryingto keep the whole

thing as tight a s w e could. During the first few

practices we just ahoutmanaged to stay within

the same county,hut we were soonahle to keep

itwithin the airfield houndary The lowpass was

100ft, 150kt, plugging the hurnef i n a t t hee nd , t ur ni ng h ar d a wa y f ro m t he c ro wd a nd

enteringa climh hang ng on the 'carrol ,' as

we went a manoellvre which l xlks vcry l m p r s ~~ i v e froln the ground, as it S l l ~ we weregOing

almost \Trtical.

I s pe nt a l ot of t im e t al ki ng t o l ik e a ho ut

heights, speeds, time frames and the effect the

w in d ma y he h avi ng o n o u r d is pl ay , p lu s

hacking-up t h e n ex t manoeuvre, espeCially if

the / \,lct reportwas none too sharp. Our three

weather-Orientated programmes had their

similarit es and it was i mp or t an t t h at w e

diJn t s t ar t o f f f ly in g one p r og r a mm e a n d

accidentally slip into another

Our a r ri v al w as planned t o b e s li gh tl y

behind the crowd a nd o ut o f sight, engaging

the h u r ne r s a s we turned on to t he display

line, andbankingover to give the spectatorsa

gooJ p l an v i ew of the aircraft. The exit was

e qu al ly n oi sy a s w e w ou nd -u p w it h a l az y

w er e t o b e the display crew: most stations

having a display are up t o s pe ed by

ovember/December time, but A ll t on

and Harland did not receive the nod

until after Christmas, which was unfortu

nate becau e Mike Harland was just

recovering fram an opera tion I Mike

Allton therefore went up to Lossiemouth

to t al k t o the previ ous year s pi lot , Sqn

L dr M ar k R ob er ts and fle w w it h h im ,

re tu rning home totally overloaded and

wondering whathe had l et hi m self i n fori

Drawing therefore on theirown operating

experience, past di plays, form er di splay

crews a nd t he rul e book , the duo pulledtogether their sequence for presentation

to the AO C on I February and, aftersome

minor modifications, they began their

w or k u p s o o n a f te r. M ik e A limn recalls:

smallest county ) The aircraft wassprayed

up at Cottesmore, the painters setting upshop in the station s pre-fabricated Ruhb

H anger . Worki ng t wo twelve-hour shifts,

the je t took twoweeks to complete, in less

than ideal condition. The first attempt

orange-peeled and had to be ren10ved,but

the second try was a n unqua li fi ed

success,achieving a high gloss finish. The

markings were s ti ck er w hi ch were

painstakingly applied, and the crew had to

take the aircraft super onic t o ensure that

they continued to adhereto the surface I

The display jet for the year, ZA560, was

taken on l oan from 0.15(R) Squadron,

and chosen because of its good fatigue life.

In o rd er t o obtain a st ri king visual pres

ence i t wa s painted in an overall glos

black finish and adorned w i th the TTTE

crest on th e fuselage, the flags of the th ree

participating nationsacross the RWR and

t he R ut la nd c oa t o f arms on the tail.

(Cottesmore is jokingly referred to as

home o f t h e R ut la nd A ir F or ce - a p un

o n t he RAF s initials, as Rutland, within

w ho e b or de rs the base lies, is Britain s

50 5

TOR ADO IDS TORNADO IDS

on in 19 this aircraft

d ec or at ed t o c el eb ra te JBG 31 s 3

Luf tw af fe s e t u p a n e w command structure.

uftwaffen iihnmgskommando Sud consisted



The Luftwaffe uses the BOZ 1 1 ch af f a n d f la re p o d o n their aircraft whereas the RAF use

the Mk103. Author

It had always been i nt en de d t ha t

German fronr-line units would conve

the Tornado in n u me r ic a l o rd er . O r ig

p lan s c a lle d f or J BG 3 2 to convert in

19 2 but the unit did not fly i ts

Sta rf ig hte r m iss ion u nr il 18 April 1

The w ing r e ce ive d its f ir st a irc r af t on

July 19 4 and officially reformed o

August. Uniquely among German Torn

w in gs , J BG 3 2 ha; never h ad a n uc

strike commitment but h as a lw ay s

closelyassociated with ECM a nd E W tr

ing. The wing s third taffel oper

HansaJet in the ECM tr a in in g r ole,

the wingalso parented the joint civil/

tary Gemeinesame Fiugvenness ungss

GMFS achbereich /Vi w ith its c a lib r

a nn iv er sa ry . A t he f ir st German Torn

Wing,JBG 31 s e tm a n y m ile s to n e . I n

19 6 an aircraftfromJBG 31 with ano

f ro m J BG 3 8 ) d ep loy ed a c ro s the Atla

b u dd y -r e fu e lling f ro m tw o pod equi

J BG 3 I T or na do s. The u n it h as a c hi

m a ny f irs t , in clu din g the initial Luftw

p ar ti ci pa ti on i n R ed F la g. J BG 31 s

squadrons, 311 and 312, havebadges de

i ng t wo m ul es f or 3 11 , and a w olf s h

threecrowns and a sword for 312.

Jagdbombergesehwader 32

of 1 Division HO Karlsruhe controlling JBG

32 and JBG 34, and 2 D iv is i on HO

Birk en fe ld c o ntr o llin g J BG 3 3. uftwaffen iihrungskommando ord consisted of 3

Division and 4 Division HO Aurich which

c o ntr olle d J BG 3 I and J BG 3 . The end of

the ColdWa ra nd the c onse que nt arms lim

itation treaties imposed ceilingson the num

bers of combat aircraft that could beoperat

ed , a nd Germany d ec id ed t o r ed uc e the

number of F-4 s in s er vic e, r a the r than get

ting rid of To ma d os . Th us , th e las t w in g of

R F-4E s we re r et ir ed a nd a n ew w in g of

Tornados was formed from aircraft that had

been rendered s u rp lus to Ma rin ef lieg e r

r e qu ir e me nr s . To rn a do n u mb e rs w er e a ls o

r ed uc ed , s o me b ein g d iv e rte d to H o llo m an

AFB inAmerica for trainingpurroses, whilst

o the r s w er e p lac ed in lo ng - te r m s tor a ge at

the MACX::: at D av is - Mo nt h an A FB i n

Arizona.

An all greyTornado ECR t u cks u p its wheels for a eny Flight mission over Bosnia. Pan

Luftwaffe Strike Tornado

Units

JBG 31 received the 100th production

German ID on 24 August 19 3. Five years

Jagdbombergesehwader 31 Boe ekeng of ground crew and engineering person

nel. Th e RAF Gennany Tomados were part

nered within 2ATAF by LuftwaffeTornados

of JBG 31 at orvenich. The Tornados of

J BG 3 2 o p er a te a s p a r t of 4ATAF, partnered

by J BG 3 3 at Buche On I April 1994, the

H us um i n 1 99 5 w it h n ew T or na do s w er e

abandoned when Germany c a nc e lle d its

p lan n ed Ba tc h o r de r f or thir ty -f ive I D Sa ir

craft. TwoTornados are also on charge with

Technischeschuie der Luftwaffe 1 at

Kaufbeuren, andare used for technical train-

were delivered in 19 I and 19 2 a n d o nly

forty-two in 19 3. The Luftwaffe s original

four front-line Tornado wings were based in

the central and southern parts of Germany

w ith th e conver ion u nit,J BG 3 8, in the far

north at J ev er . P la ns t o r ef or m J BG 3 7 at

From all black to all grey as demonstrated by ZA321 /B 58 the 1996 display ship looking

superb in th is non standardcolour scheme. RAF Cottesmore

52 53


Deutsches Ausbi dungsgeschwaderGerman Training omm nd

Luftwaffe inventory. The unit has

occasiona l ly used naval a i rc raf t on loan

MFG 2 The wing did not fly its last F-104

mission unt i l 16 October 1987, and the



An example of the original Luftwaffecamouflage scheme - Black, Yellow Olive, Basalt

Grey and Silver Grey. Author

MW-1 M

Specification - MW-l

Width:

Height:

Length:

Weight:

Although US-owned nuclear weapons are

weapons are conventional. These include th

used for anti-armour and anti-airfieldmissio

cept to the RAFs JP233, the MBB-builtMW-1

the two-piece JP233.The MW-l (Meluzweck

laterally to cover awide dispersal area. It co

ed as MW-l/HZG-l for Hauptzielgruppe - o

armour-piercing, MIFF anti-tank and MUSA f

for use against airfields, i ts contains StaBo

bomblets. The sub-muitions are manufactur

eties,of which the MW-1 can carry up t oma

200. With all its various submunitions dispen

the weapon would impose too high a drag fa

constitutes over 10 per cent of thesingle un

the KWSjKWE upgrade program

whi ch i nc lu de M il Std 1760 wea

interface, enhanced EW laser designa

pods, steerable FU R a nd t er r

referenced navigation systems.

invo lved in t h e T o rn a do d e ve l op m en t

programme from the very earliest days,

conducting i ts in it ial tes ts on the proto

types and performing the acceptance and

initial operational evaluation trials of the

new aircraft. Since then, t he u ni t hasb e en t h e prime agencyfor the integration

and testing of a ll n ew German Tornado

aircraft development, i nc lu di ng a w id e

range of weapon systems and armament

trials, and work is undertaken on behalf of

b ot h t he Luftwaffe and Marineflieger.

Principleearly programmes were the inte

gration of the MW-l munitions dispenser

and Kormoran anti-ship missile. In the

late 1980s the main programme was the

upgrade of earlier aircraft to Ba tc h 5

standards with MilSI d 1553 databus and

HARM capability. From 1988 WTD 61

was heavi ly invo lved in the ECR pro

gramme, accepting the first production

aircraft on behalf of the Luftwaffe in 1990.

In February 1993 the unit accepted the

first of the definitive ECR aircraft that

wer e f it te d with ELS equipment.

Currently WTD 61 is still running at ahectic p ac e w it h n ew Torna do s ys tems

and armament trials, which includes test

ing t h e A p ac h e and KEPD 350 stand-off

weapons, and the Aramis anti-radiation

missile. Other tests are aimed at facets of

WT D 61 is t h e Ge r man test and evaluati on c en tr e, know n un ti l 1987 as

E rprobungsstelle E S t) 6 1. B as ed at

M an ch i ng , t he u ni t has been heavily

Wehrtechnische Dienste e f urLuftfahrtzeuge 6

JBG32 tail emblem Author

A Tornado squadron, under t he t it le

Holloman l st ood up as part of the

German Air Force Training Command at

Holloman AFB, New Mexico, on 1 May

1996, a f te r the Luftwaffe spent 44.3

m il l io n i mp ro vi ng facilities at the

American base. The unit had an initial

establishment of twelve Tornados, which

were operated alongside twenty-four F-

4Es. The Luftwaffe expected t he u ni t to

clock up2,500Tornado sorties per annum.

The unit will train Tornado instructors,

t hr ee c rews p er c ou rs e, two c ou rs es p eryea r. I t wil l a lso host three-week detach

ments by eight crews from each Luftwaffe

Tornadowing, whose training is hampered

by p oo r wea th er a nd a l ac k of low-level

training in Germany. eutschesAusbildungsgeschwader US is the official

title of the Holloman unit, and another 30

Holloman l , wil l beadded in 1999. The

enlarged unit is expected to even tua l ly

take over bas ic Tornado type convers ion

training from the TTTE and the tactical

training from ]BG 38. Tornados assigned

to the unit wear a new unit badge based on

the New Mexico State flag.

A former RF-4E user, AKG-51 is

described fullyon page l l

LsVersRgt.l at Erding was t h e m a in t e

nance unit responsible for the acceptance

c h ec k in g o f Luftwaffe Tornados, and an

initial weapons training unit was set up as

an offshoot of t hi s u ni t. This was

described as the WaffenausbildungsKom/ onente - weapons training compo

nent - or WaKo, and t h e u n it received its

first aircraft on 9 November 1981,formal

ly commissioning on 16 February. WaKo

became ]BG 38 on 26 Augus t 1985, by

which t ime some twen ty- fou r Tornados

were on charge, a nd e i gh t mor e wer e

a cc ep te d i n s ub se qu en t y ea rs . Mos t ofcrews of t he first operational German

T ornado unit, the Navy s MFG 1 were

trained at the TTTE and by WaKo.

Luftwaffenuersorgungsregiment 1

f rom MFG 2 ] BG 3 8 ga ined a second,operational Scaffel (squadron),382 Staffel,

in 1989, and this unit was the f ir st to

equip w it h t he new E C R v a ri a nt (see

Chapter 4), its a i rc r af t b e gi n ning to

arrive a t l e ve r in 1990. 382 S ta ffel was ,

however, destined to be short lived as an

ECR unit, and transferred its aircraft to

]BG 32 during October 1994, receiving

standard IDS aircraft in return.

Aufkldrungsgeschwader Immelmann

eventual arrival o f t he Tornado marked a

massive leap in capability. ] B G 3 4 was sub

s eq ue nt ly d ec la re d o pe ra ti on al on

the Tornado and based at Memmingen

in the south of Germany . I ts b ad ge

shows twostylizedaircraftoverflying moun

tains, with the NATO star inthe topcorner.

]BG 38 was the first Luftwaffe Tornado

unit to form, as its primary role was much

the same as that assigned to the RAPsTWCU: weapons and tactical training for

aircrewgoing on to front-line units. It was

in it ial ly an offshoot of Luftwaffenver-sorgungsregiment 1 ( se e b el ow). A t one

t ime i t was expected that t h e u n it would

take over the designation and traditions

of what had b e en t h e Starfighter tactical

weapons training unit, Waffenschule 10

but instead the unit gained a new

d es ig na t io n, b ei n g classified as a

]agdbombergeschwader.

Newlytrained crews from the T T TE a t

Cottesmore undergo a 30-flying-hour

programme with ]BG 38, learninghow to

use the Tornado as a weapons sys tem,

dropping practice bombs and practising

delivery techniques for various weapons,

as well as receiving some ACM training.

Tornado QW I in st ruc tor s courses a reundertaken by ]BG 3 8 fo r the Luftwaffe

and Marineflieger, a nd t he unit also runs

EW training f or a ll f as t- je t t yp es i n the

JBG 31 tail emblem Author

Jagdbombergeschwader38 Friesland

54 55




The MW-l dispenser a ra ther ungain ly looking weapon system but nevertheless an ef fec-

tive one. BAe

German IDS tanking from a USAFE KC 135 Author

b u il d in g H u gh e s AGM-65D Mave

ASMs used byseveral other E ur ope a

forces whilst 1560

Gruppo is also ar

with M BB K ormoran A S hMs for its a

shipping role. T h is w ea po n , it may

recalled is a ls o used by t he G er

Navy as is the MB B-A eritalia centr

reconnaissance pod twenty of whicha ss ig ne d t o 155

0

Gruppo for photo

phy by traditional, TV and infra

linescan means.

Clip-on retractable refuelling pr

were used by Italian T ornados during

reserve or in service with the TTTE at

RAF Cottesmore.

Italian T ornados share a large p ro po r-

tionof theircombat equipment with their

German counterparts. Self-defenceequip

ment beneath the wings comprises a

Ph il ips BOl-IOO chaff/flare dispenser,

AEG Cerberus II jamming pod a n d A I M9L Sidewinder AAMs. Offensive anna

ment includes the MW-l dispenser of

which 100 have been bought in anti-air

field 9 0) a nd a n ti - ar m ou r ed v eh ic le

form. The Italian firm Selenia is licence-

blocks to its dual-control aircraft even

t h ou g h t h ey rerain full combat capabili-

ties. After X 588 had been re-numberedM M 70 0 1, t h e p r od u ct i on lOSs emerged

as MM7002 to 7008, an d t he twin

stick aircraft as MM55000 to 55011. The

A M I s s t ru c tu r e consists of S wr mo s -

Wings; Gru/J/JOS S qu ad ro ns ; a nd

Squadriglie Flights.

Deliveries t o t h e A M I s u ni ts b eg an o n

3 March 1981 when MM7001 was flown

t o P ra ti ca di Mare to be used by the

Re/x 1 to S/Jerimentale Volo RSV)

Experimental Flight D e pa r tm e nt ) a n d

received the code RS-I0. Th e RSV

o th er wi s e k no w n as 3110

Gruppo,

comprises of 535a and 536a Squadriglie.

The second production aircraft MM7003,

was temporarily assigned for maintenance

f a mi l ia r iz a ti o n a n d was delivered to

Camerai o va ra o n 17 April 198 2 t o

a ll ow t he 10

Centro Manutenzione

Principlae to prepare for its tas k of

training ground personnel to undertake

level three overhauls and repairs. Of the

100 T ornados bought by t he A MI , only

fifty four wereassigned to front-line units

t h e r e ma i ni n g thirty six being held in

which are intended to allow the subse-

quent integration of a varie ty of new sys-

tems. The original Assembler softwarepackage is transformed i n to a n A D A soft-

ware package in the first step of the

upgrade which is known as the Neue

AvioniJmruJaur It is envisaged that later

modifications will initially includea FUR,

a new laser I NS wi th integers and

improved cockpit displays. U nd er t he

KWE Kam/4werterhaltungsprogramm)

combat efficiency upgrade programme the

a ir craf t w il l a ls o rec eive a n ew d efen sive

c om pute r , w ith a new missile warning sys-

tem improved R H A WS and better ECM.

The Italian Air Force the Aeronautica

Militare ltalia h ad s et its requirement at

100 Tornado IDS. The first of the AMI s

aircraftwas pre series airframeX 588 and

this was followed by ninety-nine

from s u b se q u en t p r o du c t io n b a tc h es .

Unusually Italy assigns separate serial

Italian IDS Southern Flank

Strikers

German IDS upgrade

and Basalt G r ey R A L7 0 12 d i sr u pt i v e

upper surfaces and S ilver G rey RAL7001

undersides. This was later r evi se d t o at h r ee - w ne w ra pa r ou n d s c he m e o f Dark

G reen, Medium G reenand Dark Grey.

German Tornados have received a succes-

sion of modifications and modernizations

since the l at e I9 80 s. Ear ly a i rc ra f t were

brought u p t o v ir tu al Batch 5 standards

under the T ornado First Upgrade, and this

programme saw the installation of a Mil

Std 15538 databus a new stores manage

ment system improved EW capability

H A RM c o mp a ti b il i t y, a mission data

transfer system a nd D EC Us for the

engines. The Luftwaffe Tornados assigned

to the strike/attack role will receive a fur-

ther multi step M LU t he first s tage of

which was known as KWS, or

KamP wertan/Jassungs/Jrogramm) in the

form of a combat efficiency enhancement

p ro gra mm e f ro m Ben z Aeros pa ce . This

initially incorporates a new main comput

e r a nd a Mil Std 1760 digita l databus

56 57

TORN O I S TORN O I S



The Tornados of 6°Stormo wear a d i vi n g eag le f in badge superimposedon a yellow

lightning flash uthor

E C R T ornados devel oped by Germany

and an MLU is planned for AMI

Tornados Panavia having submitted a

study of the A MI s requi rem ent s. The

fighter/bomber/recce role w i th i n t h e A M I

comprises of a m i xed force of Tornadoand

AMX aircraft. The Tornados are

c ur r en t ly u nd er go i ng an upgrade

programme which has included the SMS

90 stores management system enabling

the aircraft to deliverPGMs a n d t h e A M I

haspurchaseda number of Paveway II kits

t o c o nv e rt i ts M k8 3 1 00 0l b b om bs into

GBU-16s.

talian ornado Units

Stormo Alfredo Fuseca

154° Gruppo uses the devi l badge of its

parent S tormo. The Gruppo consists of

390a 391a 3 95 a a nd 3 96 a Squadriglie

and was the AMI s first Tornadosquadron receiving the first ai rcraft

which weredelivered to Ghedi i n 1982.

The Gruppo subsequently acted as Italy s

Tornado OC U training ai rcrew return-

i ng from the TI TE at R A F C ottesmore.

154° Gruppo operates the lion s share of

the AMI s dual-control Tornados apart

fr om two w ith each of the front-line

units.

A new Gruppo 155° was form ed i n

January 1985 w i th 361a 364a 3 6 5a a n d

378a Squadrigl ie. Its ai rcraft w ear three

blue pennants on their t ail fins i npl ace of

154° Gruppo s red chevron bU[ with the

same red devil Stormo b ad ge . 1 55 °

Gruppo carries its panther s head badge

o n t h e e n g i ne intakes. The squadron was

transferred to t h e c o m m a nd o f t h e newly

react i vat ed 50° Stormo on I December

1989 and m ov ed t o P iac en za the

following year. The Stormo later provid

ed ai rcraft and crews for the Italian con

tingent in the Gulf War.

6° Stormo gained a new second

s qu ad ro n i n 1 99 3 in the shape of 102°

Gruppo from 5° Stormo which will under

t ake a reconnai ssance rol e and w as once

s la te d t o r ec ei ve t he n ew A TA RS r ec on

naissance pod. The new unit wears the 6°Storrno devil badge o n t he fins of its air

craft wirh the Gruppo s flying-suited

D onal d D uck badge i n a bl ack t riangl e on

t h e e ng i ne intakes. The Gruppo consists

58

of 209a 212a 239a and 244a Squadriglie.

Underslung equipment routinely carried

by the Ghedi-based Tornados includes the

new Thomson-CSFCLOP laserdesignator

a nd t he MBB/Aeritalia reconnaissance

pod. The Stormo became the first AMI

unit i nact i onover B osnia en 2 September

1995 when i ts ai rcraft conducted an

armed patrol over the region. On 7

September ai rcraft from t h e s am e unit

b o mb e d S e rb i a n t ar ge ts u si ng M k8 3

bombs free-fall . 154° Gruppo Tornados

have also used the MBB/Aeritalia recon

n ai ss an ce p od o v er B os ni a and have

reportedly also the used buddy inflight

refuelling t ec hn iq ue s d ur in g t he se

operations.

36°Stormo HelmutSeidl

36° S tormo s 156° G r up p o c o nv e rt e d t o

t h e T or n ad o d ur i ng 1984 r e tu r ni n g t o

Gioia del Colle in May 1984 and becom

ing operational with their n ew j et s i n the

August of that year. The Tornados of 36°Stormo wea r a diving e ag le f in b ad ge

superimposed on a yellow lightning flash.

The 156° Gruppo l yn x s h ea d b ad ge is

carried o n t he e ng in e intakes while the

Typical MITornado IDS camouflage

uthor

stylized initials HS for Helmut Seidl are

occasionally applied to the base of the fin.

The Gruppo consists of 381a 382a 83a

a n d 3 8 4a Squadriglie. The unit s primary

task is that of maritime strike and inter

diction and it is therefore the main user

of the MBB AS34 Kormoran anti

shipping missile. 36° Stormo also flew

combat sorties over Bosnia and recently

flew m issions i n support of ground forces

i nvol ved i n Operation o nt Endeavour

For these missions the aircraft been

reported to have carri eda pair of GBU-16

Paveway II LGBs and operated alongside

other T ornados carryi ng the Thomson-

SF CLOP pod.

The 36° Stormo s second squadron 12°

Gruppo continued to o p er a te t h e F-104

Starfighter in an a ir d e fe n ce r ol e until

1995 when it re-equipped w ith T ornado

3 s l ea se d f ro m the RA and is more

fu IIydescribed on page 150.

5 °Stormo Giorgio Graffer

50° StOrl was reconstituted a t S an

Damiano-Piacenza on I November 1988.

155° Gruppo moved from Ghedi to

Piacenza on 23 July 1990 transferring

f ro m 6 ° S to rm o t o t he n e w 5 0° Stormo. n I talian pilotprepares to windup hi

59


RS ircraft

701 702 703 704 705 7 57 7 58 7 59 7 60

and so heavy that i t t akes t w o men t o

a f iv e- li tr e t in . RAM was a pp li ed

steel-backed tiles, necessitating



A clean audiTornadoIDS in its verycolour fu ldeser tcamouflage Author

The w inged sword of the 500

Stormo

badge is usually superimposed on the

G ru p po s f am il ia r t hr e e b lu e t ri a ng ul ar

pennants w hi c h f lo w b ac k f ro m the fin

l eadi ng edge, and Gruppo identity is fur

ther emblazoned by the panther s head

badge on each i ntake. 155 0Stormo are

the AMI s SEAD specialists, becoming

dedicated t o the role on 1 A pr il 1 99 4.The squadron received HARM missiles in

December 1994.

53 Stormo

The AMI s second Tornado ADV unit ; i t

is fully described on page 150.

Autonomous Flight Detachment AMI

These aircraft flew 226 m i ssi ons i n the

Gulf Warwhen deployed to Al Dhafra in

1991. Th e missions aredescribedon page

70.

RepartoSperimentale di Volo - 0

The AMI s research , evaluat ion anddevelopment unit is the R SV b as ed at

Pratica diMare, which a ls o h as the

identity of 311 0 Gruppo, with 5 35 a and

536a Squadrig lie inc luded in i t s desi g

nation.

AMI Camouflage

It ali an T ornados carry a three-tone cam

ouflage scheme of ATO Dark Green

BS381C/ 64 1, NATO Dark Grey

BS381C/638 and Silver.

Birds ofPeace - The i

Yamamah Programme

At the time of w ri ti ng , S au di A r ab i a

remains the sole expor t cus tomer

current y fl yi ng t he T or na do . In

September 1985, the massive £4,000

m il l ion A l Yamamah I - Bird of P ea ce

deal was signed by the S au di a nd UK

gove rnmen ts , cover ing the supply to

Saudi Arabia offorty-eight lOS and twen

ty-four ADV T ornados, al ong w i th t hirt y

H awks, t wo radar-t rai ni ngJet st ream s and

thirty BAe-built P il a tu s P C- 9s . S a ud i

Arabia had previously b ou gh t BAC

St rikem ast ers and L i ght ni ngs, but w as far

m or e us ed t o b uy in g US equipment, to

which a m assive fl eet of F-5s and other

American t yp es b ea rs w it ne ss . TheTornado faced stiff competition from the

F-15, which was however forced t o st rug

gle against some strange constraints,

i nc l ud in g a U S r ef us al t o s up pl y c on fo r

m al fuel t anks or multiple ejector racks -

60

prompted by the Israeli government - an d

a further demand that stipulated the air

craft coul d not be based at Tabuk, the

most northern Saudi airfield, w hich m ost

threatened Israel. In the end, t hough, the

attack-configured F-15 was s ee n t o be t oo

much of an unknown quantity, and as the

Tornado I DS h ad reached a le ve l of

proven maturity the British option looked

the m or e a tt r ac ti ve . S au di a ir cr ew f le w

Tornado evaluation s o rt ie s f ro m RAF

Honington i n 1 98 4 a n d the armsdeal was

announced the following year.

Once S au di A r ab ia h a d s ig ne d f or the

Tornado i t w an te d e ar ly d el iv er ie s, s o

e igh teen RAF a nd two German GR.ls

w ere di vert ed t o the RSAF f ro m B at ch 5

orders, and all t w ent y-four ADVs were

di vert ed from the R AF s B at ch 6 Some

RAF places at TTTE w ere gi ven t o Saudi

crews, w ho b eg an t r ain ing there in

October 1985, and deliveries to 7

Squadron RSAF form erl y operat ors of

t he orthrop F-5E) at Dhahran began

with 701-704 ex-ZD997, ZD998, ZEl14

and Z E 115) on 26-27 March 1986. They

were followed by 705 a nd 7 06 in April,

whilst t he rema inder w er e s e ri al l ed757-770. T rai ners w ere 704-706, 759,

768 and 769, of which the two last-men

t i oned w ere scratch-bui l t by BAe. The

initial deliveries of Saudi T orna do s

allowed the formation of t wo I DS a n d one

761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 770

771 772 773 774 6601 6602 6603

ADV squadrons, and although delayed on

several different occasions, the eventual

second Saudi Tornado permitted the for

mation of two more squadrons.

The rem ai ning t w ent y-ei ght ID S ai r

craft w ere buil t i n Batch 7 along with the

replacement a ir cr a ft f or t ho se t he R AF

h ad d i ve r te d f ro m Batch 5; t hese beganappearingin February 1988, the first being

serialled 771.

The l O S ai rcraft w ere report edl y deli v

ered with Sea E agle AShMs, JP233 ai r

field attack weapons a nd ALARMs.

Fourteen o f t h e Saudi ai rcraft w ere t w in

st ick t rai ners, and the l as t s ix Saudi

T o rn a do l OS s w er e d el iv e re d i n GR.IA

confi gurat ion, parti all y replacing recce

configured F-5Es. The Saudi ai rcraft also

had the R AF -s ty le t ai l f in fuel t an ks

incorporated.

B atch 5 Saudi Tornado IDS

8S157

ZD997 CSOOI 7518S158

ZD998 CS002 752 8Sl59

ZEI14 CS003 7538T45

ZE1l5 CTOOI 7548S161

ZEl17 CS004 7578S162

ZEIlB CS00575B 8S163

ZEl19 CS006 7608T46

ZE120 CT002 7558Sl64

ZEU] CS007 7618S165

ZEIn CS008 7628S166

ZEI23 CS009 7638S167

ZE124 CSOIO 7648T47

ZEUS CT003 7568S168

2E l26 CSOII 7658S169

ZEI44 CS012 766 B S170

ZE145 CS013 767 BS171

ZE146 CS014 7708T48

ZEI47 CTOO 4759

B atch 7 Saudi Tornado lOS

8T49 Non e CT005 7 6 88T50

None CT006 769

The aircraft were painted with SWAM Surface Wave Absorbent Material), and

RAM (Rada r Absorbent Material) was

a pp li ed t o the e ng in e i nt ak e area.

SWAM is applied like paint, though it is

much d en se r (mo re l ik e c a r u n de r se a l)

removal of the engines t o al low t hem

be bonded to the intakes adjacent to

first stage of the fan. The optional b

on retractable inflight-refuelling pr

w ere al so fi tt ed.

The B at ch 7 a ir cr af t we re s er ia

CT007-014 t r a in e rs ) a n d CS015-0

The t w in-st i ckers w ere seri aled 771, 7

773 774 662 6621 66n and 6623;

operat i onal ai rcraft carryi ng the se

6610-6619 and 6624-6633. The final

6628-33, w er e i n G R. 1 A c o nf ig u ra t

Al Yamamah Il agreed on I J ul y 1o ri gi na ll y c o ve r ed a f u rt he r t we lv e

and th ir ty-s ix ADVsj however,

contract w as cancel led i n July 1990,subdequent y amend ed t o total fo

eight of t he l OS versi on, w i th the

p ur c ha s e b e in g d ro p pe d as the Sa

w er e n ow i n p os se ss io n of a g re at m

American F-15s.

B atch 9 Saudi Tornado lOS

CT015 7501 ZH905

CT016 7502 ZH906

CT017 7503 Z H 907

CT018 8301 ZH908

CT019 8302 ZH909

CT020 8303 ZH910

CT021 ZH911

TOn ZH9l2

CT023 ZH913

CT024 ZH914

CS035 ZH915

GR.IA equivalent

ZH916 t o Z H9 52

Th e first batch of Saudi AD

( de sc ri be d s ep ar at el y) t oo k p ar t

Operations Desert Shield and DeStorm shar ing the burden o f moun

pre-war defensive CAPs with Saud

ISs, RAF Tornados and other Coalit

fighters. Once war had begun, the Sa

IDS squadrons became invo lved , w

the ADVs mounting both offensive

defensive CAPs, t ho ug h t he y did

have the opportunity to engage

enemy.

All SaudiTornados wearsmallsquad

badges on their tailfins, below the natal flag, aft of the i r serial which is pres

ed i n E ngl ish numerals and Arabic sc

The IDS unusual scheme of sand, br

a n d g re e n h as p ro ve d v er y e ff ec ti ve o

the sparsely vegetated desert.

6

TOR O IDS TORN O IDS

Arabia w i th a f u rt h er t w el v e BrLiggen air

craft the first o f w hi ch arrived on 3

january 1991. The reconnaisance

o p me n t: t h e A LA R M a n ti - ra d ar missile

and the TtALD laser designator and also

flew reconnai ance m i ssi on.

Tornados at War Operation

r nby



The rear of the JP233 ishoisted into pos

shoulderpylons.

63

Using the specially designed loading trol

the rear section of a JP233 into position

Notethe larger Hindenburger wing tanks

nearly complete loadof f lare cartridgesi

tive to the usual bomb load. D hahran had

fifte en G R.ls and s ix re cc e GR. lAs and

its R A Fcom ponent cam e under t he com

mand ofGp Capt Cliff p in k w h o unlike

h is t w o f el lo w b as e commanders, was an

a ir d e fe nc e rather than ground attack

fly er. A Iso a t D a hr a hn , No.31 Squadron

led by Wg Cdr Jerry Witts was reinforced

by p e rso n ne l fro m Nos 9 4 and 17

plus Nos 2 and 3 from the reconnais

sance world.

E ac h bas e m ad e eight aircraft con

stantly a va il a bl e i n t w o f l ig ht of four

with the remaining a ircra ft b e ing held

i n r es er ve o r u nd e rg oi ng servicing.

There wa n o d an ge r o f crew fatigue as

e a ch T o rn a do h a d t h re e c rew s w o rkin g a

s h ift s y ste m to p ro vi de a mp le t im e f or

r es t. A s hi ft pattern was introduced a

few d a ys b e fo re e x piry of t he UN ulti

m a tu m o n 5 january so that crew sleep

patterns w e re a d jus te d to the regime

b e fo re h o stilitie s b e ga n . En gin ee rs u se d

a t wo -d ay l ul l i n activity to bring eacha ircra ft u p to i ts p e ak of serviceability.

C re ws r ep or te d i n a pp ro xi ma te ly f iv e

h o urs b e fo re ta ke -off wo rke d for eight

h ou r a nd r em ai ne d a wa k for a f ur th er

fou r h o urs or so thereafter so that they

element, provided by Laarbruch was of

six GR. lA s fe rried t o D h ah r an b et w ee n

14-16 January.

At Muharraq, Gp apt David

Henderson w as i n c om ma nd o f t he R AF

d t a c hm e n t a n d N o .I S quadron led by

Wg Cdr John B roadbent was the leading

quadron although c rew s for the fifteen

GR.ls on the b a e w er e p ro vi de d b y os 9

17 20 3 and 6 1 7 Sq u ad ro ns . Ta bu k s

R A F s t at i on c o mm a nd e r was Gp Capt

Bill Hedges and his leading squadron was

016 under the leadership of Wg CdrTravers Smith, a s sis te d b y a larg e section

o f N 0 20 S q ua d ro n a n d other crews from

os2 9 and 14 plus Nos 3 and 6 1 7 la ter

on. On t at io n a t T a bu k w er e f if te en

Tornados of w hi ch seven were equipped

to carry ALARM mi iles a an alterna-

Following the a n no u nc e m en t t h a t

jaguars and T ornado F 3 fighters were on

their way t o t he Gulf on 23 A u g us t 1 9 90

it w as fu rthe r announced that a s q u ad ro n

of mud or perhaps sand in this

i n st a nc e ) m ov w it h t h ei r T or na do

GR.ts w o uld le av e t h ei r G e rm a n base

a n d h e ad for the Gulf. The former RAF

Muharraq - n ow B ah ra in International

Airport - was fir t to receive GR.ls when

a d o ze n a i rc r af t l ef t B r ug g en on 27

August 1 990. A s ec on d s qu ad r on o f

Laarbruch-based aircraft but w ith m a inlyMarham crews beganarriving there on 19

September but repositioned to Tabuk in

far north-western S a ud i A r ab i a f ro m 8

October o n wa rds . Fina lly it w as d e cid e d

t o c o mp l em e nt t h e i n te r ce p to r T o rn a do

F 3s a t D ha hr a n in north-eastern Saudi

Raiding Party. Armed with JP233s. a formation of fourGR.1s hit their refuelling bracket

with a NO.55 Squadron Victor tanker before heading at low level to their target e

62

For the RAF s rt wr c ou ld b e t ru ly

described as the Tornados war .

Representingthree-quarters o f t h e British

air attack force a t t he o pe ni ng o f hostili

ties the GR.t strikers undertook assault

on Iraq s war m achi ne, hi t t i ng its airfields

weapon s tora g e s ites a n d c o mm u ni c a

tions gaining in the process gaining an

enviable reputation for a c cu r ac y a n d

bravery. Despiteearly misfortunes - when

disproportionate l os se s r e su lt e d i n the

Tornado re c eiv ing m o re flak fro m t he U Kmedia t ha n t he enemy - the aircraft

emerged from t he confl i ct w ith its re pu ta

tion immeasurably strengthened. In a d di

t io n t o bombing the aircraft hastily yet

succe sfully introduced to service to as

yet untried systems then still under devel-

would have r isen j us t before the start of

their next duty period.

Plans for the first RAFcombat missions

TORNADO IDS

e n e d o f dying . Youre f ly ingas low asyoudare

but high enough to g et t he weapons off. You

p ut t he a ir cr af t a s l ow as y ou c a n o ve r the

one of th e ir S ide w in d er s missi les t o

explode, forcing them to eject. Although

their bang-out was successful, the pair



were launched. For the Tornado force this

meant being equipped wit h two JP233s,

two Sidewinder AAMs a nd two la rge

drop-tanks,giving a take-off weight of 30

tonnes.Jerry Wit ts of No.31 Sqn led four

a ir cr af t f rom Dhahran and John

Broadbent led o ut ei gh t similarly

equipped aircraft from Bahrain, all bound

forTallil airfieldin south-eastIraq. Taking

the defences by complete surprise, the

Tornados scattered their JP233s over the

base s para ll el runways and associated

taxiways, then made for home w it houtloss,gliding back into their bases from out

of the dawn sky

One of the pil ot s, F it L t Ian Langen,

recal led in a TV interview after landing:

Its absolutelyterrifying. T h er e s n o o t h e r word

for it.Youre frightened offailure; you re fright-

t ar ge t - j us t t o g et a wa y a s fa st as you c an .

His navigator, Fi t Lt Gerry Gegg, added,

A ll you c ou ld se e wer e j us t a mass of

white explosions around you.

Another navigator, cl imbing from his

cockpit asked, Have t hey given up yet ?

For many Tornado pil ot s, t hi s was t hei r

first taste of flying the aircraft with with

two JP233 pods, and to their dismay they

discovered that t h ei r h i th e rt o docile

mounts began to fly as one pi lot com

mented, like pigsThe second attack wave of the day was

not so for tu na te . F ou r Tornado s f rom

Muharraq were sent t o Shaibah , c lose t o

t he c it y of Basra , for a dayli gh t l of ti ng

attack of 1,0001b bombs. F it L ts John

Nicholl and John Peters o f N o .l S Sqn,

flying ZD791, were hit by AAA causing

were capturedand were next seen, having

obviouslybeen mistreated, on Iraqi TV in

a repul si ve , i ll -conceived and counter

productive propaganda stunt.

Shaibah s j inx would strike again that

night when the Marham contingent from

Muharraq sent four aircraft thereand four

more toUbaydahbin alJarrah, all of them

armed with JP233. The Jarrah formation

took off at midnight, th e S h a ib a h wave

two hou rs l at er , t h ei r s h or t er j ou r ne y

demanding only one pre-attack refuelling

fr om a VC -IO. To k ee p the defendingradars off t he a ir , Tabuk-based Tornado

GR. I s w it h the new ALARM anti-radar

missile were patrolling the area. Any radio

communications which the Iraqis

attempted were jammed by USAF EF-

A Ravens a nd t he ir carrier-based

equivalent, the EA-6B Prowler.

A DesertSand-coloured Tornado GR from No.617 Squadron. Note the unusualtail

coding adopted to commemorate the Lancaster bombers of their i l lustrious prede

cessors the Dambusters . Author

A superb study o f t h e Tornado GR B in its L R grey

camouflage scheme armed w i t h t w o BAe Se a Ea g le

missiles. This example belongs to No.12 Squadron

which shares the RAF s over-water role with No.617Squadron. Rick Brewell

Debbie Emma Helen and Nicki wait underneaththeir Muharraq sun shelters fo r th e i r

next call to action. Steve Morris

64



Developed as a long-range interceptorfor the RAF the Tornado F 3 was required to mount

lengthy CAPs to protect UK airspace. BAe

Tanking Tornados. An F 3 t a k e s o n fuel f r om o ne o f t h e RAF s Hercules tankers - s in ce

retired - whilst a German Tornado ECR can be seen plugged into a USAFE KC-135. Author

For the RAF esert torm wa s th e

Tornados War . Armed with BL755 CBUs a

GR.1 awaits its mission whilst groundcrew

haul more equipment around the shelter.

RAF

Tri-national Tornados.A fo r m ati o n

moment all o f t h e IDSbasic traini

A Tornado GR.1 formation asseen



ABOVE:A fo r ma ti on o f B a ts fr o m No.9 Squadron ta k e th e i r tu r n p l u gg i n g i n to an

rm r i r tankerduring a joint exercise. RAF

An ItalianTornado IDS. Author

An impressively sleek all-grey GR from the TTTE used

fo r th e 1996 a i r s h o w season. RAF Cottesmore

r > _ ~ _

One almost feels tu c ke d u n de r th e wi n g i n this close in

v i ew o f a GR during a pre-GulfWar familiarization sortie

over the desert. RAF

Prior to a Red Flag sortieat Nell is AFB in Nevada a GR gets the once-

overfrom a groundcrewman. RAF Tornados have a f i n e tr a d i ti o n o f excel-

lence at these gatherings. RAF

The o n l y e x p o rt c u s to m er fo r th e IDS wa s th e Royal Saudi Air Force who b o u gh t twe

four aircraft as p ar t o f t h e AI VamamahI and II deals. BAe



TORNADO IDS



on fuel at above 10 000ft the Torn

dropped to300ft crossing the Iraqi bo

a nd s te ad il y d es ce n de d t o 2 00 ft d ur in

b la ck a n d u n ev e nt f ul l ow -l ev el f li gh

t hirt y m i nut esover the desert. The ta

was s ig hte d i n a blaze of anti-airc

a ct iv it y a fu ll f iv e m in ut es b ef or e

Right: ZD809 Awesome Annie shows of

herwarload. Two lGBs on the shouldersta

tions two Hindenburgerfuel tanks two

Sidewinders and the BOZ a ndSk y Shadow

ECM support. Steve Morris

As the Tornados sped towards Shaibah

at 550kt t hey reli ed only o n t he radar

altimeter to keep them 200ft above the

desert and a m ap t o l ocat e t he el ect ri cit y

pylons t o the nor th a n d e as t of the field.

There remai ned only t he densely-packed

short-range AAA g uns a nd S AM s t o be

dealt with and theUSAF was distracting

t hese i nfi nest yle. A m ere t w ent yseconds

before TOT FIIIFs bombed an oil refin

e ry j us t o n e m il e north of t he T ornados

track creatingan explosion the immensi

ty of w hi ch a pp ea rs t o h av e s ur pr is ed

f ri en ds a lm os t as much a s f oe s. All

weapons were released satisfactorily as the

gunners were still gatheringtheir wits but

three m i nut es l at er Z A 392 fl ow n by

No.27 s commander Wg Cdr Nigel

Elsdon was s ee n t o c r a sh i n to the ground

having been hit by a SAM killing both

the p i lo t a n d h is n av ig at or F it L t M a x

Collier. The rem ai ning t hree l anded back

at base after h o ur 5 5 m in u te s i n the air.

The J ar ra h r ai d a ls o h ad its s ha re of

heart -stopping m oments. H aving t aken

loaded with two lGBs oneof Muharraq saircrafttaxies out. Steve Morris

RIGHT: Another maritime

Tornado this time from the

German Navy s MFG Panavia

ABOVE: An Arctic-camouflaged TornadoGR.1A. R

Above:A trio from TrebleOne protectors of the UK s northern

sector. B e

6

TOR ADO IDS TOR ADO IDS

24,000ft, the Tornado was rolled o n

back (to maintain positiveg) and di

30 degrees while the pilot acquire

target in his IIUD. Pull -out was ac

at about 16,000ft- still above SA-8

been hit the harde t. On the second and

subsequent n igh ts o f the campaign, Iraqi

guns continued to blaze at random, except

that their opera to rs had now learned to

fire almosthorizontally, sogreatly increas

ai rcraft some t ime before the main raid

a n d a cc ompany thr ee JP233 Tornados

with another four ALARM ists . Despite

having ALARM in their inventory, the

Tornados found the Flak so intense that



ZA447/EA Mig Eater , surroundedby support equipment, is prepared for annother sortie

into Iraq. Mlck Lee

Desertaircrew. Fit lt s S t e ve M o r r is left) and AI Byf Byford pose beside ZA456/M M

after a mission on 4 February 1991. Steve Morris

and most of the l igh t f l ak - the ai

c ompu te r d et er mi ni ng t he c

momentof weapon release.

Airfield targets were becoming

with pe tro -chemica l p lan ts, fue

ammunition storage, barracks and

sites during the closing days of Ja

with Tabuk sending a six-ship up t

thirty bombs on the Rufhah Fuwad

missile test si te on the 30 th . Mu

aircraft caused a sat is fy ing f ireAzziryah oil refinery o n t he night

February, but i t was obvious that

sion-guided we:oJpons were the only

of efficient attack if the Tornado for

to remain at medium level.

The two TIALD laser designatio

(described elsewhere) were being

through t rials for Gulf deploymen

something was needed immediatel

the morning of 23 J anua ry ,

Lossiemouth was detailed to sen

Buccaneers to theGulf w ith all ha

undertake laser designation dutie

their Pave Spike pods. They arriv

ing the danger to low-flying aircraft.

Gen er al Norman Schwarzkopf, the

Coalition commander, was a sk ed to

comment on the sacrifices made by the

Tornado crews; h e r emarke d, Their

contr ibu tion ha been absolutelysuperb. I

am damn glad theyare with us. '

AVM Bi ll Wrat te n, t he most senior

RAF officer in the Gul f, a lso sai d i n an

i nt ervi ew , ' I wi ll say that we have been

ext reme ly unl ucky - a nd b ad l uc k doe snot lastfor ever.'

Happily, thi s proved to be tr ue .

Switching to medium al ti tude and using

free-fall bombs, the Tornado GR,l losses

receded drastically, though the aircraft did

not take kindly to medium level attack.

Optimized for prec ision de livery of

weapons from low level , i t requi red new

techniques of bombing to be introduced.

ot least of these was revised software for

the weapons computer which was unable

to cope with corrections i t was nowfaced

w it h. As a means of improving accuracy,

dive-bombing was tried. Starting from

By 23 January, five aircraft had been lost

in combat: the Tornado force, represent

i ng j us t 4 p er c en t c en t o f t he Coalition

air strength, had suffe red 26 per cent o f

the casualties. Sqn Ldr Peter Battson and

Wg Cdr Mike Heath of No.20 Squadron,

who had been interviewed by a TV crew

j us t p ri or to take-off from Tabuk in

ZD 930n the evening of 20 January, had

deliberately ditched the aircraft when itsuffered a control restriction, and were

subsequent ly seen on TV in a field

hosp it al w it h a few cuts and bruises, very

philosophical abou t thei r adven tu re , It

was the Tornados at Muharraq that had

actics hange

they were forced to abandon their a t tack

and therefore reluctantly brought thei r

JP233s home. Usc of 1,0001b bombs began

at Tabuk when H-2 airfield was attacked

on the even ing of 18 February; these

weapons were used i n conjunction with

the ALARM aircraft in defence suppres

s io n, w hi ls t four more GR.I s made

Tabuk's last usc of JP233.When a c ha ng e o f tac tics became

publ ic on 21 January, there were unofficialreports that the losses being encountered

by the JP2 33-armed aircraft were unac

ceptable; and h av in g k ep t t he Iraqi air

fields closed in the opening stages o f t h e

war, the time had now arrived to abandon

the ncar-suicidal low-level missions, and

switch to a safer operating altitude. With

up to twenty AAA si tes, ai rfields were a

formidable target, but i n fac t onl y one of

the three aircraft lost by the Tornado

Force had been carrying JP233, and e\'Cn

that cr'l shed wel l after leaving the target

,trea. The Tornado units' JP2 33 missions

gave way to loft attacks with free-fall

bombs, but a lofting attack hy eight Tabuk

Tornados w ith 1,0001b bombs on Ar

Rutbah radarsite claimed the lives of qn

Ldrs Garry Lennox and Paul Weeks fromNo.16 qn in ZA467 during the early

hours of 22 January. The following day,Dhahran lost i ts only Tornado of the war,

ZA403, when Pilot Off S imon Burgess,

the youngest RAF pil ot i n the conflict,a nd S qn Ld r Bob Ankerson of No.17

Squadron suffered the premature explo

sion of one o f their own bombs.

went on to complete thirty-five missions,

most of them from Tabuk.The following night , 18-19 January,

four MuhalTal j Tornados armed wi th

]p2 33 vis it ed Tal li l a ir base. They were

preceded one minute ear l ie r by other

Tornados lofting thousand-pounders,

f u: ed f or an airburst 15ft above the

ground. This sen ed only to stir up ah or ne t s n es t a nd , after releasing their

hombssome three miles from the base, Fit

Lts Dave Waddington and Robbie

Stewart of No.n Squadron in ZA396

were hit i n t he face' by a Rol and SAM

which they had tried unsuccessfully to

out-manoeuvre. Pilot Waddington was

knocked unconscious by the explosion

from the missile, with Stuart using the

command e jec t ion system to catapult

both men clear the stricken aircraft. Their

ejection-related injuries were treated well

in an Iraqi hospital, and they returned to

friendly territory after the e nd o f t h e war.At Tabuk, Wg Cdr Travers Smith, CO

of 16 Sqn, was firstaway in ZA473 at 021

on 17 January , lead ing three more

Tornados towards Ai Asad airfield, which

was given the 'JP233 treatment despite

o ne o f t he aircraft returning early withtechnical t roub le . A second wave a lso

vi itedAITaqaddumthe samenight,whilst

eight JP233bombers returnedto A IAsad.A tactic t ried against H-3 airfield early

on 18 January was to s en d f our LARM

After turning for home, Ingle was having

difficulty flying his aircraft and could not

maintain control above 350kt. Eventually

finding the tanker, he could only main

ta in fo rmation by adopting 45-degree

wing sweep, but managed to complete tbe

journey to Muharraq without further

incident . Inspect ion later showed that abirdstrike had removed a large section of

the port wing's leading edge, so the air

craft was patched up and flown back to

Bri..iggen f or r ep air . A me re three days

later, i t was re-del ivered to t he Gul f a n d

Running in ... running in .., uHl l l l l i t t i ng ... it\,

going . .. ' i' iOkr . .. keel gOll1g ... there go the

cannisler, ... let golefr . . . 240keel running .,.

thar the ,lItfleld ... no l rohlem ... chaffing ...

norhlng onthe RII\XlR . , keel running ... keel

running .. , lookll1gg(xlli . .. ok . .. f all hehll1d

u now, leh gcr hack do\\'n.

closed up t o o ne mile a nd t he interval to

fifteen seconds, then further tightened to

ten. With one minu te to go, Fg Off Ingle

ami FIt Lt McKearnan in ZD 74 4 fe lt abumpand thought they hadbeen h i t, but

the aircraft continued to fly, albeit reluc

tantly. At 550kt the Tornados swept over

the runway, o sl and 2 dropping their

JP2 33sat

one-fifthand

three-fifths distance along i ts length whilst the o thers

unloaded their wares a t t h e two-fifths and

four-fifths points. Flt Lt Paul McKearnan:

66 67

T OR A DO I DS TORNADO IDS

T or nado s f in- m ounte d fuel tank,

nitr oge n pur ging system being fit

remove any fuel vapour o n ce t h e t a n

empty. The modifications also in

u pr at ed R B. 19 9 M k 103 engines.

triangle, were white Rescue arrow on

the forward fuselage and pale pink/blue

r ounde ls a bove the port and below the

starboard wings, but this was not standard

on all aircraft.



Who ya gonna c al l HAS Busters Steve Morris

Happy New Year from Gazza sGonads a k a T e a m8 . S t ev e Morris

ingestion c a us e d a g las s -like coat

form o n t h e turbine blades, and to c

this a number of modifications were

to the e n gi n e . S i ng l e- c ry s ta l t u

blades c he m ic ally m illed) were

w hic hga ve them a longer life, and g

reliability. To solve the pr oble m s c

by s a nd build- up,c ooling holes were

in the blades leading/trailing e dg

these holes b ec am e b lo ck ed ,

blades overheated and disintegrateas a r es ul t the m a in c o rr e ct i ve

taken was to usc a high-pressure

firing a water/air mix into

turbines to clear the cooling holes.

ince the RAF aircraft would he o

odific tion s

Modific a tions to the aircraft c a me u n de r

the umbrella o f G u l f Updates, commonly

known a P has e O n e , w hi c h were under

taken at RAF t A than and at a number

of front-line stations. There were twenty

three pOSSible planned modifications and

nineteen new modifications known offi

c ially a s Spe i al T ri al s F it s. F ew aircraftincorporated all the modifications and

ST Fs, w ith eighteen and thirteen modifi

cations being typical. The possibility of

battle damage led to the incorporation of

a l o n g- p l an n ed m o di f ic a t io n to the

A s m e nt i on e d earlier the Tornados all

wore the De e rt and c o lo u r s c he m e,

retaining the black a nti-gla re pa ne l atop

the nose. The scheme extended to the

pylons, wing-tanks and selfdefence pods,

and was br oken only by the na tur al m e tal

areas a ro un d t he Mauser c an n on . A s

could be anticipated, a ir cr a f t m a r kings

were at a premium. All o f t he Tornados

c a rr ie d a n ide ntif ying tail code, either in

white outline, solid black or bla ck w ith a

thin white border, containingeither a single- or tw o- lette r c ode , d e pe n di n g o n t h e

operating base. I ndividual a ir cr a ft serial

numbers were white, pOSitioned o n t he

rear fuselage. The only o r he r m a r k in g ,

apart from the red and white ejection scat

rkings

and twelve B uc ca nee r s w hic h de live re d

a s ma ll number of LGBs, the base s

T o rn a do s c o n tr i b ut i n g a p pr o xi m at e ly

1 ,70 0 f re e- fa ll b o mb s , 34 LGBs and

fifty J P2 33 s t o the Coalition effort.

D h a hr a n c o n c i en t i ou s s t at i st i ci a ns

a d di t io n al l y d e du c ed that i ts a ir cr af t

h a d e x pe n de d 3 infra-red flares and

21,330 bundle s of chaff whilst consum

ing 3 ,8 30 t on s of fuel, including 2,200

t o ns t a ke n f ro m a e ria l ta nk e rs .

airfield. S ix m or e P av e S pi ke missions

planned for t he 2 8t h were ancelled at

03 0 l ocal time becau e the fi r t w ou ld

have taken pla ce a f ter the ceasefire came

into effect. Muha r ra q ha d a lr ea dy loaded

Tornados with a new w ea po n, t he

merican CBU-87 cluster bom b usedpre

viously byJaguars, in preparation for mis

sions o n t he 28th, b u t t h e first delivery by

four aircraft on to a SAM site, augmented

by two B uc c an e er s a n d four LG B

Tornados was timed just t e n m i n ut e s after

the cease-fire, a t 0 8 10 local, and wassuh

sequently cancelled.

Of the three Tornado G R. I d et ac h

m en ts , T ab uk flew 65 orties, of

which 545 attacked their targets. The

hase e x pe n de d t h ir t y- t wo J P23 3s in

twenty-three s or ti es f iv e m i s io ns ); 12 3

ALARM m is si le s i n f if ty -t wo orties

twenty-four m is si on s) , 1 ,4 51 f re e- fa ll

bombs in 288 sorties thirty-five mis

sions); and 36 laser-guided bombs in

192 s o rt i es s u pp o rt e d by ninety-five

TIALD sorties forty-eight missions).

Dhahran fl ew 5 67 sortie, comprising439 interdiction d r op p i ng f o ur t ee n

JP233 containers and free-fall bombs),

305 r e le as e LG Bs and also recon

naissance. Muharraq housed a dozen

Jaguars dropping conventional bombs

Asl Samawah, i t w as I r aq i a irf ield s which

received the attention o f t he Ta buk

TIALD force until t he e nd o f hostilitie, .

Two T IA LD s and four bom ber s ha d liter

a ll y a l uc ky b r ea k w h en t h ey a p pr o ac h ed

H-3 Southwest airfield on 7 February.

Tasked with attacking s l t r ~ a t t he cast

and west ends o f t he runway, during the

first pass, the air b as e w as obscured by

loud which was s e en t o be clearing from

the w e st, s o the six T or nados m a de a ten

minute c ir u it . During t he ir e co nd pass,

shelters a t t he western end were hit, but

the eastern element w as s till f r us tra ted .

A n o th e r t e n- m i nu t e circuit by the six

ship give the cloud a l i tt l e m o re t i me ,

a n d t h e opposite corner received its post

poned trike.

Having led the first Tornado mission

from Tabuk, Wg Cdr Travers Smith was

also i n o n t he l as t r ai d, when four

bombers a n d t w o TIALD carriers t o ok o f f

t o a tt ac k Habbanniyah a ir b as e on 27

February. Unfortunately, No.16 Boss had

to return early w i th a n u n e r vi c ea b le air

craft and s o was n or a mo ng t he t hr eewhich attacked at a ppr oxim a tely 22.30hr

dropping the final R A F b o mb s in s rt

SWl n Th e Buccaneer-led f or ce i n the

east ended the same d ay s w o r k in the late

afternoon by attacking S k ay k a M a y ha r

68 69

TORN DO IDSTORN DO IDS

1

honour of mark i ng t he first involv

by Ital ian forces where bombs had

dropped in anger s ince Worl d Wa

and was happily also the AMI sonl

during the war. It was later reporte

seni or offi cer that, •... the crew

all, twelve IFR probe-fitted Tornado ID

aircraft were rotated between Gioia del

Coll e and thei r forward operating base of

AI Ohafra, nem Abu Ohahi in the United

Arab Emirates, between eptember 1990

and March 1991, where their initial task



With love from the ox n Hounds Marham Steve Morns

p •

., ; : Uil

BELOW

ABOVE: Nikki. Steve Morris

formed to the highest standards,

the limited choice and less than op

weapons avai l ab l e, a nd t he e x

range of t he mission...'

Following the disastrous ranker e

e nc e, t he A MI a lt er ed t he ir refu

practices hy fitting some of t hei r a

was ro protect Italian military shipping

and enforce the UN embargo against

Iraq. Later, as part o f Desert Stonnopera

tions, they undertook counter-airattacks

on Iraqi airfields. Initially on st at i on l

AI Ohafra were eight IDS aircraft , these

bei ng rep laced i n ovember by a f res h

batch of eight, with a furt her two being

a dd ed t o t he ir n um be r in December

1990, bringing the fighting force t o t en

aircraft.

The composite unit based at Al Dhafra

went i n to ac ti on as a bombing force on

the first n ig ht o f t he esert Storm cam

p ai gn w it h, i t m us t b e s ai d, m ix ed for

tunes. There were mitigating factors that

worked against the Locusta Tornados in

as much as they lacked the neccessary

skills for night in-fl ight refuellmg; they

were not fitted with the RAFjSaud,

C ; R I s t ~ Ie laser rangefinder; there were

no aIrcraft available to deSignate targets

for PCMs; and weapons l ike JP233 and

the CRU were not part o f t he Italian

I I w e n t o r ~ - although reports a t t he timeindicated the in -thea t re purchase of

MU O Rockeye CRUs from t he U S for

area denial operations. This left the

'Locusts' wi th t he opt io n of carrying

Mk82 Snakeye or slick Mk83 bombs.On their first sortieduring the night of

17 January 1991, out of t he e i gh t aircraft

employed, only one was successfu l i n

receiving f ue l f rom a USAF t ank er e n

r ou te , d ue to s ev er e t ur b ul en ce and

inexperience in the use of th e KC

135's drogue, with a seventh aircmft

turning back before tanker contact due

to a mechanical problem. Whil st t he

unrefuelled aircraft aborted the mission,

the crew o f t he e ig ht h T or na do

MM7074, from the 1550Stormo, piloted

by Flight Captain M ajo r M ar io

Rlchirloni, and his hackseater Captain

Maurizio Coccio one - b rave ly , or per

haps foolishly, decided to continue with

t he mi s i on, regardless of be ing alone

The Tornado did actuallystrike its target

(as was proved by the later recovery of

the CVR), but the aircraft was shot

down by enemy fire during i ts escape.

The crew ejected successfully and were

held capt ive for t he remainder of the

conflict. This particular sonic h ad t heZD7 4 ZD74 ZD743

ZD8 ZA365 ZA367 ZA4lO ZA4 ZD7

STF 8 Aircraft

On 25 eptember 1990, as part o f t he

growing multi-national Coalition ranged

against Saddam Hussein, the

Aeronatutica Militaire ltaliana deployed

a number of its Tornado ID t ri ke a irc ra ft

to t he Gul f region a part of Operation

ocusta ('Locust'). The aircraft, drawn

from 6 0 Stormo s 1540

Gruppo, 360

Stormo s 1560 G ru pp o a nd t he newly

established 500 Stormo's 1550

Gruppo,

flew out from the Gioia del Colle base of

the 360 tormo, toppingover at Luxor in

Egypt before h eadi ng on t o the Gul f. In

AMI Tornados - Operation

ocusta

mouth also put in an appemance, giving

the Tornados to which they were appl ied

a suitably aggressive look. According to

one groundcrewman, i t s ta r ted wit h the

application of a 'Iow-visibilty'setof teeth,

painted on from touch-up paint. The idea

grew, and before long full -colour teeth,

mouth and eyes were adorn ing t he air

craft . Each base also had it perculiarities,

such as Dhahran apply ing palm t rees as

mission ymbols, and Muharraq having

Snoopy Airways' as one of its flight's

identifying marks.

A reduction of t he RAF presencestart

ed almo t immediately after Iraq had con

ceded defeat . Evacuation o f T abuk and

Dhahran began on II March, but a dozenTornado GR. 1s w er e maintained at

Muharraq for a few months.

W S undert<1ken at St Athan and the first

aircraft to be so modified, ZA410, rolled

out o n 13 January 1991. As i t t urned out

the aircraft were not required, and t hey

remained in reserve.

Most of t he aircraft began to sport nose

art', courtesy o f t he ground crews. These

ranged from t he humerou s t o t he risque,

and did not always meet with the approval

of senior officers: many of t he characters'

names from the hit BBC comedy series

3 ackadilerwereapplied to the aircraft, but

i t was felt t ha t o n eo r two may have had

anti-authoritarian connotations, and they

were quickly removed ome pilots also

rook a dimview, claiming that it was their

historical right to decide what , i fany, art work should be appli ed t o their aircraft.

That said, the graphics a dd ed a new

dimension and a l ight er s ide to the on

flict, and sent t he aircraft spotter fraterni

ty into a frenzy of act ivi ty The shmk

771

TOR O IDS TORN O IDS



BOVEZA477

/EA Mig Eater with an

markings. Mlck

ZD744/BD Buddha,sporting a low vis

pylons, and if needed a single weapon on

t he c en te rl in e. A ls o fitted were two

2,225Itr fuel ranks and a p ai r of A1M-9

Sidewinder AAMs together with a p ai r

of Philips B OZ -1 02 c ha ff a nd flare

launchers on theout er wing pylons. The

aircraft also sported a small conical

antenna on t he spine hehin I the cockpi t

for us with their newly installed CPS or

ATCO 1sy-tem. For their de crt opera

tions the Tornados wor e a camouflage

scheme more in keeping with their oper

at ing environment than their traditional

European colours. The AMI paint cata

logue ER-MM-PIOO included a Mart

Sand Yellow 29, which was then dark

ened to suit th e nearest reference being

FS.33594 . The paint was then over

sprayed across the basic colours, with the

undersurfacesremaining

in their semigloss natural metal state. The nati ona l

insignia in their standard six positions

were reduced in size to 300mm diameter

and were also oversprayed with a thin

rClint wash. Most of t he tenci detail was

ZD719/AD Check Six uthor

One of Muharraq s Snoopy Airways . Steve Morris

ZD744/BD Buddha. uthor

7 7

TOR O STOR O S

Desert Stonn Tornados

Dhahran

ZA37 A

ZA371/C

Muharraq

ZA396/GE Hit by Roland AMoverTa ll il ,

20Janaury 1991;crewejected

removed, except for the rescue markings,and i nd iv idua l codes were painted in

w hi te o n t he t ai l f ins and nosewheel

doors. The leading edges received a coat

of anti-abrasive black paint to reduce the

wear caused by the desert sand, and t he

and the terms agreed a t t he end

Gulf War, as well as violating

humanitarian policies. This broug

play resolutions enforcinga Safe H

pol icy t o prot ec t the Kurds and

them liv e in p ea ce . P ar t of the



ZA372/E

ZA373/H

ZA400(r

ZA397/0

ZA376

ZD745/BM

ZD895/BF

ZA374/CN

ZA403/CO

ZA457/CE

ZA847/CH

ZA490/GG

ZA461/DK

ZA707/BK

ZD715/DB

ZD740/DA

ZD843/DH

Tabuk

ZD719/AD

ZD739/AC

ZD746/AB

ZD747/AL

ZD748/AK

ZD810/AA

ZD845/AF

ZD850/CLZD851/AJ

ZD893/AG

ZD744/BD

ZD848/BC

ZD892/H

ZA452/GK

ZA446/EF

ZA447/EA

ZA460/FD

ZA465/FK

ZA466/FH

ZA467/FF

ZA473/FM

ZA393/CQ

ZD850/CL

ZA396/GE

ZA452/GK

ZA406/DN

ZD844/DE

SallyT

Mrs Miggins (uncoded)

Black Magic (previouslyMelchie)

Miss Behavin; additional added to code to

make NN

Bomb load explodedon release,destroyingthe

aircraft;crew ejected

Bob

Wheredo you want it?

GiGi

Luscious Lizzie

Dhahran Annie(previously BlackAdder)

Damaged by ZA403 sbombs, 23 January 1991

CheckSix (ALARM)

ArmouredCharmer (TIALD)

(ALARM) Belle(ALARM)

Anna Louise (ALARM)

Anoia Kay (ALARM)

(ALARM)

Angel Face(ALARM)

Cherry LipsAmanda Jane(ALARM)

Crashed aftertake-off, 20January 1991

Buddha

Bacardi andCoke (T1ALD)

Helen;crashed 20January 1991

Gu1f Killer

(TIALD)

MiG Eater

Fire Dancer

Foxy Killer

Crashed on landing, 18 October 1990

Shot downoverAr Rutbah radarstation, 22

January 1991

Foxy Mama

SirGallahad (TIALD)

(ALARM)

Shot downoverTallil airbase, 20January 1991

Gulf Killer

(TIALD)

DonnaEwin(TlALD)

74

ZD890/0

ZD718/BH

ZD791/BG

ZD809/BA

ZA392/FN

ZA455/EJZA471/ER

ZA459/EL

ZA475/FC

ZD717/CD

ZD792/CF

ZD744/BD

ZA399/GA

ZA456/M

ZA463/Q

ZA469/1

ZA472/EE

ZA475/P

ZA492/FE

ZD 92/H

ZA790/D

HelloKuwait-G dbye Iraq

Crashedon low-leveltraining mi ion,

13 Janaury 1991

John Petersand Adrian ( John ) Nichol s

aircraft, shot downoverShaibahair base,

17 January 1991

Awesome Annie

hot downoverShaibahair base after

JP233 attack 18 January 1991;crew killed

TriffidAirways

Emma; roman numeral II added inbe tween E

andR tai lcode

TriffidAirways

Hello Kuwait-G dbyeIraq; shotdown over AI

Taqaddum air se afterattack on 14 February

1991;navigator killed

Nursie

Damaged by birdstrike, 18 January 1991

ZimmerWoman Hello Kuwait G dbye Iraq

MelHelloKuwait ...G dbye Iraq

FlyingHigh- Garfield

TriffidAirways

Helen

Debbie

red intake edges were narrowed, with the

interiors being painted black (first 12in)

and then dark sea grey (5f t) . Due to the

harsh condi ti ons none of th e aircraft

remained in prist ine condition for more

than a few days, and all showed signs of

extreme wear on their return home, with

some displaying a distinct pinkish hue.

By the end of hostilities the aircraft had

flown 226 sort ies in thirty-two missions

and dropped 565 I OOOlb Mk83 bombs.Due to political sensitivities, the aircraft

did not receive anything in the shape of

artwork during the war.

Saudi Storm irds

Although l i tt le has been publ ished con

cerning Saudi Tornado operations in the

Gulf War, t hey played an important role

in the bombing campaign. No.7

Squadron of t he RSAF was already opera ti on al o n t he Tornado IDS in Augus t

1990, whi lst i ts sister unit was still form

ing. The RSAF IDS aircraft, practically

ident ical in equipment f it t o the RAF s

GR.l s under took t he same counter-ai r

and interdiction missions as their UK

counterparts. Their first mission, flownagainst Iraqi airfields on the first night of

the war, was reportedly an anti-runway

attack against H- 3 a irf ie ld by four

Torn::ldos (probably armed with JP233)

on 17 January, and t hey l os t a s ingl e a ir

craft on t he 19th i n a non-combat related

mission. No.7 Sqn shouldered t he brun t

o f t he RSAF combat operat ions in the

war, f ly ing some 665 combat sorties, of

which 590were interdict ionand 75 were

offensive counter-air.

Post War Policing

perationSouthern Watch

Following theGulf War, Saddam Hussein

began to turn his attentions against his

own people, the Kurds in t he n or t h a nd

the Marsh Arabs i n the south, who both

began to suffer a t t he hands of the Iraqi

forces. The United Nations agreed that

the Iraqi action was contrary to the spirit

Haven policy was the imposition

Coalition comprising of the US, t

and France of a no-fly zone - ext

over t he whole of Iraq north of th

Parallel, the UK contribution bein

Operation Warden Later, the Co

also imposed a no-fly zone to cov

area extending over the whole o

sout h of t he 32nd Parallel to provi

tection to the Marsh Arabs. The

difference between sout hern and

ern zones was that no Coal i t ion g

for ce s w er e i nvol ve d i n the so

zone, and no safe-h: :lvens were

l ished: i t wa a policy purely of d

opera te i n t h i sa rea- or else .

To enforce t hi s pol icy a Coalit

force was assembled. Below t he

Parallel Operation Southern Watch

into being, the major element of t

arm beingprovided by t heUni t ed

in the shape of t he USAF s 4

Composite Wing (provisional),

with a nava l t ask force . The Allie

t ribut ion was provided by Franc

Britain, in addition to certain othe

of missionsbeing flown by Arab air

overtheir own airspace. The RAFc

bution r ec ei ve d a g re at d ea l of

attention when i t was first announthe August of 1992 that a Tornado

would be deploying from RAF Ma

Named Operat ion ur l the primar

was to be thatof reconnaissance. Th

tial deployment comprised threeTo

GR. As from 0.2(AC) Squadro

t hr ee GR. I s from 0.617 Sqn,

beingfrom the respective units, alt

i n duecourse the GR.IAs were re

one for one by GR. Is. When the To

detachment arrived in Dhahran the

nocertaintyas t o what to expect, o

type of missions would be required.

t he P i nk Panther aircraft adapted

sel ves t o the heat of t he deser

detachment personnel construct

shanty town by a mixture of form

informal building.

A typical mission package would

sist of fighter, strike, reconnaissanc

defence suppression aircraft, the a

types involved including the follo

F-16, F-15, F-14 and Mirage 2000

ers for CAP; F-15E, A-6 In trude

75

TORNADO IDS

Ha rr ier GR .7 s, t o re tu rn t o the UK.

Instead of a pplying nos e a r t a h a d b e en

the c u st o m d u ri n g Operation Granby a

more culinery theme was adopted by ome

GR . t Bs w it h i nd iv id ua l a ir cr af t b ei ng

named after gourmet d i h es such as

Lo b tel Bisque and Royal Game . Th e

TORNADO IDS

tail chevrons, on to whic

superimposed a small n ion Fl

theatre-specific Operation

marking. Th e air raft wear a mix

the n e w t w o- t o ne grey a n d t r a

g r ey / gr ee n c am o uf l ag e , with

porting the late t i n ca r na t io n o



T or nados la ter be gan ope r a ting a longs ide

their compatriot at AI K harj i n audi

rabia, and the RAF s presence in the

Middle East ha now all c o m e u n d er the

Operation Bolton, w h ic h h as s u pe rs ed e d

Jural ircraft also began to t o s p o r t w h i t e

s qua dr on m a r kings in reduced f

their noses. Operation Bolton a

the operational debut of the

Paveway I II L GB s , which w e re

but not u sed i n an g er .

A pairof SaudiTornados, practically identical in equipment fit to the RAFs GR 1 undertook

the s a m e counter air and i n ter di cti o n m i ssi o n sas i t s UK counterparts. BAe

l g l l ~ t 1 99 3, p a s i ng the role to o. II

AC) qlladr on tha r Decemher, a nd t hc

reconnais ,lIlce team stayed u n ti l M a rc h

1994. Thc BrLiggen-based u ni ts h av c

maintained t h e d e ta c hm e n t ~ i n c e thcn.

Th e R F maintains a six-aircraft presence

at A I K h ar j on a rotational deploymcnt, all

heing of the IDS variety, with at l east t w o

TI L D p o d s being used a longw ith V inten

G P.t reconnaissance pods.

Th e Tornado f o rce al so t o ok o v er the

Warden d e ta c h me n t a t Incerlik, taking

over from Harriers in t995. A pool of

twelve at BrLiggen were at t h e t i me

of w r it i ng b e in g g i ve n Operation Juralcodes t ai Ico d es i n the Jx range. Th e crews

m a n t h r ee GR.I s a nd t hr ee G R. 1 Bs to

police the northern no-fly :one.

Operation o ton

During 199 , Tornado GR.I s f ro m RAF

BrLiggen and Lossiemouth and GR . t As

from Honington were based at Ali AI

Salem air base, s o me 5 6 k m from Kuwait

76

City, in r e ~ p o n s e to the heightened state

of tension in the a r ea c a use d 1 y 1r aq s

d e c i ~ i o n not to ailow the W eapons

In pectors access to their sites. nder the

shadow of bomb-damaged HA s - a

reminder o f t he previou G ulf conflict

aircraft from os 9 and 12 Squadrons,

TIALD-equipped aircraft from os t4 and

6 1 7, a n d r e co n na i ss a nc e j e ts from 2w e re de s patc he d as part of Operation

Bolton a deployment w hich a llow e d the

urgently dispatched HMS illustrious, with

her Fleet Air A rm S ea H ar ri er s a n d R AF

ZD843/CJ Viper of 17 Squadron, f it te d w i th a T1ALD p o d an d cam ou f l ag ed H i n de

w i n g t an k s, is readiedfor an Operation Boltonfrom Ali AI Salem air base in Kuwait.

CHAPTER FOUR

ELECT RO NI C T O RNADO S



lectronic ornados

Tornado ECR

To fulfil the Luftwaffe s electronic warfarer e qu ir em e nts , a s p ec ia lis t derivative of

the IDS was d e ve l op e d, k n o wn as

th e ECR - Electronic Com hat and

Reconnaissance - but g e ne r a lly c a lle d

in G ermany the EKA Elektronische

Kamf ffhrungundAufkliirung . The primary

role o f t h e ECR was to replace the RF-4E

P ha n to m s a nd RF-I04G Starfighters,

and it is i nt er es ti ng t o n ot e t h at from

production B atch 5 onwards all German

Tornados w e re m a de compatible with the

A G M- 88 A H A RM anti-radar missile.

The project w as a p p ro v e d b y t h e G e r m a n

Parliament i n M ay 1 98 6, and that June

Panavia w as a u tho r ize d to h u ild th irty s e ve n o f t h e aircraft for delivery between

1990 and 1992, from the seventh produc

t i on b a tc h . The T o rn a do E CR c o nt a in s

many advanced features such as the Mil

Std 1553 d at b us a n d t h e 128k computing

power o f t h e Tornado ADY. The main dif

ferences from the standard I DS a re : the

Emitter Locator Sy s te m ELS); the Infra

R ed I ma gi ng S ys te m lIS); a F or wa rd

L ooking Infra-R ed FUR) s en so r; a n

ODIN operational data l in k; u p to four

HARM missiles; the inclusion of external

fairings for the sensors; and the lack o f t h e

usual twin cannon armament.

The ELS, developed by Te xa s in str u m e nt s a n d i n t e gr a te d i n to t h e T o r n ad o by

DASA, is a p r ec ise direction-finding sys

tem, able to locare, classify and display

hostile radars, and allowing the crew to

either avoid or surpress the emitter s ite ; it

began i ts f l ig ht t es ts i n 1 98 9. The ELS is

capable of id e ntif yin g a la rg e number of

hostile emitters in a dense signal environ

m e nt ; t h e databus distributes t h e d a ta to

b ot h t he pilot s a nd t he W SO s tactical

displays, a nd c an be u se d to cue and

Low angle view s h o w in g t h e u n d er n o s e f o r w a r d f a c in g s t e er a b le Carl Zeiss FUR m

in a teardrop turret u n d e r t h e nose. Author

46 26 one of JBG 32 s Tornado ECRs shown here in t h e la t e s t L u f t w a ff e

camouflage scheme. O f n o t e are the H A RM m is si le s a n d t h e u n d er f u se la ge

reconnaissance fair ing. Panavia

8

release t h e H A RM missiles. The ELSalso

contribures to the reconnaissance mis

sion, e n ab l in g t h e i d en t if i ca t io n o f b o th

mobile targets and targets of opportunity.

I t h as i ts s ys te m antennae lo ca te d in the

forward edge of the fixed part of the wing,

and uses a surface acousticwave channel

izeI to determine the frequency, arrival

timeand pulse of the signal. Six 1750dig

ital p r oc e ss o rs a r e u se d to determine the

signaltype using powelfulpassiveranging

techniques. A s p ec ially d e sig n ed r a d om e

e n ha n ce s t h e p e rf o rm a nc e a n d p r ot e ct s

the antennae and down converters locat

e d i n each w ing r ib , w ith the channelizeI

positioned in the space vacated by the

cannon. The local oscillator is locared

behind the WS O in the spine equip

ment bay. The display o n t he W SO s TV

Tabs o r t h e pilots CEDAM shows the air

craft s position and track, a nd t he precise

E LS f ie ld of view. Threat r ad ar s a re

shown i n r el at io n t o the a ir cr a ft b y the

circularsymbols w hich indicate the lethal

range o f t h e t h r ea t a n d its position.

Th e ELS is augmented by a

Honeywell/Sondertechnic panoramic

horizon-to-horizon internal IIS which

provides high resolution thermal cover

age o f t he a re a o ve r fl o wn by the ECR,

a nd t he lIS is connected via the databus

to the main computer w hich f u r nis h es it

w ith f lig h t n a vi g at i on a n d c o nt r

o ve r la i d w it h t a ct i ca l symbolog

lI S s e y e is located u n de r t h e f

having the same basic shape as the

naissance sensor to befound o n t h

Tornado GR.I A, and its installat

f a cilita te d b y the removal of th

2 7 mm c a nn o ns . E x am i na t io n o f

played image by the c r ew m a ke s f

a bl e i n -f l ig ht evaluation minute

acquisition and is available t o

forces via the ODIN l ink . D ry s il

storage o f t h e t h er m al m a p a llo w

a nd e va lu at io n o f t he r e co r de d

w hi c h e n ab l es t h e WSO to z oo m

or search the d isp lay e d im ag e , w h

video continues t o s t or e data. The

complex system consists o f a n AN

5 IR scanner receiver,a power dist

u n it, a f ilm p ro c es s or , d r y s ilv e r f i

developer and control panel. The

composed on a lin e- b y- line b as is

t o t h e u na id ed e ye r es em bl es a c

tional black and w hite image. The

E C R variant s e e p a ge 82) e m plo

f e r en t r e co r d in g m e diu m : the R

Film Processor Unit is r e pla ce d b y

Recorder Formatter U n it , a n d thisrecorded on video rather than fi

therefore the recording storage ca

is increased.

The ODIN enablesthe c r ew to ha

9

ELECT RONI C T ORNADOS ELECT RONI C T ORNADOS

1995 a nd N ov em be r 1996 a detach

m e n t o f eight German Tornado ECRs was

based at Piacenza in Italy under the umbrella

of insatzgeschwader 1 which w as e s ta b

Iished t o c o -o r dinate Gen11im Tornado

operationsover Bosnia.In keeping wi t h t h e

1990s vogue for low-visibility the aircraft

w er e u se d f or tr ia ls. The aircraft initially

formed single squadrons within both JBG

32 and JBG 38 and were later consolidat

ed within JBG 32 w hic h be c am e the sole

ECR unit from October 1994.

G er ma ny s E CR s were the two

protoypes a n d t h e last thirty-five German

databus, Mil Std 1760 weapons interfaces

and the m o re p o we r fu l RB.J99 Mkl05

engines. HARM firings were undertaken

in t he U SA a t t h e China La ke te s t f ac ili

ty in the early 1990s 4 5 2 9 a nd 9 8 0 2

being amongst the aircraft involved.

The first production ECR made its



Tornadobeing prepared for a Deny Flight sortie over Bosnia as evidenced b y t h e f u ll

load of f lares i n t h e BO l pod. Panavia

o f t he liS would adversely affe

SEAD role and so the E C R s f utu

something of an impasse.

ECR Units

F lyi ng its l as t Starfighter missi

April 1984 JBG 32 began to r

JBG 38 was the first Luftwaffe T

unit to f o rm and is described in d e

p ag e 0 0. I ni ti al ly i t had only a

Staffel but it gained a second i n

with 382 Staffel this being the fir

to equip with eighteen T ornado E

t h e J ev er b as e i n January 1990

Staffel s life as a n E C R u ni t was ho

short-lived, and i t tr a ns f er r e d its a

to JBG 32 in October 1994 rec

standard I D S v e rs ion s in return.

agdbombergerschwader 8

agc bombergerschwader

Close-up of 322 Staffers Dragon giving credence t o t h e u n it s Fly in g M o n s t er s lege

seen at the 1998 RI T Gary Parsons viation

policy change by t h e B o nn G o ve r nm e n t.

As p ar t o f t he legacy o f t he N az i r e gim e

and World War Two the German

Parl iament was reluctant to send troops or

aircraft into a ny c on f li c t zone and as

recently as the Gulf War preferred to send

money rather than materiel. The decision

to move i n to t h e Ba lka n s w as a d iff icu lt

o ne , a nd seen as more symbolic than

operational . The a ir cr a f t d id n ot h av e

any opportunities to fire their missiles in

anger but they did take part in the strikes

a ga in st B os ni an Serb positions in

S eptember 1995, f ly in g a s anti-radar

cover as part of a larger package.

R etaining their o ri g in al f in b ad ge m ar k

ings o f A K G -5 1 , t h e aircraftalso adopted

the E G I b ad ge of a styIized number I on

the engine intakes.

O p er at io n al e xp er ie nc e quickly

demonstrated t ha t t he E CR c ou ld notpracticably operate both SEAD and

reconnaissance roles simultaneously, and

t he l iS would better serve as part of a

pod-mounted system. H ow ever removal

all sported an overall light grey camouflage

scheme w hich, it is understood, has now

been applied across t h e e n ti r e ECR fleet.

For their Balkan operations the ECRs c a r

ried their usual c o mp l i me n t o f S O Z and

Cerebus p od s as w el l a as pair o f A I M- 9

S idewinderA A Ms and their normal com

plement of two HARM missiles.

On 3I August 1 9 95 a f ligh t of five

ECRs flew the unit s first operational sortie; this also marked Germany s f ir st p a r

ticipation in a combat zone s i nc e t h e e n d

o f t he S ec on d World War a nd t hu s a n

i m po r t an t , a l t ho u gh restricted, foreign

Operational ECR

To add support to the NATO-led

Operations eny Flight ami eliberate

Force over Bosnia b et we en A ug us t

IDS airframes and wore the serials 46 23

to 46 57. None was dual-controlled, and

were plane s e ts 8 1 7 818, 821 823, 827

830 833, 837 839 842 8 4 4 , 8 4 7 , 848

851 854 856 858 860 8 6 4 , 8 6 6 , 869

871 873 876 879 881 8 8 4 , 8 8 7 , 890

894 896 8 9 8, 9 0 0, 9 0 3 and 906.

maiden fl igh t October 1989 a nd t he

official first handover t o ok p l ac e on 3

Ma y 1 99 0. Squadron deliveries began to

JSG 38 at Jever on 21 May and eighteen

were on strength in April 1991. The final

seventeen aircraft went to JBG 32 at

Lechfeld from June 1 99 1 to January 1992.

Thirty of the ECRs arrived w ithout their

ELS equipment, ami therefore operatedat

a r e du c ed le ve l r e ly in g o n t he R HA WSa nd H AR M s ee ke rs t o a qu ir e and pin

point targets a nd t he first fully retro-fit

t ed E LS a i rc ra ft a r ri v ed on 8 F eb ru ar y

1993. The five E L S-equipped aircraft

808

American Interest

[n the late 1989 a G e r m an T o r na d o E C R

was sent to the USA t o g iv e Pentagon

officials the oppor tunity to study th e air

craft at close hand hoping to c onvinc e

them of the T or na do s ability. T his

stemmed from

ELE TRONI TORN DOS

Italian Tornado ITECR

[ n l igh t o f a p er ce iv ed S A M t h re a t to

their aircraft t h e A M [ d e ci d ed to obtain

a SEAD capability and following their

e x pe r ie n ce s d u ri n g t h e Gulf War a con

tract wa s i s su e d to pr ovide a l im ite d num

of aircraft a

e d f r om existing I D S a i r f ra m e s r a the r tha n

b e in g b u il t new a n d t h er ef o re r e ta i ni n g

their original engines. Th e aircraft also

h a v e g r ea t er e m ph a si s o n hom e grown

electronics a revised ARWE - Advanced

R a da r W a r ni n g E q u ip m e nt - R H A W S

produced by Elettronica. Th e Italian air

craft will carry the US, but they will

ELE TRONI TORN DOS



on 16 December 1988 whereby Rockwell

b eg an p ro m ot in g t h e T o rn a do E CR as a

possible follow-on aircraft to replace the

U SA F s F- 4G W ild W e a se l Pha ntom s . A

num be r of designs had previously been

mooted by Panavia t o g a ug e the interest

of t h e A m er i ca n market having a re

d e si gn e d t a i l fin a ki n t o t h at o f the EA-6

Prowler and using existing sy st em s f r o mthat a i r cr a f t . H o w e ve r the A m e r ica ns in

built resistance t o a n y th i n g that does no t

be a r U nc le Sa m s tr a dem a r k a nd a serious

lack of funds a t t he t im e g av e t he E CR

little chance. In a n y e v en t w h en t h e F

4G was finally withdrawn the USAF

turned to the US Navy using their

Prowlers to pr ovide EW support.

ber [OS with

H A R M capability. I nte gra tion te s ting was

completed in O c tobe r 1991 and as a result

tw e nty T or nados w e r e m o d i fi e d to carry

H A R M at the A MI s C e nt r al m ai n te

n an c e D ep o t a t C am er ai a nd at Alenia s

aircraft p la nt a r T ur in for subsequent

d e l iv e r y t o the 550 Stor m o. Th e first pair

of interim [TECRs was h a n de d o v e r to

500 Stormo s 1550 G r uppo in February[992.

A [ th o u g h t h is i n t e r im H A R M capa

bility wa s u s efu l, it was clear that a more

capable SEAD system was required with

e n h an c e d d e t e ct i o n a b il i ti e s. D e sp i te

s om e pr otr ac te d f ina nc ia l w r a ngling Italy

finallydecided to a c qu i re s i x te e n full

specification ECRs the s e be ing c onve r t-

record its imagery d i r ec t t o video rather

t ha n t he d ry s il ve r film us ed i n the

G erman ECR. Therefore the a i r c r a ft c a r

r ie s a T a pe F o r ma t te r U nit i n st e ad o f a

Film Processor. Like the German ECR

the I ta li an I TE CR h as t he FUR turret

u n de r t h e nose a nd t he l iS fairing under

the fuselage and a ls o l ac ks the two

c a nnon.Th e first of th e ITECRs MM7079 con

verted by Alenia at Turin undertook its

maiden flight in Ju l y 1 9 92 and was subse

q u e nt l y h a n de d o v e r to t he A MI j us t as

the Luftwaffe was r e c eiving the last of its

new-build ECRs. During [ate [ 99 5 t he

I ta lia n inte r im E C R s w o rk e d hand in

ha nd with t h ei r G e rm a n c ou n te rp a rt s

A Tornado S of th e Aeronautica Militaire Italiano. Author

Specifications for AGM-88A:

Stor m o undertook th e first I T E CR

version c ou rs es i n e ar ly 1 99 7 at To

Case lie. 155° G ruppo are

recognized SEAD specialists w i th i

AMI and also undertake a seco

r e c onna is sa nc e c om m ittm e nt usin

Aeritalia/MBE underfuselage recon

sance pod.

The Flying Monsters ECR in the air. Gary Parsons f4 Aviation

when the two t y pe s w e re co-located at

Piacenza to t a ke p a rt in operations over

Bosnia. Th e t w o t y pe s operated in con

c er t w it h t h e German ECRs making up

for the Italian a i r c ra f t s l a c k of a n E m i tt e r

Location System. Th e first full specifica

t ion E C R a ir cr a f t f i rs t f le w on 20 July

1992 and was delivered i n F e b r ua r y 1998.

Crews from 1 55 ° G r up p o of t he 50°

Texas Instruments AGM-88A RM

The Texas Instruments AGM-88A High Speed

Anti-Radar Missile,or HARM, is able to identi

and home in on radar transmitter antennae,

and is highly resistant to ECM employed by

hostile radars. Largely autonomous, HARM

carries a wide band fixed-array antenna in

thenose, backed by an on-board digital com

puter.Three modes of operation are available:

Target of Opportunity Mode- Range Known

HARM will aquirethe target in flight ; Target

of Opportunity Mode- Range Unknown

HARM serves as an electronic warfare

receiver ; and Self Protection Mode HARMprovides a quick reaction when a threat is

aquired,the parametersare relayed to the

missi le and the pilotfires andjinksaway .

Wingspan:

Length:

Diameter:

Launch weight:

Max. speed:

Minimum range:

Maximum range:

Propulsion:

Guidance:

Warhead:

3ft71/4in 1 1m

13ft 91/4in 4.2m

93/4in 0.25m

7981b 362kg

1,417mph 2,280km/h

4 miles 6kml

50 miles 80km

Single-stage dual thru

solid propellantrocke

motor

Passive broad-band

radar

Proximity- and laserheight sensing-fuzed

explosive fragmentati

1461b 66kg

83

ELECT RONI C T ORNADOS ELECT RONI CT ORNADOS



Texas I n s t r um e n t s A G M - 8 8 H A R M m is si le s fitted to a Luftwaffe Tornado ECR p a rt o f

ins tzgeschw der as d e n ot e d b y t he 1 b a d ge o n the engine intake. Panavia

In desert garb one of No.9 Squadron s aircraft f i t ted wi th two B A e A L A R M a n t i- r a d ar

missiles.Iraqi radar operators soon gained a healthy respect f or t he n ew missile. BAe

ELECT RONI C T ORNADOS ELECT RONI C T ORNADOS

to talk to the missi le. A further twist in

the tale came in mid-October 1990 when

i t was dec ided that i t s houl d be No.20

Squadron that used ALARM in the Gulf

instead; its familiarization with the system

t oo k t he form of a b rie fin g f rom a 0. 9

Squadron c rew and a week of becoming

proficient w i th t h e c o mp u te r system used



the missile flies in a upward trajec-tory and

deploys a parachute allowing itto search

hostile emmissions. Once a radar threat is

detected within its parameters the parachuejected the rocket motor fires

and the missile homes i n o n its target- ALA

is not a point-and-shoot weapon likeHARM

or Shrike.

Five modes of operation are available: th

already mentioned Loiter Mode; Direct Mod

which is designedto givethe least time be

launch and kill; Dual Mode which

The e L RM Missile

a nd h ad to g iv e a b ur st f rom the

transponders. F ro m 25 J an ua ry

ALARM aircraft worked at medium

along with the rest of the strike pa

thus removing the low-level proble

By early February, despite th

e ff on s o f BAe at Lostock sto

ALARM were almost exhausted

0.73m

4.1m

O.23m

200kg

2280km/h

20km

Two stage solid

propellant rocket

motors

Pre programmed

passive radar

seeker

Laser proximity fuzed direct

action high-explosive

ALARM Statistics:

Warhead:

Guidance:

Wingspan:

Length:

Diameter:

Launch weight:

Max. speed:

Maximum range:

Propulsion:

ALARM i san acronym for Air Launched Anti

Radiation Missile a smart munition which does

not need assistance from complex and expensive

specialist sensors on board the launch aircraft.All that is required ofthe pilot

is to initiate launch from safelyoutside the effec

tive cover of the airdefence systems the aircraft

will be attacking. ALARM is a passive system

hunting the skies and selecting its

target in response to instructions and data

programmedinto the missile before launch. What

makes ALARM so unique is its loiter capability:

ZD746/AB Alarm Belle with s ix a n t i-r a d a r m is s io n m a r k in g s . Author

which had l ef t an hour earl ier, bound for

Al Asad airfield to lay down JP233s. The

duo successful ly launched their missiles

some five l aunch It was a ls o a l it tl e

uncomfonable for the ALARM crews

who sometimes found themselves desigat

ed as hostile targets by AWACS aircraft

as t hey were approaching at low-level,

to programme the missiles. After a

week of flying SAPs, N o .2 0 S q ua d ro n

d e s pa t c he d e i g ht crews to Tabuk in

November, all having t o pract ise IFR ,

whi ch t he y h ad n o t d on e prior to their

involvement in the conflict.

T o say t h at A LA R M was untried is

something o f a n understatement as only

one l iv e f ir in g h ad b e en u n de r t ak e nalong with at leastfive motor tests: under

the leadership o f W g C dr Bob McAlpine

t h e s i xt e en - m an t eam had the task of

writing the book on ALARM. Initially

the missile couldonly be carriedsingly on

t he i nn er wing pylons, displacing the

495gal fuel tanks, but by January of 1991

the underfuslage s ta ti on s h ad b ee n

modified to c arr y up to three missiles,

whilst the t anks re tu rned t o their wing

stations. All but one of the

n i n e AL ARM aircraft were provided by

No.9 Squadron four o f t h e i r number also

having NYG-compatible lighting.

D ur in g t he m on th s before combat

began, ELINT aircraft were mapping Iraqi

r ad ar f re qu en ci es a nd , a rm ed w it h t hi s

information, the crews were abl e t o work

out the best m et ho d o f operation.

Missions were planned in close co-operation w it h t he st rike forces, so that the

ALARM missiles were loi tering over

head as the air attack beg;;m Having been

fed w i th t h e relevant information bycom

puter tape beforehand,along with the air

craft s intended heigh t, speed and loca

tion at the moment of launch, the missile

would be i ns truct ed t o fol low a pre-pro

grammed pattern looking for a particular

radar signal, perhaps t ha t o f t he SA-6

and if that was not evident then to search

for siganls from another system, such as

the SA-2. Because of the weapon s digital

database, the missile can be i ns t an t ly

updated if t he para met ers need

changing so the navigator c a n t h e n input

different sets of i ns t ruc ti ons r i gh t up t o

t h e m o m e nt o f release.

Th e ALARM was sounded at 2310local on 16 January when two GR.Js

crewed by FIt L ts Roche and Bel lamy in

ZD810,and Fit Lts Will iams and G oddard

in ZD85 0 set off to support Tornados

ZD748/AK gun-toting Anoia Kay with eight A L A RM m is s ion s y m b ols . Author

ZD850/CL Cherry Lips w i th t w o A L A RM m is s ion s y m b ols . RAF

ZD851/AJ Amanda Jane with nine ALARM mission symbols. Author

8687

ELECTRONIC T OR A DO S

CHAPTER FIVE

ariti le Str



ics that were lacking even af te r th

1063 I u pg ra de .

Giving theTornado a maritime ro

made possible by the reduc tion is t rength of 0.2 Group, formerly

Germany, following the reductio

e a st/w es t te n sio n s a s the Cold War

to an end . Nosl5, 16 ami 20 qua

lost their front-line roles leavinga p

a irfram e s a v aila ble for other u se

Bu cc a ne e r s fina l b ow th e re fore to ok

at RAF Lossiemouth on 27 March

i ts r ol e a s t he t ee th o f 0.1 (Mar

Group being taken by a new vers

the RA F s ma in sui ke aircraft

Tornado GR. B. Of the two Bucc

units at RAF Lossiemouth Nos1

2 0 s qu ad ro ns on ly No.12 re ta in

identity during transition to the To

Being traditionally a maritime nation, the

United Kingdom had always goneto great

efforts to protect i ts elf a g a in s t p os s ib le

assault from the s ea . From the 197 s the

airborne maritime t ri ke r ol e was p er -

formed by the old but t i ll h ig hly e ffe c -

tive Bla ck b urn (BAe) Buccaneer armed

initially with BAe/Matra Martel and later

BAe Sea Eagle anti-ship missiles. By the

early 1990s th e r et ir em ent of th e

Buccaneer was long overdue: although

the Brick served an essential purpose its

w e a po n s h a d become smarter t h an t he

aircraft itself the a irfram e s h a d become

tired and they cont inued to carry avion-

RAF Tornado GR.lB -

Overwater Attacker

ALARMs were alsoused to escort American F 15E Strike Eagles andso ef fect ive was

the newmuni t ion that the I raqi radar emissionsfe l l so l o wth a t f rom January 26 only

two missileswere needed to be car ried pera ircraf t w h ich w a s just as well as there

was no stockpi leof ALARMs to draw on BAe

A Tornado GR.1B from No.617 Squadron the Dambusters based at RAF Lossiemout

plays its Sea Eagle sea-skimming anti-ship missiles. BAe

88 89

MARITIME STRIKE MARITIME STRIKE

the two RAF Marham-based strike attack

squadrons, Nos27 and 6 1 7, w ith r e c en tly

upgraded ex-Laarbruch GR.1 s w h ich n o w

carried the m o r e p o w er f ul RB.19 9 Mk 1 0 )

e n gin es : th e se a ir cr a f t w o uld become the

GR.I Bs. The o r ig ina l p lan s c a lle d f or the

re-numbering of N o .2 7 S q ua d r on , as

N o. 12 D es ig na te ) S qu ad ro n w hi ch ,

together with No.617 would m ov e t o

c a mo u fl a ge s c he m e, ta ilor-made for

maritimeoperations.

The GR.IBs were delivered in two

batches from RAF St Athan, where the

modifications were undertaken. The

Batch I a i rc ra ft c ou l d only point and

shoot the Sea Eagle and so were

restricted to line-of-sight attacks only.

The Batch 2 a ir cr af t a re now able to

standard I D S v a r ia n ts, adapted for the

m a ri t im e r ol e, y et retaining all o f t he

GR. I s avionics and w e a po n s f its, in clu d

ing the F IN 1 01 0 I N S , T FR, D oppl erand

laser rangefinder; when not carrying the

Sea Eag le m iss ile s it is impossible to tell

t he m a pa r t from the s t an da rd G R. 1.

M o di f ic at i on s w er e m a de to allow the

o p er a ti o n o f t h e Sea Eagle, t h e G R. I B s



overland roles, a n d t h e m ar i ti m e w

usually coi nci des w i t h a Joi nt M

C ourse JMC ), w hi ch each unit ta k

in at least three t i me s a y ea r. A

m us t f ir st b e d ec la re d A t t ac k C

Ready, b ef or e b ei ng m ad e M a

Combat Ready. The maritime w

consists o f s ev en sorties, startin

three-shipformation sorties at 2 5 0f

six-ship formations flying at a mi

of 100ft, o f w hi c h one w il l b e f lo

night.

O p er a ti n g t h e G R .I B in the ove

role is essentially no different to op

the Buccaneer. The objective is the

to e ns ur e t he m ax im um a mo un t

Eagles arrive a t t he ir target a t t h

t im e. D a ylig ht attacks were of n

p r o ble m to the Buccaneer, b u t w h e

The GR.1B airframes are in ef fect standard IDS variants, adaptedfor the mar it ime ro

retaining all of the GR.1 s avionicscapabi l it iesand weapons f i ts, includ ingthe FIN 1

INS, TFR Doppler and laser Rangefinder. Upgrades were undertaken to a l low the op

tion of the BAe Sea Eagle missile, the GR.1B s pr imary of fensiveweopon, wi th n e w

putersof twareadded andmodif ied under fuselage shoulder pylons fi tted to car ry th

skimming munit ion. BAe

m o ve d f r om Marham to Lo s sie m ou th on

2 7 A p r il 1 9 94 , w ith t h e G R . I As of No.13

a nd N o. [] AC) Squadrons replacing

t hem a t t he N o r fo lk b as e to form the

centre for the RAF s reconnaissance force.

N o. 208 Squadron s num herpl at e t hen re

appeared as par t o f No .4 FTS a t R AF

Valley, where No.208 Reserve) Squadron

took over from No.234 Squadron.

Each of t h e s q ua dr o ns a t Lossiemouth

h as tw e lv e a ir cr a f t on strength w ith s o m e

fifteen crews. However, not a ll a r e a v ail

able a t o nc e, as some a r e d e plo y ed to

Operations arden in Tu r ke y and ural in

Saudi Arabia, as wel l as support i ng t he

RAF Detatchment Goose Bay in

Canada.

The GR.I B combat r ea d y w o rk - up f or

aircrews i n cl u de s b o th oven·vater and

RAF Lossiemouth in Scot l and t o t a ke u p

the new overwater role. However, the old

Buccaneer-equipped N o. 12 S qu a dr o n

reformed with t he T ornado on I October

1993, the da y a ft er i t s t oo d d o wn as a

Buccaneer unit, with t he u ni t n ot actual

ly making the move n o rt h u n ti l January

1994, and No.27 s numberplate was thentransferred t o t he C hi no ok a nd Puma

helicopter OC U a t R AF O d i ha m .

N o. 61 7 S qu ad ro n h ad p revi ous ly

received aircraft that had been modified

for TIALD operations, but with the

change o f t he u n it s r ole , these aircraft

w er e t r an s fe r re d t o N o. 14 S qu ad ro n.

Following t h e r e ti r em e nt o f N o. 20 8

Squadron, N o. 61T s ex-Laarbruch GR.ls

/

d ow nl oa d t ar ge t i nf or ma ti on i nt o t h e

missile s o wn c o mp u te r a n d t h e r o u n d c a n

b e f ir e f ro m a r e po rt e d distance of some

Il0km, o ve r t he r ad ar h or i zo n, i n f ir e

a n d- f or g et m od e , t h us i n cr e as i ng the

aircraft s survivability. Some twenty-six

former R A F G ermany Batch 3 Tornadoes

were convert ed i nt oG R . I Bs, a n d t h e first Proof of Instal l ati on or Pinst in RAF

jargon) aircraft, Z A 409 and Z A 411, were

re-worked at BAe Wart on; bei ng twin

stickers, they were sometimes incorrectly

referred to as GR. IB T)s. The first true

GR.I B Z A 407 m ade i ts f ir st f lig h t on 18

September 1993.

The f ir st s te p in the Tornado s develop

m en t o f a maritime r o le w as to re-equip

p ri ma ry w ea po n, w it h n ew c om pu te r

software being added and modified under

fuselage shoulder pylons fitted to carry the

missile. Th e Tornado In Service

Maintenance Team TISMT) at

Bos co mb e Do wn f ound so me s par e

c a p ac ity in the aircraft s m ai n com put er

that allowed f or f ir in g a nd u pd at ecommand lines to b e w ir ed v ia Pa n Data

Links i n to t h e inboard wing and shoul der

s ta tio n s. I n sid e the rear c o ck p it a n ex

Buccaneer Missile Control Pa n el h a s been

f i tt ed t o m anage t he Se 1 Eagles, a nd t he

navigator s SMS panel has h ad t he Se a

Eagle firing parameters added to it. The

a ir cr a ft w as a ls o the first t o a do pt the

in - vo g ue Lo w I n f ra - Red two-tone grey

A worrying sight for anypotent ia l enemy, though the f i rs t warning of an impending Sea

Eagle attack would probably actually be the missile h itsthemselves Here four dummy

rounds are carr ied by a tr ials Tornado, complete with Saudi-paintedSky Shadowpod and

BOl-107 dispenser. BAe

90 97

MARITIME STRIKE MARITIME STRIKE



Sea Eagle missiles f i t ted o n to special adaptor pylons and carried aboard ZA457/AJ J of

No.617 Squadron. BAe

The latest low observable incarnation o f the No.617 Squadron flashes . Author

t o say that the aim is t o a tt ac k t he

highest-value enemy n av al a ss et , b e i t a

carrier or a conventional ship, and to do

t h at t h e aim is to have as many missiles in

the a ir as p os si bl e, t o s a tu r at e t h e ship s

d e fe n ce s . A ty pic al plan m ay c al l f or s ix

GR.l Bs operating at l ow l ev el i n W ide ly

s p ac e d p air s, each trailing t he o ne in

front, and if required makingcontact with

an airborne tanker. The AWACS or MPA

would then update the f li gh t w it h the

latest Surface Picture or SURPIC, and the

relevant data would then be programmed

by the navigator i n to t h e S e a Eagle s own

computer, in a n o pe ra ti on k no wn as

Vector Assisted A t t ac k o r V AS TA C . [n

the absence of a SURPIC provider, one

Tornado would c li mb a nd a qui re t hetarget on its own r a da r b e fo r e dropping

down again, and the information gathered

w ou ld b e f ed into the missiles systems.

TSMT a ls o p ro vi de s a neat fix for the

possibility of a pop-up target acquisition

by o ne o f t he aircraft. The system now

c on t ai ns a n a lg or it hm that allow the

n a vi g at o r t o e n te r t h e h e i g h t of the target

s hi p s m as t and the c u rr e nt h e ig h t of

the aircraft, and this then produces a

calculation as t o h ow h ig h the Tornado

must climb in order to aquire its prey.

The Tornado s advanced navigation sys

tem a lso a llo w s f or a p r ec ise launch time

for the missiles, so as the formation speeds

in they would spread onto different attack

headings, and b e a b le t o launch their mis

siles at precisely the right moment so that

each arrives on target +/-5 seconds apart.

The missile is updated from the aircraft s

own systems andcan be off-boresighted for

a high or low attack, allowing the missileto discriminate between targets. The major

headache for theG R . 1Bs is thatthe enemy

may put a pic ket s hip in front o f t h e fleet s

h ig he st v al ue a ss et , anc l t he se s hi ps v er y

92

unsportingly do not remain stationaryI

The maritime units are not l i mi t ed t o

o ve r -w at e r o p er a ti o ns , a n d r e ta i n t h ei r

interdiction, OC A, BA[ and precision

b o mb in g o pe ra t io ns , a nd crews are

regu[arly deployed to Sa ud i Arabia to take

their part in patrolling the No-F[y zones,

as well as continuing their low f lyin g

GR.l B Aircraft

ZA374 ZA375 ZA399

ZA4 7 ZA4 9 ZA4

ZA446 ZA447 ZA45

ZA452 ZA453 Z 455

ZA456 ZA457 ZA459

ZA46 ZA46 ZA46

ZA465 ZA469 ZA47

ZA473 ZA474 ZA475

ZA49 ZA49 ZA492

Sea Ea Ie

As the Sea Eagle is a fire and forget missile

once it has been p rog rammed bythe To rnado

crewwith the position and distance to the tar

get they have no further partto play in its final

run-in. Powered by a Microturbo TRI-60 turbo

jet engine with some 7871b st available Sea

Eagle has a range in excess of traditional solid

fuel missiles and carries a high-explosive

armour-piercing warhead. Once launched it

flies by reference to its own computer making

a pop-up move a t a pre-determined point to

aquire its targetwith itsown radar before drop

ping to wavetop level again to maintain the ele

men t o f surprise. Able to be programmed to

attack f rom any selected bearing it is able to

discriminate between several potential targets

and once locked on i s very difficult to deceive

having a r an ge o f sophisticated ECM pro

grammes available to it.

practices a t G oo se Bay i n C a na d a

participating in e x er c is e s such as

Flag in t h e U S A.

RAF Maritime Strike

Squadrons

No 2 Squadron Leads the field

Formed on [4 February 19[5, N

Squadron were the sole recipients o

Fa ir e y Fox biplane. Heavier equip

followed down the years with

Wellington, L ancaster and Lincoln

t h e u n it became an early o p er a to r o

C anberra, eventually equipping with

Vulcan, which i t f le w until 1967, b

re-forming i n 1969 o n t he Bl ac

93

MARITIME STRIKEMARITIME STRIKE

declared operational w it h i ts t wo t af fe ls

on I january 19 4, and its Tornados

quickly proved to he an effective replace

ment for the Starfighter, with its two-man

c r ew , p o we r f ul r ad ar a nd a l l- w ea t he r

abilities. W it h t he e ndi ng o f t he Co ld

War, however pressures mounted to

r ed uc e t he n um be r o f aircraft in the

German inventory, and MFG 1



An MFG 1 Tornado IDS armed w i t h t w i n Kormoran anti-shipping missiles the

Marineflieger s primary air-to-surface munition. BAe

No.12 Squadron nose flash.Author

that the Ma n ne f lieg e r s h ou ld h e the first

the receIve the Tornado, and M FG I had

t h e h o no u r o f heing the first unit to f o rmon the new Panavia ,tircraft. Training

and c o nv e rs io n w as r a pid , in s p ite of the

fact that the Sta rf ig hte r h e in g a s ing le

seater, the Marineflieger did nor h a ve a n y

hackseatersI Sixteen a ir cr af t c am e f ro m

Batch 2, thirty-two from Batch 3

forty-eight from Batch 5 and twenry from

B at c h 6, w i th the lions share of B at ch 5

aircraft going t o M FG 2

The Marineflieger ta rf igh ter .- w e r e

equipred with the elderly A S. 3 a nr i -s h ip

missile, and there w as a desperate need for

a more modern m is s il e f or t he ne w

Tornados. The replacement came in the

shape o f t he D ASA AS- 3 4 K o rm o r an ,

which o f fe r ed a moderate range and very

straightforward installation to the aircraft.

A t ot al of 174 Kormoran I m iss ile s w er e

d e liv er e d f ro m 19 9, w it h the heavier,

digiti:ed Kormoran II replacing them in

service during 1995. The Marineflieger

a ir cr af t a re al 0 fitted to carry the

AGM- HARM missile, making them a

h i gh l y e f fe c ti v e a n d s p ec ia liz e d f or c e.

Around ninety-six Tornadoes w er e a ls o

plumbed t o c ar ry the S ergeanr Fletcher

2 -200 Buddy-Buddy re-fuelling pod,ofwhich s e \ Cn ty- s ix a r e r e p or te d to hm C

been d e li v er e d. I n t im e of war, the

Marineflieger a i rc r af t w ou ld a ls o have

been ta sk e d w ith opposing hostile coastal

landings, a nd t h er e fo r e w e re e q uip p ed

with t he H u nt in g BL755 CBU and

Mkl03 h o mb s , in addition to their usual

lauser cannon A IM -9 i de wi nd er

A A Ms a n d C er e hu s II and BOZ-IOO self

protection pods.

MFG 1 f lew its f ina l ta r fig h te r m iss ion

on 29 Octoher 198I and the first Tornado

delivery wasmade to Schleswig-jagel on 2

j ul y 1 982 wi th t he un it s ai rcr ew

undergoing their basic training at the

TTTE at R A F C ottesmore. The unit was

referred to as the aval Tornado

C o nv e rs i on U n i t u nt i l f o rm al c o mm is

s i o n in g o n 2 j u l y 19 2 The Marineflieger

Tornados were externally idenrical t o t he

L uf tw af fe s I D , except for their over

water camouflage scheme of Basalt Grey

RAL 7 0 12 u p pe r s u rf a ce s and Pale Grey

R A L703 5 l ow er su rf aces . M FG 1 was

94

was de-activated on 1 january 1994,

handing over i t a ir cr af t to KG 51,

which also mov into its Schlewig

jagel base.

MFG 2 wa the last of t he G er m an

front-line T ornado units to form, on J 1

eptember 1986, wi t h f or ty -e ig ht

H A RM - c ap a b le B a tc h 5 aircraft. The

unit s f ir st t af fe l major d on tactical

reconnaissan e, while the second was

as igned to using b ot h H AR M and

Kormoran mi ill S in the anti-shipping

role. The s ys te m p r ac t is e d w as f or the

HARM-equipped aircraft to urpress the

ship s surveillance radar whilst the

K o rm o r an - c ar r y in g a i r cr a f t launched

their anti-ship missiles. The first Batch 5

aircraft w as 4 3 8 5 , d el i ve re el i n a three

tone w raparound disruptive camouflage

schemew hich was later rejected in favour

of a D ar k G reyand Dark Green scheme.

When t h e a f or e me n ti o ne d p os t -C ol d

War c u ts to o k r 1 ac e , MFG 2 became the

o nl y M ar in ef li eg er T or na do u ni t;

although it performed t he s am e a nt i

shipping r o le a s MFG I , i t was more

versatile with its additional roles ofreconn a is s an c e a n d HARM-shooting. The

disbandment increased the size of MFG

2 s f or ce t o s om e s ix ty a ir cr a ft . N o. 1

5 ta ff e l a irc r af t a r c now equipped w ith the

MB BfA eritalia reconnaissance pod on

thei r cen terline stations.

AMI - A n ti -Su rface W arfare

The I t al ia n A ir F or ce a ls o operates

Kormoran-equipped Tornado I DS i n the

anti-shirping role. The 36 0 t or mo s

1560 G ruppo converted to t h e T o rn a do

during 1984, and becasme operational at

Gioia del Colle that August. W i t hi n t h e

Gruppo arc 381 a, 3 2a, 3 3a and 3 4a

Squadrigile, a n d t h e i r m a i n tasking is that

of maritime strike and interdiction using

the Kormoran AShM. J 560 Gruppo

Tornados undertook lo w -le ve l f lyp a sts

over erbian shirping during O peration

harp uard above the A driatic in 1 9X X,

suprorting NATO s blocbge of Serb

s h ipp in g; 3 6 0 Stormo a ir cr af t a ls o t o ok

part in combat sorties over B os ni a a s

part o f O pe ra ti on joint ndeavourcarrying pairs of GBU-16 LGSs in

conjunction w it h C DL P- ca rr yi ng

Tornado designator aircraft.

Tornado J

The Tornado j was p ro po se d as a s ol u

t io n t o a japanese requirement f or a n ew

maritime s tr ik e a ir cr a ft to replace

M i ts u bi s hi F - Is . Th e proposal

cumbed to the fact t ha t t he

Tornado lacked the r a ng e r e qu ir e

the jaranese forces. The Tornado j

to h av e b ee n a joint develop

b et we en P an av ia a nd Mitsubishi,

was to h ave b ee n b ui lt a ro un dlonger ADV airframe, but incorpor

m an y o f t h e feature included in the

and ECR.

95

IARITIMESTRIKE

H PTER SIX

ornado econna



One o f t h e GR.1A s SUR windows a n d t h

T y p e 4 0 0 0 IRLS I n fr a - Re d L i n e S c a n ) , pa

Reconnaissance System. BAe

u n ac c ep t ab l e, a n d t o fit a photo-n

like t hat on t he RF-4 Phantom w

h av e m ea nt r em ov in g t h e r ad ar . I t

the r ef or e de c ide d t o c o nc e nt r a te ef

on the developm ent of a s ma ll elec

optical package that w o uld r e co r d im

directly ont o video tape. This new sy

w o uld b e b a s ed o n t h e IR technology m

tered by BAe, W .V in t en a nd C

Systems, using T ICM T h rmal Ima

o m mo n M od ul e ystem) a nd PR

i g na l P ro ce s i ng I n The E l ement ) w

cooling provided by tirling Cy

Cryogenics. As a reconnaissance sys

t he G R . 1A remainsa world-leader. W

it entered ser vi ce in 1989 it was

Tornado GRIA

In t h e p os t -C ol d W a r era, the Royal Air

Force recognized the rising importance of

accurate reconnaissance. Given the fact

t h a t t h e world s political map is in a con

s t a nt s t at e o f flux a n d t h e u n ce r ta i nt y o f

where t he n ex t t h re a t may come from,

r e co n n ai s s an c e h as assumed an ever

greater importance. A l t hough t he original

t hr ee p ar tn er c ou nt ri es o f t he Panavia

t e am h a d tried to reach an agreem ent for

a com m on dedi cat ed reconnaissance air

c ra ft , i t became clear that d ue to the

requirements of the individual users, this

w ou ld p ro ve t o b e i mp os si bl e. Therefore

t he U K decided to develop its own recon

naissance version to replace its Phantoms,

Jaguars and some Canberras in the role.

As a r e su lt, now pearheadi ng t he RAF s

tactical reconnaissance force is t he uni queT o rn a do G R .I A , w h ic h s er ve s w i th t w o

squadrons based a t R AF M ar ha m in

orfolk, the home of th RAF s recon

n a is s a nc e f or ce . Nos II AC) and l3

S q ua d ro n s a n d t h ei r h i gh - te c h G R .] As

currently share t h ei r o p er a ti n g l o ca t io n

with the elderly a nd t r ad i ti on a ll y

equipped, yet amazingly useful, Canberra

PR.9, b u t t h e e a ir cr a f tw ill move to RAF

W a dd i ng t on o n t h e return to the K of

t h e G e rm a ny - ba s e d strike units. In

a d di t io n t o the primary reconnaissance

role, both units have a s e c on d ar y a tr ac k

r ole , b e ing s p lit 80/20 ben,veen reconnais

s an ce a nd b om bi ng . In a dd it io n t o

normal reconnaissance operations, both

squadron regularly support commitments

i n T u rk ey , a ud i A rabi a and more recent

ly Kuwait, a nd e ac h u ni t d e plo ys f or at

least t hree m ont hs each year.The lack of internal space in the

Tornado g a ve r ise to initial studies to fit

the aircraft with an ext ernal pod, b u t t h e

drag this w o uld im po s e w a s deemed t o be

ABOVE: A p a ir o f naval Tornados displaythe

old and the new camouflage schemes.

The f i rs t o f t h e Navy s Batch 5 aircraft was

delivered in a three-tonewraparound dis-

ruptive camouflage scheme, but t h is w a s

rejected in f a v ou r o f a Dark Grey and Dark

Green scheme. Panavia

L FT 46 18 displaysthe Marineflieger

anchor emblem. Author

9697

TORNADO RECONNAISSANCE TORNADO RECONNAISSANCE

pod is a medium-altitude, wet-film,

t ime sys tem. I t contains as i ts p r

sensora 690 LOROP camera, shooti

to film. The main 450mm lens mo

longitudinally within a 45-degree m

at the front reflecting through 90 de

i n to t h e camera. The main sensorwi

is mounted in the pod s nose cone, w

allows the camera to r o ta t e a t any

including vert ical ly down. In the r

m icron waveband . I ts w indow is a s li t

aperture in the underside, which has an

air baffle and a protectivecover w hen not

in use. C omplimenting the IRLS are two

SU R (Side Looking Infra-Red) sensors

which look sideways from either side of

the forward fusel age. Each sensor has a

dull brick-coloured window , which is in

effec t a g lass scl ll dwich with thorium

to enhancement.



Photographic Interpretat

For faster analysis of the imager

navigator uses the system to produ

edited mission tape. This task is u

undertaken whilst the aircraft is

return j ourney, so the edited t

available immediately on r e tu r n t o

This tape is used to mark events w h

then recorded across to the back-up

and is collected by the Pis back o

base. The Pis use their specialist g

systems to interrogate and analy

t ap es in their special ly equipped

The initial ground interpretation

ment was installed at L a ar b ru c

H onington, intended forwork in-sieach containing several lAWs (Im

A na ly si s W or ks ta t io ns ), b ut w it

ending of t h e C o ld War, a nd t h e n

take the RICs anywhere in the

groundcrewmaninser ts the video c

andrecorders arenumbered f rom 1-6

the pod is a smal ler panoramic c

which provides accurate o r i en t a ti

the LOROP pod s image; i t has a 3in

and uses 70mm film.

The URs have a field of view from the

horizon d own t o 10-degree depression,

and are used to fil l in the image close to

the horizon in better detail than is

possi bl e wit h IRLS. A recent modifica

t i on t o SU R now allows the sensors to be

further depressed, giving a coverage of +4degrees to -1 4 degrees from the horizon,

though this extra depression can only be

selected o n t he ground prior to take-off.

T h e S U R s are also roll-stabilized, so that

they remain looking at the horizon when

the aircraft banks.

Imagery is produced by a n E O electro

o p ti c al ) b a ck p la t e w h ic h is made up of

thousands o f C C D s C h ar g e- C ou p le d

Devices). Lenses focus t he h ea t energy

onto the EO plate, a nd e ac h CC D is

then energized to a g re at er o r lesser

degree according to the am ount of

energy striking it. This creates a digi tal

electric signal, which is handled by a

Computing DevicesLtd recording system

and transferred to analogue video tape in

real t ime. These rapes are essent ial ly the

same as standard E-180 household VHS

tapes, b u t r u n at three times the speed for

better definition. Each holds sixty

m in ut es o f imagery, a nd t hi s imagery

can a ls o be v ie we d on one of the

navigator s 625-line TV t<lb screens in

the rear cockpit.

The v id eo t ap es and recorders are

numbered from 1 -6 , a nd each has a

specific funct ion: No.1 is the primary

recording tape for the IRLS; N o. 2 t he

primary for the left-hand SLlR; a n d N o. 3

the primary for the right-hand SUR. No.4

is the back-up tape for the first three,

t h ou g h t h e first t e n m i nu t es c a n a lso be

in-flight editing; No.5 is the back-up for

the left SUR; and N o . 6 has a similar job

for the starboard SU R and also has ten

minutes of editing time available.

In addition to t he T IR RS , t h e GR . I A

can carry a Vicon 18 Ser ies 60 I poddedsensor sys tem in situations where low

level operations are precluded, rendering

the TIRRS virtually useless.

Manufactured by Vinten Ltd, t he G P. t

Iight cameras, IR systems do suffer some

loss of quali ty i n heavy moi st ure conch

tions a n d a t c e rt a in times of day. Despitethese drawbacks, t h e o ve r wh el m in g

advantage of the Tornado s IR/video sys

tem is the speed wit h w hich gathered

imagery can be processed into usable

intelligence, w hich can bea huge t ac ti ca l

advantage.

At t h e h ea rt of the aircraft s abilities

is t h e T I R RS T or n ad o Infra-Red

Reconnaissance System), which consists

of three sensors, recording equipment and

cockpit controls. The primary sensor is

the Vinten Type 4000 IRLS (Infra-RedLine S can), mounted i n a b li st er o n t he

underside of th e fuselage. This is a

panoramic sensorwith horizon-to-horizon

coverage, operating in the 8- to 14-

The most obvious advantage of the

Tornado s IR system is its complete disre

gard for ambient l ight. IRsystems are just

as effective at night as t he y a re i n d ay

light, and are much lessaffected by weath

er conditions. An IR picture can reveal far

more than a light picture can, providing

the interpreter is ful ly versed in the rela

t ively new ski ll of IR imagery exploita

tion. There are, of course, disadvantages

t o t he sys tem. In i ts primary use at low

level, i tputs the carrier at a tactical disad

vantage in some scenarios, and its resolu

tion is nowhere near as sharp as a wet-film

process. However, the ability to viewimagery w ithout the need forfilm process

ing outweighs the reduct ion in the quali

ty over a picture-based system. Although

less impaired by w eather conditions than

t o BAe Warton for development work in

June 1984, and made i ts maiden fl ight as a

fledgling GR . I A on July 1985. Trials of

the intended sensor package were under

taken in autumn 1985, and t hi s wa s

followed by twelve aircraft from Batch 4

being converted. It is a lso worth noti ng

that only two new-bui ld aircraft received

by t he R AF fr om Bat ch 5, ZD996 and

ZE116, were GR.1 As, the rest o f t h e batch

being diverted to the Saudi order as GR.I s

The aircraft were ini tially provided only

with the st ructure to make t h em G R. IAs,

complete with the underfuselage fairing,

but n ot t he t inted side windows. ZA402remained wit h BAe, t he o th er aircraft

being issued to the Bruggen and Laarbruch

wings commencing in Apri l 1997, whilst

others spent a brieft ime a t t h e T T T E.

hardcopy f romthe T RRS system showing a rail-over-r iverbridge.

via NO.II AC Squadron

98 99

TOR ADO RECONNAISSANCE

we have the option of aerial refuclling.

Take-off speed is a bou t 1 55k tw i t h ou

fit of external fue l tanks . You can ex

l ea ve t he runway somewhere h

170-1 kt. The ac tua l speed would ob

dependon temperature andaircraftcon

t ion. C ruise speed is 42 kt , which is r

speed limit imposedhI thc German low

system. We would acceleratc o n t hc

target runs, to g ive liS better simulatio

Visreps - v is ua l reconnaissance sorties

whereas now we have a video film-confirmed

Visrep, which is of muchgrea te rva lue ro the

forces on t h e ground.

\Veget gooJ images which we can hlow upin

si:candlise or whatever r u r r J ~ e ~ are nccc af _

\X e have two SLIRs and I RL fo r the vertical

view, for example, if we wanted k k at a

radio mast we would stand off toone ~ i d c and

use the L1R, and ifit was perhaps the position

found t he C MP RD a nd above t ha t a n

altimeter, air speed indicator and angle

of-attack indicator. Below t he se a nd t o

the left are an artificial horizon and

weapons control pane l 0 1 the pilot

having panel No.2 in the front seat.

Planning and execut ion of any GR.I

reconnaissance mission is no different to

the preparation that goe into a GR.l

attack mis ion, and No.ll (AC) quadron

assess thes i tuat ion a t a glance. There is a

fourth format, ecce , which display the

sensor s view on the backseater left-hand

TV tab. At front left is the reconnai sance

control panel, unique t o t he G R. lA, and

th i genera tes a number of windows on

the TV tab, a nd con tr ol s t he VCR s and

sensor.

The rear left-hand side of the cockp it

contains the air filterfor the ARS respira

change in their notation depending upon

which page is being displayed on th e TV

tab. The two TV tabs are the link

h et we en t he n avi gat or a nd t he m ai n

computer, a nd t he se h av e t hr ee basic

formats. Plan format di plays the overall

mission, with the various waypoints being

shown as letters , B , C , and so on.

Fixed pointsare indicated by a number I

2 , 3 , and target by letters X , y Z .



A No.1I lAC) SquadronTornadoGR.1A outside its HASat RAF Laarbruch, before the unit moved

to Marham.Author

realistic speed, as olwiou,ly wewouldl ik

through high-threat areasa little faster,

u s a l i tt l e more energy to combat any f

and ro iv thc guys f iring miss i le s a

time. 420kt is a good s p ee d f or u s to

route, as it gives us a convenient sevcn,m

minu t e tha t th e n av ig at o r c an mark

maps, and 480b oIwiously iv s eight

per-minute, which is a good speedfor ou

run. Landing speed is going ro he about

and we re limited hI our Alpha - an

arrack - on landing, because o f t h c da

scraping the fin on the external fuel

under the fuselage. I[s b lsically ten u

on approach, increasingto twel\ c

incrcasing to fourtccn, p o ~ ~ i h l y cvcn g

ro hetween sixteen and eightccn units

runway for flcrodynamic hraking, hcfor

the thru t rel er,er,. we fly a f ai

approach and use the huckets - the

rel erser, - on r o uc hdown. S pe e d i , I

upon weight, lI1d if wc had a proble

hydraulics, maybe the wings c ou l d b

back at 45 llr 67 degrees , in wh ic h c

landing speed would increase grea t ly ,

220-230kt.

Operational flying hcight is in rcal

100ft, andthe kit has becnshown rowo

ar thar height. Maintain ing that heig

two;man jct is reallyquitc easy and, pr

the navigaror has full confidence in th

he can have hiseyes pcering out of the

almost all ofthe time on lookout. With

mancrew, navigation reallya very min

ofthc job, and with the guyup front fly

aircraft, t hechapm thc back can be loo

a threat coming. I t h ink thar perhaps

longer for the nal igaror [[1 get uscd [[1 f

100ft, trusting the pilot, than it does

pilot [[1 get used [[1 actually flying the air

that height. In the UK the Tornado cr

permincd [[1 fly (outside of restricted

down ro a minimum height of 250ft,

small numherof designated areas where

craft can descend [[1 just 10ft (naturall

flying is conducted over sparsely po

countryside, and these areasmay soonb

drawn). In Germany however, a comb

of flying accidents, airspace congesti

political wil l h as dier,ued a more re

Occa,ionally we fly high-low-high sorties to

the UK, nnt as often s the strike squadrons, as

there sonly a limited numher of suimhlerecon

naissancetargetsin theUK andtherearcmany

more targets of t r ai n in g v al u e ov er here in

Germany.There s Ims morekit see,Ims more

of interest. However, if the wea the r dic ta te s

t h at t h e UK is a good choice we l l g o over

t h er e. om et ime s w e l a nd i n the UK too, re

fuel, and fly another low-level sortie before

making a high-level transit back to Laarhrucb.

Someof our pilots are tanker-qualified roo, so

ing of some enemy vehic le s ,we would use the

IRLS and go straightovcr the rop. 0 in effect

we have full horizon-ro-horizon coverage. The

l(,rnado GR.IA has an impressive night recon

naissancecapahilitytoo. Thanks to an excellent

Tertain Following Radar, Ground Mapping

Radarand reliable navigational system accuracy,

it is thcoretically possible for the Tornado ro fly

auromatiGllly (after takc-off), locate the targct,

record the appropriate reconnai ance details

and return to base completely ands-off . Back

in the days of the Jaguar, there was no TFR, no

GMR a ndon l y a l imited night cap lhility. The

single-sc H concept also meant that the pdot had

to ly the aircraft, navigate accuratelyand m o n ~irorall of the on-hoard I ,tems. Wi th t h e two

man Tornado, rhepi lmcan keel his concentra

t i on on flytng the aircraft, aV Hding the ground,

and keeping a better l,x)koUl for marauding

fighters and mi Siles.

The navigator J i v i d c ~ h is [ li ne h et we en a

numher of tasks. L,xlkout is vimll) important,

monitoring t he RHWR and ma in ta i ni ng a

vi,ual search foraircraft.Operat ion ofthe k)

S hadow ECM pod and t h e Swedish-designed

BOZ-l07 chaff-flare dispenser, toge the r with

continual ll10nircring of the fuel ~ [ l t c and Ilav

igation kit (occasiona l update inputs) may he

necessary. He must alsoadvise t h e p i lm of rurn

directions, target data, speed changes, terrain

informationand possible threats.

ormal fuel load is quoted in various pub

lications as being 8,600kg, giving a typical

flight time o f a r o und an hou r a nd forty

five minute o r two hour, depending on

the wea therand required landing fuel.

I think oncof the most important point is the

rcal-timc capablity o f t h e Tornado. The navi

garor can actually look a t t h e pictures in therear cockpit as h e f li es over the target,

possihly e v cn do in g a de-hrief o n t hc flight

back r o b as c. Added ro the bad wcmher

capahility, it s qui tean improvement over rhe

Jaguat, which weflew previously.

Beforc the arrival ofthe Tornado reconnais

sance kit ,we had beenconf ined rof ly ing just

were more than happy to explain to the

au thor the virtues o f t he ir ultra-capable

machine. Fit Lt Rick Haleyexplained:

tor system, and al 0 contains the switches

for the Ii gh ti ng a nd the Secondary

Attitude Reference y tem, the AR

which forms part of the I NS . A ls o

situated in t hi s section is the cockpit

voice recorder, which is also used to load

the route in fo rmat ion in to themain computer via the cassette tape. In front of the

nav iga tor and to his right-hand side are

the chaff/flare c on tr ol s a nd t he RHWR,

and a long the bottom line o f t h e c en tr e

console is the navigation mode selector,

s tee ri ng s el ec to r a nd h ei gh t s en sor

se lec tor. Directly a bo ve t he se c an be

The aircraft s current position is displayed

a sa sma ll circle which is overlaid with a

latitude and longitude. The av format

shows the aircraft s position at centre

s reen, surrounded by a c ir cl e through

which is p la ced a ver t ic al l ine represent

ing the current track. Information such asthe nextwaypoint can also be seen on this

display. The third format is Fix/attack ,

which represents a bird s-eye view of the

aircraft s po ition relative to the planned

target, which enables t he n av ig at or t o

compare his r ada r p ic tu re wi th t hi

simplified image, allowing h im bet te r t o

7 7

T ORNADO RECONNAI SSANCE T ORNADO RECONNAISSANCE

Eject and the navigator will takebothc r

The crew talk to the airfield control t

confirm that they are taxying, and obta

speed and direct ion de ra i ls , a l t ime te r

setting, and the runwaydirection in us

reaching the ho ld i ng po in t , j u st s h or

runway threshold, the crew c al l u p th

and request pe rmiss ionto l ineup on t

way and take off. Onc e o n t he runwa

final checksare performed:

Trims: et for rake-off

Cro s-drive clutch:Auto lightout

EmergencyJettison: EmergencyJettison elected

( f ront cockpi t ) ; Wing exte rna l tank se lee red

(rearcockpit).

Flight Controls: Full and free movement

Hydraulics: Left on, r ight automa tic ;both with

correct prcssure

Emergencypower system:Auto o ~ i t i o nFuel:Check contents both cockpits; Check fin



Inside its HAS a newly delivered GR.1A belonging to No.13 Squadron is prepared for flight.

Note the absence o f t h e SUR windows as the aircraft s t i l l a w a its its full reece-fit . Author

avigator: Pi lot

Air system master: Emergency ram airs

RapidTake-offpanel: Gang bar up, a l l

es selected

Harnesses: Tightand locked, visors dow

IFF: ormal peacetime s q uawk s

others selected as requiredLanding lights: On

Weapons control panel: Last check, no

Masterarm selectionswitch: Live

The pilot ensures thar the thrust r

indication lights ate ou t an d t h a t low-r

nosewheel steering is selected. The eng

run-upagainst the brakes,a check of the

ments, n10re power , upto maximumdry

check t h at t he a f terhurne r s a re func

is feeding

Ignit ion: ot lnal se lec ted

Oxygen: Check hreath ing , con ten t s , flow;

C:heck 10 per cent flow

Intake anti-icing: Auto

External lights: All func tioning

Command eject systems: Bothseats selected

Canopy: Closed and locked,caption lighr out

S<lfety pins: Removedand stowed

Take-off emergency brief: Ahort for AC/DC red

caption, burner-blow-out, or engine failure;

selectthrust reverse over-ride; if airborne, both

engines in combat power, ensuringlanding gear

is retracting; if handling becomes difficult, GIll

navigator to jettison extemal s tore s; i f i t is still

impractical to s tay with the aircraft,call Eject,

I n a d d itio n to the TIRRS the GR.1A c a n c a r r y a Vicon 18 Series 601 podded sensor

Parsons f4 Aviation

heading reference system, another gym plat

fmm, is started up. Doppler is switched on, also

thc l ~ e r in c a ~ c we do any ta rge t t ing with it,

plus a few other items. R ot h e ng i ne s a re

running, hydraul ic s a rc checked, fuel and

c1ccrrics, and we rc re;llly to guo

Thc ground crew will cnsure that illl

externa l panels ,Ire c losed and all the safety

r i n ~ r emovcd, confirm cor rcc t <lnd rositivc

1l100'elllent ofthe flying controlsand, f()lImving

a 11<Ih ofthe nosewheellanding light, the air

craft IS marshalled o ut o f t h e HAS o nt o the

taxIway. In Llarbruch s first-generation HASs

there only minImal wingtIpclearance for the

Tornclllo\ w l n g { l p ~ and emerging (rom the

HAS ,I tricky husiness. The ejection seat

,afety pll1S are removed - theyge t leftIn before

wc cmergc wc don t warn to <lCcldcntally

e ject Into the HAS mof - and a series of pre

take-off checks <Ire pe r formed whils t heading

for the runway:avigator: Pilot

Wing ,weep: 25 degrees

Airbrakes: In and locked

Flaps: Mid position

going,whde the pilot checks the extetlor ofthe

aircraft for fue l or 1 leaks, removing safety

lockingpins and so on. The pilot then straps in

and ~ r a r r s the auxi l iary power uni t, which is

used to fire up thema in engines. The starho<ll d

engine is started first and t he computer then

conducts a RITEcheck on t h e aircraft systems,

flying control surfaces, inlet conrrob a nd so Oil.

As 11 (AC) Squadron s aircraft regularly fly

with externallymoul1ledstore a careful check

of the computerized stores management system

is made, s o t ha t t he external fuel r anks and

ECM p od s can be qUIckly Jettisoned if a

problem develops dut lng rake-off. Onc e t he

computer is smisfied t h at ev er y th i ng

functioning correctly, the aircraft is ready to

roll: the crew \ 1 11 continually talk t o e ac h

other dutlng t ,nt-up, cross-checking each

srage of the sequence. The navigator will put a

c t :>cnc intothe cockpit voicerecorder, load the

route intothe maincomputer, check the details

havegone in properly, do a map-foIlO\v, making

sLire t u rn i ng po in t a nd ta rge t de ra i ls a re in

correctly, the recce kit is swrted up, I S is

already alignedand the seconda ry a t t i tude and

system ,hould f ai l you a t I ea ,t h a ve a vl llal

hackup. I fyou go s t ra i gh t o v er t h e t o p o f t h e

target ir would he difficult for the crew ro give

< visual report as the downward vicw is

obvi o us l y v er y l imi t ed f rom t h e co ck pi t.

Targets arccategorized froma choice of seven;

t ee n, r an gi ng f rom a ir fi el ds t o indu,trial

facilities. The r ask wil l identify the rarget

category and it the crc\\ \ mission iUCCCSV

fully ohtain the hest imagery and visual report

pos hle on t h e ta rge t. A record ofthe planned

route \ 1 11 he recorded and If the flight extend,

o u t de o f West ( Je rman a irspace a ful l f l Ight

plan fded. After a few f in al checks and

i. luthon:atlon notes, crew ilfC ready to

walk , collecting their IifC),lCkeh, (J-pants,

gloves and he lme ts en route.

Once Inside t he H AS , t he To rn a do wdl

already he fed withexte rnal power , upply , and

the on-boa rd I wdl b e aligning WIth the

liAS co-ordinates. A c he ck o f t he 7 00

servicing record, and the pilot , igns forhisa ir

craft, before conducting a walk-round external

check. The naviga tor c l imbs aboard and straps

in, getting the INS a nd the recce equipment

7 7 3

TORNADO RECO NAISSANCE T ORNADO RECONNAISSANCE

information from the sortie. This tape

given to thephotographic inte rpre te rs t

with the visual reports, after landing. A

ofthe planned targets maybe located w

the use o f t he Tornado s high-tech s

Assuming t h at t he eq ui pmen t ha s

down, the crew will use the irmaps and

tional naviga t ion techniquesto locate

get. After successfully completing the

naissance aims o f t he sortie, additiona

Its composition is duly noted, a s a re any

defences or ac tivi ty a round it, a nd a nya l t er

nate crossings within 200m. The imagery is

captured on tape, and described in bothwr i t ten

and verbal format by the c re w. I t m a y b e that

the navigator will be required t o t r an smi t a n

If-Rep (In-Flight Report) back t o t he ir

controlling a g en c y, u s in g a coded f o rm a t, i n

which casea quick review ofthe tape is in order

as the aircraft speeds to its next location. If



A No.1I AC Squadron GR.1Areplendent in the latest L R grey colour scheme a t l o w level.

Formed d u r in g W o r ld W a r One, No.1I Army Co-operation) Squadron has a long tradition in

the reconnaissancerole. Rick Brewell

can inc lude a v i si t to a bombing range

practice bombs. Coming back to Laa

the pre-recovery checks are performe

wing sweep posit ion is checked, the

ments are confirmed as being properly

(head-up and head-down displays), a

radioaltimeter

is re-set to zero; the r adbe a bit of an annoyance , as while we r

around we have it set to safety he ight w

Germany is 1 0 00 t, s o i w e touch or g

that height, we get a n a udi o war n ing .

takegreat ca reabouthe ight a s i t s a v e r

tive matter in Germany. When we re

back into Laarbruch h ow ev er , w e r es

zero stop it annoying L S a s w e approa

runway. The RHWR is switched o ff , a s i

be another noisy distractionduring land

bad wearher the in take anti- ic ing and

there s someconfusion, thenaviga torcan se lec t

replay , have another look and undertakesome

discussion with the pilot. So a great deal ofthe

real interpretation is now done in the air. Then

w e w ou ld t ry t o produce an in-flight report.

The content o( the report will be the target,

t ime overt a rg e t , t y p e

oftarget,

status o f t he

target, activity a t t he target, defences in the

a rea andsomecoded formats weuse. We would

normally do this kind of report for on eo f t he

five targets on our tr a ining sortie.

The TornadoGR.IA carries six VCRs, three

pr imaryand three mw VCRs. The latterthree

are usedas back-upmachines and also to allow

the navigator ro r e -runrecordedda ta while the

p r i ma r ie s a r e s t il l r e co r di n g . O ne o f t h e nav

VCRs w i ll a l so be u s ed r o create a f i na l edit

tape, containing all the useful recorded

No.1I lAC Squadron s Wake Knot marking. Author

On track , is the comment ro m the back.

Banking ... now

Confirm t a ki ng down the lef t-hand side ,

announcesthe pilot.

Kits running ... good mark.. .speed OK , and in

the distance as t h e p i lo t sights the ta rge t he

begins to describe what h e sees as the aircraft

sweep s past:

Beam and deck . .. four spans . .. steel construc

tion ... concrete base , comments the navigator.

As soon as the navigator sees the bank begin

come on it is heads out . The general rule of

thumb is thar the pilot describes the [ p sec

t ionsand the naviga[Or looks ar what is below.

The naviga tor hi ts the freeze but to n on t he

recce display as they g o p a s t , s o that theyhave

a picture ofthe bridge refer as theycomeoff the target.

eyeball , should the recce kit a i l . T a rg e ts a r e

categorizedfrom a choice of seventeen, ranging

from airfields industrial facilities, and in

addition to norma l flying training recce crews

a r e a l so heavily involved in developing the ir

recognition s k il l i n terms of enemy armour.

Typically then for recce ing a b r id g e - and in

order to obtain the best position - the aircraft

w o ul d b e s teppeddown a l o we r altitude in

order for the crew to get a better look and allow

the sensors the best chanceof obtaining a g o od

image. Although the r e cc e s y s te m can be

pre-programmed sta rt a r a set point in the

mission, theGR.I A backseaters l i ke t o switch

o n t he kit w el l i n advance of the target.

Accelerating a round 480kt, the navigator

will c on fi rm t ha t all the s y st ems a re

(unc tioning and the aircraft w i ll f ly an offset

pa ttern a long the outside o f t h e bridge, usingthe SUR r e co r d i m ag e ry a s they fly along

and a l so u s in g the IRLS look inside the

spans as the pilot applies bank.

This way the pi lot can leave the aircraft fly

itsel the first target, am] check that every

thing is working okay, moni[Oring and check

ing rom cockpit-ro-cockpitamlkeeping a g o o d

lookout.

For the next target we might a i m f or an offset

position so t h ar t h e pilot can see the object

we re aiming for. The navigator will hit the

freeze button on t he reconnaissance display as

w e g o p as t the target, and a s w e come off the

target the navigator will say what h e sees on his

TV s cr ee n a nd t h e p i l o t willsay what h e sees,

coming-up with a f ai r ly accurate V i s- r ep , a

visual report. With bridges andsuch we have tofly a tabout a hundred yardsoffset and fly a l i ne

to get that perfect image that the P n e ed s . I t

a l so g i ve s the crew t h e ch an ce visually

examine the target, backing up with the Mk I

After locating the first target the Tornado

is flown hands-on with TFR de-selected:

104 105

T ORNADO RECONNAISSANCE TORNADO RECO NAISSANCE

long tradition in the reconnaissa

More recent times have seen

b a se d in Germany flying t h e F A P

a nd t he Jaguar, b o th c a rr y in g

reconnai ssance equi pment . Th

first T o rn a do G R .1 A s b eg a n t o

1989, albeit w it ho ut t he ne

reconnai ssance ki t installed. T

moved to its current home

Marham from RAF Laarbruch

December 1991. The unit is alloc

The r e po rt h as t o be o ff -s t at io n to the

appropriate HQ no later than forry-five

minutes fro m ta p e d o wn -lo a d. Sp e ed is of

the e s se nc e . Tim e is a v it al l y important

fa cto r in No.2 Squadron s operations, and

life at Laarbruch is no nine-to-five routine:

the job is a difficult and dangerous o n e a n d

the crews, hard-working professionals.

The aircraft is a s u pe rb re c on n ais s an c e

p latform - a v ery c a p a b le machine indeed.



A brace of No 1I lAC r e c on n ais s an c e je t s b a n k o v e r as they prepare for

la n d in g b a ck a t laarbruch. Author

H A - H Z code sequence, b ut h av

worn t hem, choosi ng i ns te ad

code letters that spell o u t S H IN

ER AC U , with the s q ua d ron

stickers being coded and I

The unit o rigin a lly c a rrie d th

t i on a l g r ey /g r ee n o v er l an d c a

scheme, punctuated by the odd A

ish of w hit e coveri ng the g rey fo

RAF Tornado Reonnaissance

Units

Formed during t he World War One, 11

A rm y C o-operat i on) Squadron has a

S e en h e re in i t s h ig h - vis s t a t e N o . 13 S q u ad r o n s n o s e m a r k in g s in g lo r io u s g r e en

and b l u e . A u t h o r

No.1 (Ae) Squadron Hereward

<lJlproriarc tradesman, we then go to the

Aircrew Reconnaissance Facility to begin

what is really the most important part of the

mission.

Inside t h e A R F wediscuss our visual reports

w it h t h e p h ot og r ap h ic i nt e rp r et e rs and,

depending on t h e s o rt i e , this c a n t a ke mayhe

forty-five minutes or more. We ll write o u t o u r

reports, lnd at present we o f t en h a v e a n aircraft

out o v er t h e t a rg et w i th a n o r ma l h a n d -h e l d

c a me r a t o t a k e n o r m a l p h o t og r a ph s before the

infra-red equipment arrives. The Pis will rhen

take the photographic imagery and the infra

red imagery, and rake our visual r e po r ts a n d

mark t h em , a n d t h e n e x t m o rn i ng t h ey w il l b e

u p o n t he wall a t t h e w ea t he r b ri ef , s o i t s a

sobering thought. Your report w il l b e u p t h e re

r i g ht n e x t t o a photograph.Obviously our visu

al reports are v y i m p or t a nt , h e l p in g t h e Pis to

i n t er p r e t t h e i n fr a -r e d i ma ge ry t h ey h a ve

before t h e m. W e also make a verbal report onro

the cockpit voicerecorder tape, and this is also

g i ve n t o the P is s o t h ey c an use this to help

i n t e rp r e t t h e c o m b in e d i n f or m at i o n .

actually in the air, we c o u ld d o that whilewe re

t a x yi n g b a ck t o t he H AS. R ad a r a nd the

majority of on-board sysrems arc switched off,

before b e i ng m a rs h a ll e d back into position,

facing forward in front o f t h e H A S doors.

The g r o u nd c r ew will h o o k- u p a n R T c a b le

t o t h e a i r cr a ft so that any problems can bedis

c u ss e d, w h i le t h e V C R t a pe s a r c u n l o ad e d a n d

wken to the photographic interpreters, the

Tornado s engines still running. Once cleared

t o s h ut - do w n, t h e e n gi n e p o we r is c ut , t he

a r r es t o r h o o k is lowered and a t t ac h e d t o the

HAS winch cable, and the Tornado is slowly

p ul l ed b ac k i n to its protective shelter. Once

inside, the c h o ck s a r e p l a ce d u n d e r the wheels,

brake pressure is released, safety p i ns a re all

checked as being in the safe p o s it i o ns , a n d t h e

c r ew c l im b s o u t . W e fill in the 700 form and

because the r e c on n a is s a nc e k i t is relatively

new,we fill out forms to describe how well theequipment performed, as at this s t a ge w e r e

s t il l v e ry interested in how it performs on a

day-to-day basis. Afterdiscussingany problems

we m i gh t h a ve h a d w i t h t h e a i r cr af t w i th t h e

way. Make sure t h e a r r e s to r h o o k light is out, as

it could be a little embarrassing i f w e arrived

w i th r he h o ok d o wn a n d c a ug h t t h e a rr e st o r

barrier.

avigator: C h ec k t h e h a r ne s s es a r e t i g h t

a n d l o ck e d, s e le ct g e ar d o wn and l oo k f or

three greens i n di c at e d, a n d c h ec k brake

pressures.

A f t er t o u c hd o w n , t h e navigator checks that

t h e l i f t- d um p s p oi l e rs a r e all d e p lo y ed , t h e

nosewheel is slowly l o we re d, a n d t h e t h ru s t

reversers arc activated. At SOkt the reverse has

t o s e t t o i d le , i n o r d er t o a v oi d r e in g e st i n g the

hot exhaust gases i n t o t h e e n g in e . T u r n i n g o f f

the r u nw a y t h e p r e -s h u t -d o w n c h e c k s a r e per

formed, these being essentially a r e ve r se r e ad

ing of the pre-rake-off checks: w e w il l have

called t h e s q u ad r o n o p e r a t i on s r o o m w h i l e we

were a i rb o rn e t o tell t he m t ha t we were

inbound,and once of the runwaywe call thema g ai n t o tell them our servicablitysrate, so that

t h ey c a n h av e t h e a p pp r op r ia t e e q ui p me n t

waiting f or u s b a c k at the shelter. Ifwe haven t

b ee n a bl e t o issue a n i n -f l i gh t r e p or t whilsr

106 107

T ORNADO RECONNAI SSANCE TORNADO RECONNAISSANCE

TFR autopilot was superb, and I w as

to l et i t fly thc aircraft more than I th

I would bc, considering w e w er e h

200fr 550kt nighr. The recce ki

pe rformed well , and indeed surpasse

expectations. It produced some outsta

r e sul ts ac ross the board a nd g a th e re

enormous amoun t o f information, We

happy to go in a low level whcn eve

e1sc was going medium high, and we

able to g et i n and out o ( a n a rea most

The numberof sortieswe flew exceededour

expec ta tions , but the aircraft held up beauti

fully. In peacetime you can often fly the aircraft

with o ne o r two components not serviceable

withl i t t le effect on t h e overall sortie; however,

in a combat situation eve rything had to be

perfect and 100 per cent. The higgest worry

right from day one wassand ingestion into the

S gt S te ve C ox , a n Avionics Technician

with No.lI (AC) Squadron, recalls:

The ta sks we undertook fell into four basic

a r ea s, i n n o o rd er of importance: rou te

searches , BDA assessment', FBA searches for

the US Army's forward planners, as well the

antiiScud missions. Our firstsorties in fact saw

us on Scud -Hun ts , a nd these ~ s s i g n m e n t sabove all others attracted themost media inte r

est. We were given the posit ions where the

Scud missiles were likely to be, and we would

then fly a search pattern along the I ~ t i t u d e /longitude lines, seeking out ta rge ts . In fact on

range KA-KZ , a lt ho ugh t he u ni t only

carry a single le tte ron thei r tail fins.

Grey and Green t a ct i ca l ha snow given

w>lY to L1R Grey, >lnd the flamboY>lnt

markings of g re en a nd b lu e shot through

with a yellow lightning flash are very wel

come. The ta il f in is adorned with a shield

carrying a Lynx's head flanked bya yellow

and blue band across the RWR. Like i ts

sister unit, No.l3 Squadron h av e h ad

occa s ion to pa int thei r aircraft in arctic



before we werc seen. During our

Airborne sor tie s wc did not br ing back

ta rge t pictures , which was cxactly wh(

Americans wanted to s cc , s o when

push forward c am e t he y were able

through the lincs o( l e ~ s t resistance.Overall t h e GR .I A worked extremely well,

considering the ncwness of its systems. The

engines and the sensitive recce equipment, but

as it turned out all the systems functioned

normallydespite the lowflying ove r the desert.

One of No.13 Squadron s Tornado GR.4As seen at the 1998 RIAT at RAF Fairford. N o

u p d a te d a n d r e d u c e d s q u a d r o n m a r k in g s a n d the FUR fair ing. GaryParsons Aviatio

Wg Cdr Threadgould continues:

our first nightout , a ( te rmy aircraftdeveloped a

(ue l ( eed problem causing an abort, Sqn Ldr

(now Wg Cd r an d the current 'Boss' of No 11

(AC) Squadron) Dick Garwood an dSqn Ldr

Jon Hill,flyingZA400 in thc companyo( Fit Lt

Brian Robinson and F it L t Gordon Walker of

No.13 Squadron in ZA371, found a Scud mis

sile on its launcher, andthei r images really put

recce on t h e map. Sadly there wereinsufficient

strike assets available in thc area to t(lke,down

the site, andthe Scudwent unmolested .

The missionswe undertook for the US forces

were spccificallytailoredfor the82ml Airborne

Divis ion, designed for when t h ey m ade their

important push through the tr i -borde r a rea at

the beginning ofthc ground war. We provided

them with superb imagery on v i de o of the ter

rain obstacles in their path. We wcrc told

t hat thei r h e lo p il o ts s a t w ~ t c h i n g our tapcs

with their Icg maps un(urled marking ~ r e a s of

in te re s t to them Indced thc commanders of

t he 8 2n d A irborne agreed, T h e GR .I A was

<Hvesome Some o f t he ultimate ll1issions we

undertook wcre t he route searches , tracking

the Iraqi Army as they retreated from K u w ~ i tand these were amongst the most in tcre s tingof

our trips,as the Iraqi's still had plenty of fire

powcr. The f ina l sort ie s picked out targets

leading into the now infamous carnage near

Basra that c10scd out the war.

In g cn er al t h e g r ound suppo rt k i t p er fo rm ed

very well. Once wc h a dou r four workstations

set up and running i ta l l wcntOK, although it

was pretty hot inside t he Ponakabins that wc

had to work inside. Once t h e reccc missions

were down a nd we got hold o f t he mission

vi o tapes, wesplit them into the various sen

sors and produced our initial report inside the

45-minute time slot. Important ta rge ts were

passed to Command HQ, and we would then

go back ov er t h e t a pe s a g a in for another (our

hours until t henex t mission came in - and the

process wouldbegin allover again. Sometimes,

however, i tw as a long and tiring shift.

Sgt Kev K ni gh t, o ne o f No.]1 (AC)

Squadron s Pis, explained:

Now in UR grey No.13Squadron s aircraft

h a ve lo s t their colourful RWR t a i l m a r k in g s

but retained their Lynx emblem. Gary

Parsons f4 Aviation

Lets (ace i t , someone in an Iraqi fighter would

h a ve t o be pretty brave to try to engage us at

max dry power, flying at 200ft or be low in the

pitch black o( a desertnight

Wg Cdr Threadgould continues:

w it h W g Cdr Threadgould leading the

Laarbruch con tingen t , and Wg Cdr

Glenn Torpy t h e Honin gt o n contin

gent. A Hercules transport ferried out

all the neccessary g ro und and suppor t

crews as well as an Ai r P or ta bl e

Reconnaissance Interpretation Centre

and its associated Pis and spec ial ist

technicians.The six GR.IAs were a ll drawn from

11 (AC) Squadron, with that squadron

providing six crews and No.13 Squadron

four. The aircraft carried t he p in k pan

ther scheme, and little e ls e in the way of

markings. In-theatre the aircraft received

a pair of 495gal Hindenburger wing

tanks; they also c ar r ie d two 330ga l t a nks

o n t he ir underfuselage shoulder pylons.

For s e lf de fence the Sky Shadow and

BOZ-107 pods were carried on the outer

wingsta tions, and as all of their missions

were to be nocturnal, the aircraft dis

pensed w ith t he usual AlM-9 AAMs; as

one pilot la ter commented:

Th e MLU for the Tornado (described on

page 00) I vill a lso resul t in the current

GR. lAs becoming GR.4As. In the near

future the GR.4As will receive the RAP

TOR/EO LOROP pods, in addi t ion to the

undernose FUR and cockp it modifica

tions. The s e cond a ir cr a ft to unde rgo the

MLU upgrade, ZA37l, was de liver ed to

BAe on 3 June 1996, eventually returning

to service wi th 0.13 S qua dro n a t

Hanington in mid-1998.

We ~ r r i v e d at ~ h r h a n a mere two daysbefore

ho st i li t ie s h r ok e ou t. The deploymcnt was

delayed (or m ~ n y r e ~ s o n s u nt il t he last

moment , and s owe arrived \.vith three airCf(1ft

on the 14th, three more on t h e 15thas the war

began in the ea rly hours o f t he 1 7t h So for

most of us our first taste of r ecce f lying in the

region was an ope ra t iona l sor tie into Irag, with

no deserttraining at all. This is a testament to

the high l v l of training proficiencywe main

t a in e d i n o u r European operations.

Tornado GR.4A

Gulf War - The Scud Busters

garb for cold weather operations.

Following the invasion of Kuwait, Nos a nd l 3 S qua dr on s, a t L aar br uc h a nd

Hanington respectively, were informed

t ha t t he n ee d h ad a ri sen for them to

deploy theirnearly-new specialized recon

naissance equipment to the Gulf. Groundtechnicians were given t ime to f ine - tunc

the aircrafts sensitive equipment and

bring theGR. lAs up to Granby modifica

t i on s tat e to meet the demands of combat

conditions. WgCd r AI Threadgould, the

OC of Noll ( AC ) a nd t he RAF Recce

Detatchmen t Commande r Squadron

takes up the story:

The Recce Det left for the Gulf during

t h e h ou rs of darkness on 13 January,

708 7 9

TORNADO RECONNAISSANCETORNADO RECONNAISSANCE



AI Threadgould andTim Robinsonpr

ove r t he aircraft o f MFG l. Six

5 aircraft formed t he backbone

German participation in Ope

Deny Fli gh t w it h E insa tzgeschw

at P in ce nz a i n It aly in A ug us t

The a irc ra f t o r ig inal ly wore st

Luftwaffe three-tone camouflaget hi s h as g iv en way to a n ew l ig

medium altitude finish.

thirty more were quicklyobtained.The pod

contained a p ai r of Zeiss optical wet film

cameras and a Texas Instruments RS-170

IRLS. For the future, the reconnaissance

role will be enhanced by a new pod

which wil l carry two optical cameras, an

lRLS , a d at a s to ra ge sys tem and a B ITEcapability. This wil l give the navigator

more control over the pod's funct ions and

will also allow for the real-time gathering

of dat a supported by a new air-to-ground

dat a l ink. Although t ided here as the

'LRV', these reconnaissance-equipped air

c ra ft ret ai n t he IDS des igna ti on wit hi n

the Luftwaffe.

The original AKG 51 ceased operations

fr om its Bremgarten base in March

1992, and fol lowing t he r et ir em en t o f

i ts RF-4E Phantoms i n l at e 1993, AKG

52 moved to Schleswig-]agel , where i t

changed its d es ig na ti on t o AKG 51,

whilst retaining its own panther s head

ba dge in place of AKG 5 1' s owlinsignia, and 511 Squadron s d i vi ng

eagle The unit then re-formed o n t he

Tornado on September 1993, taking

Iraqi emplacements, shown up bythe i r thermal significance and anomalies discover

the Tornados when the sur facesand was disturbed. R F

ufk drungsgeschwader5mme m nn

An aggressive-looking MBB/Aeritalia recon

naissance podfi t ted beneath a Luftwaffe

LRV Tornado. Gary Parsons f4 Aviation

traditions of AKG 52; at least nine of t he

ex-MFG-1 aircraft had HARM capabilities. The unit later gaineda number of ex

Luftwaffe IDS aircraft and transferred the

former Marineflieger ai rcraft to other

units.

The 'modest' recce capability really was

very modest , and the aircraft initially had

only n ine reconna issance pods be tween

them, al though i t was reported that some

and a climhinto b ed - j us t a s the morning sun

comes Lp over the desert.

Tornado LRV - Luftwaffe

Reconnaissance Version

The e nd in g o f t he C ol d War gave the

German Luftwaffe a surplus of Tornado

IDS aircraft, and al lowing the accelerated

retirement of their specialized RF-4E

reconnaissance Phantoms. Thei r replace

ments were to be specially-equipped

Tornados, and Panavia was asked to

submit op ti ons f or six reconnaissance

conversions of varying degrees of sophisti

c at io n. Due t o budge ta ry c on st ra in ts a

'modest' conversion programme consisting

of an external Aeri tal ia/MBB reconnais

sance pod was instal led for some forty ex

Marinefl ieger aircraft, mostly from MFG

I, was announced in 1994. These aircraft

would then equip AKG 5 Immelmann

which would t ake over the insignia and

reasons. A S M ~ indicatin 1 came up u n t he

RIIWR hut t our speed weoulTan i t and the

indication died away. Angus used the IRLS

whilst I used my NVCs to look at the first tar

ge tfun, which W IS an l r t ry road, dnd keep it

eJ.recrly under the i rcrafr. I mus t ; l l imit that I

found it ;lIna:ing t h at t he Ir;\qis were actually

driving round with thei r headl ight ; on , and

thl')'stil lhad their towns fully lit, which was

g re at h e lp t o LS We also had a fe\ \ moments

when AAA c me ,·eryclose to the aircnlfr, and

l it up the insideas itsped overour canopy,try

ing to track 0111' noise. After around fifty min

utes ins ide Iraq with our tasks completed, we

turned ;mdpickedup our egress he;Kling, keep

i ng a k een ey e on t h e map for any SAM sites.

A q ui ck c he ck w it h S am a nd Dave and

AWACS, and we adopted a standard recovery

route into Dhahran. During this phase Angus

was reviewing the mission tapes, marking any

important items to pass on to the Pisafter we

land. The landing was routine, andon ce t he

ai rcraf t had been shut down and the Pis and

intelligence guys have been bri efed , i t was off

t o t h e aircrew feeder forsome steak and chips

The so-called White Witch . ZG729/M of No.13 Squadron, in an arctic scheme, emerges

f romi ts HAS. Thispar t icu lar j e twa s n o t q ui te d r y wh e n th e p i lo th i t th e afterburners for

take-of f, andblobs o fwh i te paint later adorned your author Author

770 777

T ORNADO RECONNAI SSA CETORNADO RECON AISSANCE

night laser designation system t o

pathfinder squadron of Tornados

unit w as t o b e N o. 9 q ua dr on at B

but when urgent development b

necessary t o m ee t t he c ris is in the

and 0.9 quadron was already co

ted t o t he b om bi ng r o le i t w as

quadron at Honington, s till w a it

the bulk of t hei r reconnai sance athat t o ok u p t he gaunt l et .

inputs. T o e n ab l e m ax i mu m c o ve r a ge in

differing weather conditions, T IA L D car

rie bot ht herm al imaging and TV sensors

both of w hi c h o p er a te simultaneously

either image being displayed a t t h e flick of

a witch onto t he navigat or cockpi t

M FD ; t hi a ll ow s t he sel ect i onof the best

performer either p ri o r t o or during an

attack. The imagefrom both of the e s e n

sors can b e r e c or d ed s im ulta ne o us ly and

c o nt i nu o us l y, t h us m a ki n g it a useful

reconnaissance tool as well.

mano vring to avoid SAMs or enemy

aircraft.

The GEC-Ferranti-designed TIALD

system is p ri ma r il y a day/night/adverse

weather la e r d e i gn at or pod w hi c h c a n

pinpoint targets for P G M , whose

renowned accuracy is in f a ct w h ol l y

dependant on the la e r s p ot b ei ng

skilfully directed o n to t he target. As the

PGM does not recognize the target only

the laser spot it is vital that t he t arget i ng

pod is p oi nt ed w it h p re ci si on , a nd



A s p a rt of the British build-up t o t

esert esignation-T LD in

A Saudi GR.1A from No.665 Squadron

113

In january 1988 the first GEC-Ferranti

A model TIALD pod was delivered to

t h e R A E at Farnborough and was quickly

integrated onto the ightbird trials

Buccaneer XV344 for a 35-l11onth inten

s ive f lying p r o gr a m me w ith m o s t f lig htsbeing undertaken by the R AE s F it L ts

john M c Ra e a n d Barry Hardy-Gillings.

D ur in g P ha se 5 of the p r o gr a m me s e t

between 2 4 M ay and 10 December 1990

the la er an d software integration was

completed; a further forty-seven ight

took place including for the first time

laser firing and guiding of LGBs. Tho e

selected for t hi p ha se a n d t he sub equent

L GB t ri al s w ere F it Lt F ra nk Chapman

and teve Thomas aboard the test

Buccaneer and Fit Lt teve Pet hi ck and

qn L dr B ob F is he r i n the LGB-equipped

Tornado, a GR.I A from 0.13 quadron.

TIALD was ordered in june t o m ee t

A R 1015 which c al le d for a da y and

One o f t h e N o II lAC squadron aircraft h e ld in r e s er v e s e e n h e r e c r o ss in g the English

A l l s m ile s as W g C d r Th r e a d go u ld b r in g s

home the No. II AC p o r ti o n o f th e Recce

Detatchment to RAF Laarbruch. Author

remains locked o n t o t he t ar ge t u n ti l it is

s tr uc k . To accommodate this t h e T I A LD

pod has a TV w a ve l en g th a t 0.7-1.0

m ic ro n s a 1 .0 6 m ic ro n la se r and a themal

imager at 8-12 microns which allows the

s y ste m to have a compact size with optics

that ensure the s e ns o rs a r e b o r es ig hte d

precisely with t he ai m ing mark affording

unm at ched precision, which allows

TIALD to p ic k o ff t ar ge t s w el l b ey on d

normal v isu a l r a ng e . Once fixed the

cross-hairs are automatically kept in p la ce

bya computerized system which compares

each s c an lo o kin g f or t he s ha pe a nd

colour contrast o f t h e selected target.

TIALD s large sightline or Field Of

View Regard allows maximum s c op e f o r

m anoeuvre on approach, w hi ch is coupled

w it h a n a u to t r ac k in gfacility t hat enabl es

the a ir cr a ft t o adopt e va s iv e t a ct i cs i f

under fire during the terminal phase of its

attack. During target acquisition, the pod

is set Field Of View mode, either

arrow for target identification and des

ignation, or Wide for acquisition. The

arrow field is furt her enhanced by an

electronic zoom facility. Once the target

h a s b e en o v er la id by the cross hairs the

system can be switched to Autotrack

w hi chm ai nt ains t he target aspect without

the pilot needing to m ak e a ny f ur th er

0.13 quaJron

Wg CdrGlenn Tnrpy

qn LdrTom Perrem

FIr Lr Brian Rohmson

FI rL r Gordon Walker

qn LdrAIGallagher

FI rL r M ik e r an wa y

FIt Lr Andy Tucker

FIr Lr RogerBennert

112

TIALD - Airborne Designation

TIALD represents the very cutting edge

o f s m a rt e l e ct r o -o p t ic a l systems ,

e x pl a in e d G r ou p C a pt a i n Bill H e dg e s

C o mm a nd er o f t h e R AF D et a tc hm en t

T ahuk duri ng a p re ss b r ie f ing f o llo win g

the arrival of th is la tes t la se r designation

s ys te m i n t he G ul f War. Unlike earlier

generations of la se r d e sig n ato r s s u c h as

Pa ve Ta ck and Pave Spike, T IA L D locks

its la se r aut om at ical l y t o i ts ta r ge t even

though the p ar en t a ir cr af t m ay he

d es t in e d t o move t o T a bu k in t he n ea r

future. The audi machine carry the

m o st c o lo u rf u l o f t he c ur re nt batch of

Tornado camouflage ·chemes.

GR.IA Crews

o.ll AC) quadron

Wg CJr AlThreadgoulJ

FI rL r Tim Robinson

Sqn LdrDick GarwooJ

qn LJrJon Hill

FIr Lr Angus Hogg

FIr Lr Rick Haley

Fg Off JerrySpencer

FIr Lr Harry eJJon

FIr L r Sam McLeoJ

FIr L r Dm eKnighr

Al Yamamah Reece - Saudi

GR.IA

0.66 Squadron R SA F was the second

S au di T or na do s qu ad ro n t o form at

D ha h ra n a n d was in the process of

hemming establishedas

t he G ul f Wa r

hroke o ut . N o. 66 S qu ad ro n were the

recipients o f t h e AI Yammamah I aircraft

w h ic h i n cl u de d four TIRRS-equipped

reconnaissance m achi nes, and operat e a

mix of aircraft i ncludi ng st andard IDS

a nd t wi n- st ic k t ra in er s. The unit is

a ir cr a ft w e ar s t an d ar d A M I camouflage

w i th s ty li ze d b lu e f in f la sh es a nd u ni t

badge on the aircraft s tail-fins.

H igh o v er the desert having just t a k en o n f u el o n e o f t h e Sc u d B u s te r s b a n k s a w a y a n d

prepares to make a high-speed low le v el d a sh into Iraq. R

T ORNADO RECONNAISSANCET ORNADO RECONNAISSANCE

Typically, the l as er was e ng ag

thi rty seconds before impact of t h

following t he weapons release

the bombers, and impact w as g e

met by the announcement of

from the TIALD operator. Ty

again, t he T IA LD GR.ls c a rr i

lo ng - r an g e Big jug Hindenburge

tanks, BOZ-107 and Sky Shadow p

the wings, with th e TIALD

a tt a ch ed t o t he por t underfuselage

der p y lo n . Ta ctic s g e ne r ally di ct a

r ied a b oa r d ZD848/BC flown by Wg Cdr

Iveson and F it L t Chris Purkiss, accompa

nied by FitLts Gareth Walker and Adrian

F ro st i n ZD739/AC, were to designate

b o mb s f or a f o ur - sh ip attack. Iveson s laser

malfunctioned ju st a f ter the first two-ship

cell released their weapons, but the LGBs

w er e p ic ke d up by Walker and Frost s

TIALD pod, andthe l a tt e rpair becamethe

first crew credited w i th a TIALD kill. From

t henon , Tabuk-based Tornadosonly used

LGBs, and compl ement ed t he Bahrai n



ZA372/E Sally r the only GR l to receive attentionfrom t h e G u lf a r t is ts was named

after W g C d r Th r e a d go u ld s wife. Author

approach at 2 0, 0 00 ft i n c el ls of

three a ir cr af t, w it h a second t r i

way behind, awaiting their turn fo

the first attack. Afte r t he first hi

navigator w o uld u se h is jo y- s tic k t

t i on t he laser on to t he next targef yi ng i ts p os i ti o n with his x2 a

z oo m f ac il it y. Because the T

equipped a i rc raf t were l i gh t ly

compared t o t he bombers they w e

porting, they needed no in

refuelling, allowing t hem t o leave

minutes later to meet up w it h

comrades after t hei r t anker prod .

TIALD aircraft supplemented th

wi th an addi t ional 330gal t an k

One of AKG 52 sLRV To r na d os s e en h e r e m a k in g a stopover a t A v ia no

A FB in I t aly a n d being prepared for a eny light sortie as p a r to f

Einsatzgeschwader 1 O f n o t e is th e A L Q - l 0 l ECM pod in place of

the usual Cerebus. Author

b a se d Bu c ca n e er s w it h t he ir AN/AVQ

2 3E P a ve Spike daylight-only p od s. A s

p ar t o f t h e ~ r e f l i g h t preparation, target

co-ordinates were fed i n to t he TMC, and

inbound to the target the navigatorwould

boresight the radar to that position.

Around twenty miles ou t h e would select

slave-mode , direct ingthe TIALDpod to

lo ok in the same direct ion as the radar. At

fifteenmiles, narrow f ie ld w ou ld b e s e lec t

ed, magnifying the i ma ge t o enlarge the

target. He would then refine the TIALD

point w ith h is hand controller, placing the

aiming mark d i rec tl y o ve r t he target.

Auto-Track would then b e s e lec te d and

the system took over.

With the arrival of t h e two pods and

four TAP Tornados ( l at e r j o ined by a

fifth) at Tabuk, there wa s j us t t im e to

unpack t he equipment, pa in t t he p o ds in

d e s er t s a nd (one a r r iv e d in b lac k andone

white), b e fo r e loc al a r ea f a miliar iz ation

flights were underway, ending with a s uc

c es sf ul L G B attack by Sqn Ldr Greg

Monaghan and FI t Lt jerry Cass on the

B ad r r an ge south of Tabuk. Whi l st a t

Tab uk t he No.13 S qua dro n crews

were augmented by another two

crews from N o. 61 7 S qu ad ro n a nd a

further tw o c r ew s , on e e ach from o.ll

(AC) Squadron at Laarbruch and No.14

Squadron a t BrLiggen. After del ivering

at t ri t ion replacement aircraft, the Boss of

0.617 Squadron, Wg Cdr B ob I ve so n

well known for having been shot down

in Har r ie r GR. 3 ZX988 during the

Falklands war of 1982) assumed command

of t he TIALD team at Tabuk.

On 1 0 Fe br u ar y , TIALD w en t i nt oaction for the first time, against hardened

shelterson the sprawling H3 airfield com

p lex in south-west 1raq. The two pods, car-

pered by a s e rio us patch of b a d w e ath er .

Spearheaded by No.13 Squadron s Sqn

Ldr Greg Monaghan, t he T IALD Team

carried out vigorous trials from Boscombe

Down und er t he c od en ame Ope ra t io n

lbert On 30 j anuary t he first Tornado

l ed l as er f ir in g w as c a rr i ed o ut , and on 2

February the T1ALD pod fitted to a

Tornado designated an LGB for the first

tim e, r e s ulting in a directhi t on a ta r ge t at

Garvey I s la n d in t he North of Scot l and ,

On 6 Fe br u ar y , a m e r e f if ty d a ys a f ter the

programme st art ed , the four TA P

Tornados were en route to the Gulf,

following a decision t ha t t he final TIALD

tr ia ls w o u ld b e better r un i n the clear skies

over t he d e se r t. A back-up team of engi

n e er s f r om GEC-Ferrant i complete with

t he o ne fully operational p od u se d i n the

tr ials w o rk , and a second p od h as ti l y

prepared from the workingspares used to

b a c k u p the first unit, left the d ay a f te r i n

a H er cu le s t ra ns po rt . A third p od w asu nd er go ing u rg en t wo rk d ur in g t he

conflict, but was not completed by the

time of the ceasefire.

moved to B os co mb e D ow n, w h er e a ft e r

just twenty-seven days the f ir st o p er a

tional TIALD was removed f ro m it s

Buccane er h os t a n d delivered to the

A AEE, where i t w as r a pid ly in teg r a te d

onto Tornado, three days after t hes t a r t o f

Desert Storm. The RAE te s t p ilo ts com

pleted three shakedown trips and found

no problems, and the p o d w as g iv en u n re

s tr ic te d f lig h t clearance. At Honington

the Tornado Engineering and

I nv es ti ga ti on T eam m od if ie d four

Tornado GR.1s, taken from the r iggen

wing, to t ak e TIALD, t hese changes

involving additional w i ri ng i n t he p or t

under-fuselage pylon, t h e a dd it io n o f a

p ow er s up pl y a s w el l a s the P h as e 1 Gulf

adjustments.

TAP work continued apace with the

four aircraft modified for TIALD and four

crews from No.13 Squadron at

Honingt on. Duri ng t h is p e rio d f u r th e r

software modifications optimized the podf or v ide o r e c or d in g , and the t eam under

took day and n ig ht s or ti es i n Central

Europe and t he U K, d es p it e b e in g ham-

114 115

T ORNADO RECONNAI SSANCE T ORNADO RECONNAI SSANCE

24th February

In the early hours or the morn ing the

orfensive began. To deny supplies t

Iraqi defences, the TIALD Task Forc

switched to attacking ruel and amm

tion storage, and completed s ix s o

against Jalibah South-East and Tall

and W ad i A I K hi r r air b as es , a ll in so

ern Iraq. Twenty-eight laser-guided b

struck the targets. TIALD designated

targets on each pass.

2 Ist February

enemy flying aircrart reinforcements with

chemical weapons down rrom northern

Iraq. This phase commenced with runway

a t tacks a t Shaibah Air Base in the south,

adjacent to th Iranian b o rd er . D u e to the

exce l len t se rv iceabi l ity o f TIALD and

consequent high usage rate, the rirth TAP

Tornado,whichhad beenkeptat Boscombe

Down asa spare, wasflown to Tabuk.

All th ree sorties were made against shel

t er s i n H2 air base, wi th bombs clearly

penetrati ng the rei nforced concrete,

blowing ofr the doors rrom the inside.

15 th February

Six s o rtie s w e re m a de , against shelters in

H2and Mudaysis air bases in central Iraq.

Runways werealso struck for the rirst time

14th February



An AMI reconnaissance-equippped Tornado from the 50

Stormo s 550

Gruppo. Author

25th February

27th February

Iraq started to withdraw rrom Kuwait

bases down near the Kuwait border.

Fue l s tor a ge r a cilitie s at A l As ad

a t tacked and, to prevent Iraq brin

reinrorcements from t h e n or th , so

were flown against the As Samawah

26th February

Strikes resumed with attacks against h

ened aircraft shelters and fuel dumps

ZZnd February

Runways were put out or a ct io n a t

Ubaydah b in A l J an al i with seventeen

laser-guided bombs blasting craters.

Z3rd February

A f ina l attack against runways took place

with strikes against Mudaysis, Ghalaysan

TIALDaboard a T o rn ad o a t B o sc o mb e D o w n f o r t h e first time. G

This was the most intensive operating day

or the war, witheight sorties flown against

runways a t Shaibah . Twenty-four laser

g u ide d b o mb s g o ug e d h o le s in the operat

in g s u rr a ce s , thus disabling the whole

complex.

18th February

17th February

A rurther sixsorties took place against the

Ar Ramadi b ri dg e, r e su lt i ng i n t we l ve

direct hits, and fuel storage tanks at Tallil

in southern Iraq.

16th February

19th February

With the date of the land war rast

approaching, Cen tr al C ommand in

Riyadh changed the emphasis to disabling

airrields n ea r t he Kuwait border. The

TIALD Ta sk Fo rc e w as charged with cut

ting runways t o d en y facilities to t he

Fuel and ammunition storage at Ubaydah

b in a l Jarrah Air Base south or Baghdad

were the targets, and considerable destruc

tion wascaused. Although the first ammu

n i t ion s tore destroyed appeared to be

empty, the second r e su lte d in the biggest

explosion of the war. The r ue l s tor e s a lso

resulted in enormous explosions. Arter the

strikes TIALD aircraft carried out bomb

damage a s se s sm e nt a g ain st b r id ge s over

the River Tigris, c on ri rming e ig h t

destroyed within two minutes.

20th February

Further shelters weredestroyed at H3 and

at Jalibah South E as t a ir b as e n ea r t he

Kuwait border.

Tw o s o r ties w e re carried out against hard

ened aircrart shelters in H 3 b as e ,r o llow e d

by strikes against tw bridges, the AI

Samawah r ail b r id g e s ou th o f Baghdad

and the AI Ramadi Highway bridge to the

west or Ba gh d ad . Six bombs s t ruck the

fonnerand th ree the latter, causing major

structural damage.

at Mudaysis.

13th February

12th February

The r ir st s t ri ke w as c ar r ie d out against

ruel s to ra ge t an ks a nd p il ot briering

racilities at R uw ay sh id a ir b as e i n w es t

ern Iraq, where seven laser-guided bombs

struck targets. This w as r o llo we d by a

sortie against hardened aircrart shelters

in H 3, with another six direct hits. On

th is th ird day or TIA LD operations the

Royal Air Force disclosed the existence

or the ne w we apo n system. Air

Commodore I a n Ma c ra d ye n broke the

news at a p re ss conference i n R iy ad h,

which flashed round the world on C N.

The emphasis was now firmly on hardened

aircrart shelterswith twostrikes at A I A s a d

r ol lo we d b y a further two sorties against

AI Taqaddum air base near Baghdad.

A s u it ab ly c o o l-lo o k in g I t a lia n

reconnaissanceaircrew. Author

I I th February

TIALD Team: I-r) Fit Lt Frank Chapman, Fit

L t S t e ve P e r th ic k, S q n L d r B o b Fisher and

Fit Lt ColinThomas. GEC

10th February

The r ir st s er ie s or o f re n siv e s tr ik e s

using TI LD involved four sorties

against hardened aircr<lrt shelters in

the huge H3 air base in western

Iraq. Sev er al s he lt e rs were totally

destroyed.

T LD War i ry

Tw o s o rties w e re c a r rie d out against the

Hachama r ai l b ri dg e, near Samawah ,

s ou th or B aghd ad . S ix laser-guided

bombs c au se d severe damage to the

structure. Later that day a rurther two

successful sorties were made aga i ns t

hardened aircrart shelters at H3.

176 177

T ORNADO RECONNAI SSANCE T ORNADO RECONNAISSANCE

N or th of the country and the Marsh

Arabs in the south. The U decided that

the forced repression of these peoples was

against the spirit o f t h e terms that ended

t he G ul f W ar a nd passed resolutions

enforcing a S af e Havens' policy to pro

t ect bo th groups. The latter w e re k e e n to

acquire a d e gr e e of regional autonomy for

their lands, c en tr ed o n t he great ri vers

Tigris and Euphrates and extending down

t o t he city of Basra; the Iraqi leadership

chose a p o lic y ofexterminat ion.To police



Artwork applie

spash marking

A production TIALD pod beneath the fuselage of a N o. 14 S q u ad ro n T op TIALD scor

Tornado. GaryParsons f4 Aviation

Sandra one o f t h e two TI A LD p o d s r u s h e d into service during the

Gulf War Stuart Black

Italian LDP

The 360

Stormo's 1560

Gruppo has been

in v olv e d in bombing missions over Bosnia

where the aircraft have t ended t o c ar ry a

pairofGBU-16 Paveway II LGBs. This has

led to the AMI acqui r in g its own

autonomous laser designationfaci Iity wi th

156 0 Tornados now also being assigned to

carrying an externally mounted

Thompson-CSF CLOP (Combined Laser

Designator Pod for designing targets.

these Safe Havens' a Coalition a ir f or c e

w as a g ain a s se m ble d. I n t he nort h a n o -f ly

z o ne w as e s tab lish e d w ith a ir cr a f tb a s ed at

Incerlik in Turkey under Operation

Provide Comfort and in the south

Operation Southern Watch cameinto forcewith a n o -f ly z o n e being established below

t he32nd Parallel.

The UK s participation in Southern

Watch was known as Operation urat and

in August 1992, t he RAF announced t he

i nvo lvement of RAF Marham's Tornado

force. As t he t as k w as p ri m ar i Iy recon

naissance the initial deployment consist

ed of t hr ee G R. As from No.2(AC)

Squadron and three GR.I s f ro m No.6 7

Squadron. In due course t heGR. lAs were

replaced by GR.ls. A RIC w as a lso e s tab

lished. During December 1992 the six

Tornados from Marham w e re r e pla ce d b y

a further six T ALD-equipped GR. Is from

No.31 Squadron a t RAF Bruggen.

Since t he Gulf War many more o f t h e

RAF's Tornados h ad b ee n w ir ed f or

TIALD,and the squadrondedicated to itsoperation is now No. I4, based at Bruggen.

WithT ALDnow available, its carrierair

craft havebeen deployed back t o t heGulf

during times of added tension,such as Iraq s

continued brinksmanshipsurroundingU

Weopons Inspectors examining Iraq sweo

pons of mass destruction.The latest effort

in mid-1998 led to eightTIALD-equipped

Tornados from No.14 Squadron being

based at Al Kharj in Kuwait.

T I A L D w a s one of the greatsuccess stories of

the war It gave us t h e a h il i ty t o b o mb a c cu

rately by h ot h d ay a nd n ig ht , a nd the video

recordingfacility enabled us to a ss o u r o w n

results immediately. It w as a t r iu mp h of co

o pe ra t io n h et we e n t he R AF a n d the GEC

err nti engineers.

A ft er t he w it hd ra wl o f t he C oa li ti on

f o rc es f ro m the Gulf, Saddam Hussein

turned his attentions to the K ur d s in the

Ammunition storage at Ubanydah seen

h e r e o n 9January. The hit on th e d u m p

was the biggest bang of the war. G

Southern Watch Tl LD

FitLts WayneHaigh and M oose Poole. v n missions.

Sqn L dr t u M o rt on , F i t L ts K ev o bl e, J e rr y C a ss , B il l

Bohilland JimRoss. Forty-five missions.

FitLtsTim M arsh and K e n m i th . S e v en m is si on s.

Wg Cdr BobIveson, Fit LtS Chris Purkiss, Gareth

W a lk e r A d r i an F ro st a n d H a rr y H ar g re a ve s. i x te e n mi sions.

qn Ldrs Greg Monaghan and Brian Cole.Twenty missionS.

0 . 14 q u ad r on :

0.l6 quadron:

0 . 61 7 q u ad r o n:

ZA393 CQ

ZA406 DA

ZD 8 B

Armoured Charmer' Full-colourartwork withthirty-six

splash mi sion symbols.

Sir Gallahad'Name only stencilled on t heport side of the

radome, 7 splash symbols.

o artwork, ten splash sym bols.

B ac ar di a n d o ke Artwork unfinished before the ceasefire,

nineteen splash symbols.

'Donna Ewin Full-colour artwork, twenty splashes and

a N o .1 7 q u ad r on m a i le d f is t e m bl e m.

Allaircraftcarrieda TIALD 91 legend on their noses.

ZD739 AC

ZD8 DE

TIALD Aircrew

0 11 (AC) Squadron:

0.13 Squadron:

A hanger at Habbaniyah containing

helicopters attacked on 27 February G

TIALD-modified aircraft

Gp Capt Hedges concluded:

TIALD was thar simple to o p er a te. FIt Lts

Kevin Nobl e and J e rr y Ca s s r e ce ive d the

GEC a w ar d f or To p TIALD Aircrew , and

ZD739/AC, nicknamed - with a heavy

Americaninfluence-' ArmoureciCharmer',

b ei ng t h e a ir cr af t w hi ch flew t he mos t

TIALD missions, notching u p th ir ty - s ix

splashes . The two TIALD pods accounted

f or 2 29 direct h it s i n eighteen days, the

aircraft flying some seventy-two success

ful missions and twenty-three aborts.

8 9

CHAPTER SEVEN

ornado ir

efen e Variant

Peninsula. To cope w it h t hi s t h re a t t h e

R AF n ee de d a long-range, long

endurance - l oi te r in g on CAP between

300-400 m il es f ro m b as e - B VR m is si le equipped i ntercept or, able t o patrol the

huge U K A DR , capable of detecting and

engaging a number of t argets i nal l w eath

e rs , f ro m a stand-off range using a power

ful radar a nd r ea ct in g t o i nf or ma ti on

provided by AWAC or ground radars.

W i th t he growing threat from Warsaw

P ac t a ir p owe r in the l at e 1 96 0 and

TORN O IR EFEN E V RI T

had been designed a n d w i th o ut w hi c

offered little i mp ro ve me nt o ve r

already in-service Phantom. The si

seat F-16, undoubtedly a superb dogf

e r, wa s u ns u it ab le f or the R F s st

mission. The F-15, an excellent fighte

t h e C e nt r al European theatre, w as

s tu di ed i n both i ts si ngl e and two-

forms, but was ruled o ut d ue t o its lim

radar and E CM capacit y; t hi rem a

the case when, in the face of a shortfa

available RAF air defence ai rcraft i n



Two of the original six roles envisaged for

the T ornado program me w ere air superi

o ri ty a nd interception/air defence.

A l th o ug h t h e t h re e n a ti o ns i nvol ved i n

the T o rn a do p r oj e ct e a ch h a d t h ei r o wn

a ge n da f or a ir d ef e nc e, i t wa s B ri ta in s

obiigations that were of the greatest

importance. The RAF is t as ke d w it h

Tornado F.3 Cutaway Diagram. BAe

maintaining the integrity of t h e U n it e d

Kingdom s Air Defence Region, o r UK

ADR . This is an area significantly larger

t ha n t he whole o f N AT O s C en tr al

R egi on, as i t extends from Iceland t o t he

English Channel and from t h e A t la n t ic

approaches to the Baltic. Therefore,

unlike her allie, Britain had l i tt l e need

2

t o d e te c t a n d oppose small, agile fightersat short ranges; instead, the primary

threat came f ro m l ar ge f o rm at io n s of

long-range Soviet a ir cr af t s uc h as

t he g ia nt T u- 22 M b om b rs, carrying

cruise mi siles down t hr ou gh t he

Greenland/Iceland/UK g ap f ro m their

home bases i n the North C ap e o r Kola

1970s, the RAF s Lightning interceptors

and their interim replacement - the

Phantom - w er e not thought able to cope

suffi ci ent l y w i th the advancements of

Soviet designs and were judged to need

urgent in governmental terms) replace

ment. When the original MRCA was still

in t he p la nn in g stages, the RAF s

O perational R equirements Branch con

sidered the possibility of producing an

indigenous v ar ia nt o f t he M RC A to

replace the L i g ht n i ng a n d Phantom.

What emerged from their studies was the

Tornado ADV, launched as a p ro po sa l i n

1969 under AST 395, described as a

derivative of the Panavia 200, having an

advanced radar and B VR ai r-t o-ai r capa

bilities. Although Panavia had

an nou nc ed th e d ev el op me nt o f a

R adpac , de i gned to give the ba ic 10

an improved air-to-air facility with AIM

7 S p ar r ow A A Ms , the ba ic Tornado

became increasingly orientated toward

air-to-surface roles, and finally t it p re

tensions to b e a f ig ht er i n 1 97 0.The RAF s OR Branch, though enthusi

astic a bo ut t he A DV , w ere di rect ed to

look a t o t h er air defence options to s ee if

any were m o re c o st - ef f ec t ive. The

Grumman F-14 Tomcat was examined,

but f ou nd t o b e to prohibitivelyexpensive

if bought .\lith t h e A I M- 5 4 P h oe n ix mis

sile a n d A W G- 9 radar, around w hich it

Specification - Tornado ADV

Weights:

Dimensions:

Wing pan:

Performance:

Fuelcapacity:

mid-19 Os after the Falklands War,

US Government offered t he R AF

squadrons on a l ea se b as is , c i ti n g t

c on ce rn s o ve r t he lack of air def

assets to protect their UK-based airc

The French Mirage 2000 was also con

ered a t o n e stage.After t hese ai rcraft w ere rejected,

Government announced that 165 of

R AF s 3 5 T or n ad o s w o ul d b e o f t h e

ADV derivative. The full-scale deve

ment of t he A DV was l a un c he d o

March 1976 and authorized o n t he

a nd a n I ns tr uc ti on t o Proceed w i th

manufacture of t wo p ro t ot yp es

received by BAe W ar to n o n II M

1977. Despite its different role,

Tornado ADV would h a ve a r ou n d 8 0

cent commonality with the IDS versi

C e nt r al t o i t r ole , the T ornado A

w oul d be armed w i th four medium-ra

missiles,these being the British adapta

of the A merican A IM-7 Sparrow, the

kyflash. M o u nt i n g t h es e w ea p on s

w i ng pylons w as consi dered, but adoned becaus of the dragi t w oul d ca

The ideal location t u rn e d o u t t o be on

aircraft s broad underfuselage, though

was not big e n ou g h t o a c co m mo d at e

missiles without interferingwith unde

riage operation. The olution was im

t o s t re t ch t h e fuselage. By i nsert ing a

9in plug immediately b e hi n d t h e c o c

Empty 31 ,8571b 14,450kg);

maximum take-off: 61,7001b 2 ,000kg)

wept 2 ft 2in .6m); forward: 45ft7in 13

l e ng t h: 6 1f t J . 6 m) ; height 1 9f t in 6 m)

Maximum peed Mach 2.2

Maximum internal 1,920gal 7.270Itr);

maximum external: 1,9 Igal 7,5OOltr)

TOR O IR DEFENCE V RI T TORN O IR DEFENCE V RI NT

oxhunter adar

The most critical c ha ng e t o the basic

Tornado conceptfor the ADV was the provi

s io n o f a dedicated fighter radar. The set

chosen for the ADV was the newly devel

oped GEC-Marconi AI-24 Foxhunter set, a

FMICW Frequency Modulated Interrupted

Continuous Wa ve ) syste m operating in the

3cm I-Band. Marconi-Elloitt, with Ferranti as

i ts m a jo r sub-contractor, received a con

to the

detectability and vulnerability o f th e air

craft, and there was a severe problem with

the TWS capabilities. The third of the ADV

prototypes was d ue t o be the radar devel

opment aircraft, but initially had t o f ly with

lead ballast in its nose, in place o f th e radar

set. It was reported that most o fth e original

F.2s were delivered without radar, which

le ad to a somewhat bitter joke that the air

radar,

FH 31 A a r ti f ic i al horizon. T w in-stick

trainer versions lose o ne o f t h e CRTs, the

remaining one being moved t o t he centre

o f t h e instructor s rear instrument panel.

U nlike theT ornado E2, the T ornado E3

is equipped with a n a u to m at i c m a no e u

vring device sy tem AMOS) to reduce

the p ilo t s w o rk loa d , p a r tic u la r ly in com

b a t, g ivin g t h e o p ti m um s w ee p s e ttin gs

a n d c o mb a t flap and s la t s e ttin gs f or the

particular performance and flight weapon

load. An automatic w in g w ee p s y st em is

also employed o n t he E 3, w i th the wing

automaticallyselect the r ad ar i n a ir com

bat m od e, a rm a ll the missiles and gun,

and select dog-fight mode forSkyflash as

the primary weapon.

T he A lM -9 i d ew i nd e r h o r t- r a ng e

heat-seeking missile have their own

selection w ithin the Fire Control ystem,

which provides steering c u es in the H 0,whilst the gun selection pushes the system

into radar or sradiametric r a ng in g w ith

additional in pu ts f ro m the flight control

system s rate gyro and the Main

Computer.

programme that will e n co m pa s s r

i m pr o ve m en t s t o allow the aircraf

engage simultaneous ta rg e ts u s in g

AMRAAM a nd A S RA AM m i ss il e

upgrade contract, reportedly worth £

m i ll i on , w as a wa r de d t o B Ae . T h i s

tract w ill g r ea tly e n ha n ce t h e airc

The flexibility of T ornado a llo w s it t

upgraded throughout i ts lif e t o m a in

its operational effectiveness i n to t h e

century.



tract develop new radar

building on their vastexperience of existing

radar sets. Dne of the primary requirements

in i tsdesign was the radar s ability to oper

ate against hostile ECM jamming. The new

radar consisted of eight liquid-cooled LRUs

around a central transmitter, while the

f ront-end was mostly analogue with a

coherent travelling wave transmitter tube

which g a ve h ig h power over a wide variety

of bandwidths. The twist-cassegrain anten

na was light and simple, and gave a greater

consistency and lower side-lobes t ha n t he

latest planar arrays u se d b y t h e current US

fighters. The set also incorporated aJ-band

illuminator for the Skyflash missiles, with

high PRFs b e ing u sed for lo ng ra n ge detec

tion and low PRFs fortargets that gave little

Doppler shift. Able to detect targets in

excess of 100nm, it is not limited by target

altitude - even in the most demanding case

of look-down against low-flying targets:

Foxhunter possesses a multiple synthetic

symbology Track-While-Scan capability,

where the target returns are displayed tothe crew. A built-in processor suppresses

ground clutter and a built-in Cossor IFF-3500

interrogator which has its dipole aerials

mounted on th e ma in reflector to aid friend

or foe identification. The navigator/WSD

designates the target to be tracked, whilst

t he T W S of multiple targets calculates the

ground speed, track and height of othertar

gets and the radar continues to search for

others. The new radarbrought withit a new

cooling s y st em a nd t he inclusion of a pop

out ram-airturbine to power the emergency

systems in the event of a double flame-out.

Serious technical problems beset the

developmentof the Foxhunter radar, which

had been flying aboard an MoD PE)

Canberra since 1975, added to which its

introduction was delayed mainly d ue t o t he

RAF continually changing their minds on

what i t s hould be capable of doing.

Shortcomingswere cited i n t he un-accept

ably large sidelobes which increased the

t he n am e deriving from a British cement

company whose n am e n am e echoed the

colour-based names for weapons and

avionics during the 1950s and 60s. It was

later admitted that the aircraft carried steel

bars for ballast and not cement

Finally, on 17 June 1981 ZA283 became

the first ADV fitted with a B-series radar,

and for so me time remained the only aircraft

so equipped. The first twenty pre-produc

tion sets were delivered to BAe Warton in

July 1983, but not fitted on the production

line until 1985. By now the Foxhunter was

four years late, and 50 per cent over its orig

inal budget. It is generally accepted that all

o f th e F.2s flew with the pre-production

radar sets, which allowed at least some

realistic air intercepttraining to be under

taken. Un like th e IDS aircraft, which were

g i ve n t o units under their batch numbers,

the ADVs were assigned under their block

number. For the F 3 although this designa

tion covered its overall, the single and most

crucial difference between the aircraftblocks was their radar fit. The first of the

radarunits to be delivered to the RAF were

still well below the original specification,

and were known as Type WO Seventy Type

W sets were produced for the first sixty

two aircraft- eighteen for the original F.2s

and forty-four for the first F.3s - a n d th ese

were subsequently upgrade to T yp e Z

Standard in a programme which began in

1988. The following eighty aircraft all

received the Ty pe Z radar which had

increased TWS and ra n ge , a n d broadly met

t he R A Fs specification. All o f t he T yp e Z

se tsb e g a n life as T y pe W and were subse

quently brought up to the Stage rStandard. An interim standard Stage 1+

(described on page 00) was hurriedly

rushed into service for aircrafttaking part in

the Gulf War, where the Foxhunter set was

upgraded to AA Standard, better cooling,

and greater ECCM.

122

s we ep a ng le s o ff er i n g 2 5 d eg re e. f or l ow

speed and 6 7 d e gr e es f or high speed, with

i n t er m e di a t e s e tt i n gs of 45 and 5

degrees. The A WS thus provides the pilot

with the b es t s e tt i ng s f or the aircraft s

flight envelope and gives the pilot one

less th ing to worry about during combat.

A l th o ug h t h e F o xh u nt e r radar is the

aircraft s primary sensor, it is n ot t he only

m e th o d o f g a th e ri n g i n fo rm a ti o n. The

aircraft s R H WS detects, analyzes and dis

p lay s h o stile e m is sion s r e ce ive d by the

external antennae, w hich can be found on

the rear o f t he t ai l f in and in the wing

nib. The cockpit displays a user friendly

read-out g ivin g ta r ge t ty pe and direction.

Priority threats such as S AM s a nd air

intercept radars override all other selec

tions, giving both audio and visual warn

ings. The aircraft alsocarriesa fire-control

system and a comprehensive Missile

Management y t em MM , w hich con

trols the firing o f t h e AAMs and gun, and

the jettisoning o f t h e external fuel tanks.The pilot is a bl e t o t ak e c on tr ol o f t he

fire-control system by pressing t he a ir

override button on his control stick, and

can select the appropriate weapon with

out taking his hands off the control tick.

Initial selection of the air-override will

ll

The Spin Prevention Incidence LimitingSystem

SPILS) is an integral part o f t h e flight control

system.This prevents loss on control whilst at

h igh a n g le s of attack by limiting th e ma ximu m

attainable A DA a nd moderating the pilots

control inputs, which would normally result in

a sp in e n try. Wh e n e n ga g e d, SPILS provides

the pilot with carefree handling, allowing the

aircraft to be ma n o eu vred to its limits in close

combat. SPILS has its own computer and

control panel on the left console in the front

se a to f th e aircraft.

kyflash a n d i d ew in d er were d ue t o be

replaced eventually by the Hughes AIM

120 A M R AA M A d va n ce d Medium

Range Air-tn-Air Missile) and the

BAe/Bodenswerk A S R AA M A d va n ce d

hort Range Air-to-Air Missile , respec

tively, but t h is d ec i i on \Vas cancelled in

9 2 on economic ground. H o we v er , in

March 1996 the Bri tish Government

announced a reversal o f t h a t d ec is i on i n a

ZE2 DB letsfly with a Sidewinder BAe

DV Prototypes

T hreeT ornadoA D V prototypes werep

duced, officially designated Tornadod iff e rin g little f r om the production

All three a ir cr a ft w er e f itte d with a c

prehensive sy tem of air-to-gro

t e le m et r y w h ic h a ll o we d f or real-t

analy is o f t he aircrafts progress du

their rigorousflight test schedule. The

123

T O RNADO AI R DEFENCE VARIANT TORNA D O A I R D E FE N CE VARIA I



BAe Skyflash Missiles

u sed for armament trials. Although

made i ts firs t appearance in its prime

coat, i t was soon painted up t h e s a me

AT-Ol. AT-02 was notable for i ts p rom

nent calibration marks, and proved th

c o nc ep t o f t he F ra ze r a sh l au nc he rs ,

new innovation for the AD V Gun tria

were also neccessary, as t h e A DV s fus

lage is longer than that o f t h e IDS and s

gun gas ingestion characteristics were di

ferent. In the early test firings, shell cas

were coated the optical device used f

m o ni t or i ng t he e ng i ne t u rb in e blad

temperature, and subsequently the gu

had to be re-cleared for operational us

ZA267 was al so used for high-altitud

zoom-climb trials, revealing t h at t he ai

craftcould exceed 70,000ft, and wasfinaly fitted with a B Model r ad ar i n 1 98

AT-02 also received the first o f t h e mo

powerful RB.199 Mkl04 engines, de

o n t he IDS. The aircraft did not use IFR

and flew o v er h ea d W a r to n for fifteen

m in ut es o n its return before touching

d o wn w it h 5 p er cent of i ts fuel reserves

remaining.ZA254 lateraccomplished live

Skyflash firings, despite not being fitted

w it h a r ad ar or a complete avionics fit .

AT-OOI, AT-Om and AT-003 were a lso

notable for having a seemingly IDS-style

RWR fairing o n t he ir t ai ls . I n f ac t the

front-end ho us ed a v ide o camera for

recording the flight trials. ZA254 was put

into storage a t BA e W ar to n a t t he e nd o f

i ts test career, and is currently planned to

become the gate guardian at RAF

Coningsby.

The second prototype, Z A 267 /AT-02,

was fitted w ithdual controls and a repre

sentative main computer and rear cockpit

displays, b ut n o r ad ar . Its first flight was

on 18 Ju ly 1980 and i t was subsequently

The first ADV prototype ZA254 l ig h t s h e r a f t er b u rn e r s. Th re e such prototypes were

produced. BAe

9ft 6 n 2 .9 m)

6.2in 165mm)

17.7in 45 em )

2141b 97kg)

2,295kt

27nm 50km)

221b lOkg)Semi-Active Radar

Homing

Skyflash Specifications

Length:

Diameter:

Wingspan:

Launch weight:

Speed:

Range:

Warhead:Guidance:

Frazer Nash twin-ram cartridge-powered ejec

tor/launchers which f o rc e t he m i ss il e down

and away f ro m t he aircraft s underside

applying a four ton force. Before launch

Skyflash is t u ne d i nt o the correct frequency

through its reference aerial. The Foxhunterset

illuminates the target area, and when atarget is

identified the missile is ready for launch. After

ejection the boost motor ignites andthe seeker

begins its s ea r ch f o r i t s target. The Foxhunter

continues to illuminate the target a nd t he

reflected signals are received by the missile s

seeker.Skyflash can destroy subsonic and super

sonic aircraft f ro m a l aspects a nd c an snap

down or snap-up to engage targets a t h i gh o r

low level, with the snap-up capability reported

to allow the ADV to intercept targets flying at

over 60 OOOft It is a ls o a bl e t o discriminate

between close formation targets and is effec

tive against those trying t o e v ad e i ts lock. The

Tornado ADV is the firstfighter able to launch is

missiles throughout its entire flight envelope.id-course correction and an active terminal

guidance phase, would be t h e T o rn a do s

primary weapon; despite i ts p r om i se it was

abandoned before it could enterproduction.

It was originally planned that Skyflash would

be carried on the wing pylons, butthe induced

drag was unacceptable so instead the fuse

lage was slightly stretched whilst staggered

low-drag recesses were applied t o t he rear

lower fuselage pair of missiles and semi-sub

merged recesses applied to the front pair.

Separation o f t h e A A M s f ro m their recesses is

achieved by the use of a pair of revolutionary

kyfl sh launch. BAe

The Foxhunter radar was designed to be

compatible with BAe s Skyflash missile, which

was a derivative of the American AIM-7E-2

Sparrow, combiningthe Sparrow s proven air

frame, rocket motor and warhead but including

a Marconi radar seeker and an EMI proximity

fuse. New guidance controls were developed

by BAe, t og et he r w it h a n ew a ut op ilot

actuators and power supplies. Developed in

1969, Skyflash I was ordered in 1978, entering

service with the RAFs Phantom units that year,

later entering service with the Tornado ADV. It

was hoped that the Skyflash II, which offered

Prototype F.2 AT-03/ZA283. Note th e c u t-i n section b e l ow th e

rudder denoting the installation of the Mk103 engines. BAe

7 4 7 5

TORN O AIR DEFENCE V RI NT TORN O IR DEFENCE V RI NT

monitor each other s performance.

a dd ed wa s a 128k L it ef Spirit I II

compute r and advancing stages of

development up to the definitive

1 sets described elsewhere. Extra o

sive punch was added with the prov

for a furt her two AIM-9 Sidewinde

stub pylons attached to t he i nn er

pylons, and selfdefence wasalsoaddr

- though not satisfactorily until the

craf t was cal led upon to go to war

Tornado FJ s offensive and defensiv

fit is described on page 121. Carryin

Hopes were high that the F.2s mighr be

brought up to F.2A standard, almost iden

t ical to the FJ but retaining the RB.199

Mk103 engines. However, the ending of

the old War put paid to such plans and

they remained instorage. Exportplansfell

on tony ground and even tua ll y i t was

dec ided t o scrap the twelve aircraft for

spares recovery. Butas is described on page

134, before this could be done the aircraft

were repri eved a donors for a ll eged ly

contractor-damaged F.3s. The F.2A desig

nation has since been unofficially applied

t hree-day Pri ory 5 /2 event. Saturday 14

June wa a ls o a r ed letter dayfor the unit,

as nine of their number were selected [ )

overfly Buckingham Palace on the occa-

ion o f t he Que en s official bi rthday,

whil Coningsby the publ icgot i t first

view of the F.3 when ZE 154 - sti II on

charge at B Ae - was p ec ia ll y flown in

from Boscombe Down.

The first o f t he FJs began arriving at

RAF oningsby on 2 July 19 6 wi th

ZE159; giving the F.2s the somewhar

unusual honour of not having t rai ned a

rhe training of in tructor crews, and then

of ab in it io and convers ion pilots t o t he

F.3. To con fu se m at te rs , 0 .2 29 OC U

unofficially formed on I ovember 19 4

a a cadre of senior taff. The unit s first

pair of ADVs arrived on 5 ovemb er:

ZA901/AA piloted by Dave Eagles and

cr ewed by AVM Ken Hayr (AOC of

0.11 Group), and ZA903/AB carrying

J er ry L ee , Chief T es t P il ot of BAe

W ar to n, a nd W g Cdr Rick Peacock

Edwards, with the last F.2 to be received

being ZD491/AU. Initial training on the

The first production batch of eighteen

ADVs for the RAF were of what has been

described as an in te r im standard, with

out a ut o w ing sweep , a bl e t o c ar ry two

underwing idewinders and power d by

Tornado F

gets, accompanied by a Buccaneer fi tted

with a buddy-buddy IFR pack. AT-Om

beg an f lyi ng w it h a Model B Foxhunter

se t i n March 19 3.



In close, a n F from No. No.229 OCU. Stuart Black

JTIDS

A t t h e t im e o f writing, a limited number ofTornado F.3s are operating witha secure spread-spect

ECM-resistant data l ink called JTIDS: Joint Tactical Information Distribution System. This provi

access to target data gathered by AWACS ground defence radars or other similarly equipped in

ceptors. This data can then be shared between aircraft to avoid target duplication, share the fight

information with the controlling authority and allocate targets to individual aircraft. Tornado F.3s h

successfully developed fightertactics operating with E-3 Sentry AWACS from NO.8 Squadron in e

cises and over Bosnia. JTIDS-equipped F.3s work in concertwith the AWACS aircraft, the latter do

loading battlefield information tothe Tornados computers.

JTIDS operates on a jam-resistantwaveform pattern that allowsdiffering types of information to

shared securely between the networked participants - perhaps it could be described as the s

Internet. The potential for JTIDS is therefore enormous.Currently it includes major HQs ships and o

combat support aircraft, but in the future JTIDS could even be available to field HQs combat vehi

andeven troops.

full markings of No. 65 quad ron fo

first t ime, two Tornado F.3s, accomp

by four GR.ls from No.617 Squa

flew non-stop over 4,500 miles ina 1

hour mission, refuelled by TriS tar

VC-IO, t o t ake pa rt i n Exerc ise

Sword in Oman.

0.65 Squadron became No.56 Re

Squadron in 1992 followingGovernment s re- tructure of the

defences a nd t he r et ir em en t of

Phantom. Another result of the retire

of the Phantom from RAF service wa

re-equipment of No.1453 Fli gh t i

Falkland Islands. As part of t he UK s

tinuing air policing role, protectin

overeign airspace around the dis

island, four Tornado F.3s - which req

no speci al modif icat ions for t hei r

south of t he equat or - l ef t RAF Coni

b etwe en t he 6 j ul y 1992 . L ed b y W

AI Lockwood, the journey was split in

legs; Coningsby to Ascension Island

Ascension Island to RAF Mount Plein the Falklands. The No.1453 Flight

have a rol e t o p layfor some t ime toc

and a ir cr ew from all t he F.3 squa

undertake five-week tours on t he is

Tornado F 3

to the TIARA testaircraft,ZD902.

The second batch of fifty-two aircraft, to

be designated F.3, were ordered in August

1982, and a third batch orderedin january

19 4. A ft er t he i n te rim F.2, the F.3

brought with it a plethora of improve

ments. The most obvious was the intro

duction of the more powerfu l RB.199

Mk I04 eng in e. This new powerplant

introduced a 14i n extension to the after

burner section and used a DECU500 dig

ital engine control system developed by

Rolls-Royce and Lucas Aerospace. This

was the world s fir t ful l authority digital

engine control, or FADEC . Thi modifi

cation gave an extra 10 p er cent thrust

and reduced afterburner fuel consumption

by 4 p er cent. The new engine also gave

rise t o a n increase in the size of the trail

i ng edg fin b el ow the rudder which nowextended aft, unlike t ha n t he scalloped

shape found on the F.2s. The F.3s were

a lso f ir red wit h a second FlN 10tO three

axisdigital I S, al lowing the two units to

s ing le s rudent F.3 training officially

began on I December 1986 for pi Jots of

No.29 Squadron, who we re mos tl y e xPhantom crews. The sixteen F.2s were

subsequent ly placed in storage a t RAF St

Athan, with a l i tt le over 250 flying hours

p er a ir fr am e, b ur with relat ively high

fatigue indices, wirh the last F.2 leaving

0.229 0 U i n J anu ar y 1988. Of their

number, ZD899 remained at Warton for

t rials work; ZD900 continued to be used

by the DTEO at Boscombe Down; ZD935

w ent t o the ETPS, a lso at Boscombe

Down; ZD902 went to the ORA at

Farnborough, where i t l at er became the

TIARA test ai rcraft ; ZD939 became an

instructional airframe for the audi

upport Teamar Warton; ZD937was used

asa BDRtrainer; and ZD935 ended i t li fe

asa ground instructional ai rframe at RAF

Coningsby in 1993.

ADV fell RAe, which b eg an w ir h a

four-week Servi ce I n st r uc to r A ir cr ew

Training Course at Warton, followed by

twenty flying hours per person. From 10

May 1985 the responsibility of training

aircrew reverted to the OCU. Wit h t he

arrival of the PP radar sets on th e F.2, the

aircraft was able to undertake a l imited

combat capability, and so was declared to

ATO as an emergency air defence unit

i nMay 1985. In December 19 6 rhis dec

laration was increased when the unit took

up the shadow designation of No.65

Squadron, a mi le st on e a ch ie ve d w it h

eighteen insrructor crews. Thus the unit

f ound i t elf in the unusual posit ion of

b ei ng g iv en a r ese rve r ole b ef or e a nyfront-line units were formed On 21

October 19 5 the ADVs participated in

their f ir t a ir d ef e nc e e xe rc is e when

0.229 OC F.2s were involved in the

the ID - ty pe RB. 199 Mkl03 engines.

The a irc ra ft was a lso f it ted wit h only a

si ngle FI 10 to I S, even though i t was

recognized the aircraft needed two, and,

as described earlier, had no radar. The first

six F.2 aircraft were fi tted with dual con

trols, and two of the remaining twelve

were also twin-stickers, generally referred

unofficially to as F.2(A)s. The first pro

duction a irc ra f twas i n fac t ZD 99, but it

was ZD900 which made the first flight,

during March 19 4. The production air

craft differed from the prototypes in hav

ing no forward-looking RWR fairing on

the t ai l. A h as been described earlier, the

delays associated with t he Foxhun te r

radarsaw the aircraft flyingwith the Blue

Circle s et u nt il m id -1 9 4. i xt ee n of the

eighteen F.2 we re b as ed at RAF

Coningsby , where 0 . 229 OC U wa offi

cially formed on I May 19 5 to undertake

126 127

TOR A D O A I R DEFENCE VARI ANT T O R ~ OAIR

D EF E C EVARIANT

Fmngas non Flecws - Thou mayest break

hut shall not bend me

No 5 Squadron

m a rk i ng s a rc a l i on passant before fifteen

~ w o r d s i n a p il e upon a w hite Jisc flanked

hy white containing red chevrons;

0.56 R) S 4uaJrun m a r kin gs a r e r e d and

w hite chequerson the nose, with a g o ld e n

rheonix r isin g f r u m a r ed f lam e s motifon

the tail fins.



The Tornado F OCU s numberplate curr

Firebirds . BAe

1915 at G osport and was deployed to

W es t er n F r on t d u ri n g W or l d W a r l O

equipped with FE2baircraft. The squad

returnedto the U nited Kingdom in Ma

1919 and was disbanded at Waddington

December that y ea r. R ef or m in g i n

e a rly y ea rs of World War Two, 0

S quadron undertook shipping protect

and intruder missions. Remaining i n E

Anglia, No.23 quadron reformed ju to

year l at er w it h t he M os qu it o, l ut

eptember 1951, piston-engined airc

gave way to je t- po w er e d typ e s w ith

introduction of the Vampire and la

Venom night-fighters. The u n it t h e n c

v er t ed t o the English Electric Lightno.23 Squad r u n f o rm e d on 1 September

0 23 F] Squadron

Sem Jer Aggressus - Always tracking

Ociores acrioresqe aquilis - Swifter and

keener than eagles

NO ll Squadron

F or me d i n 1 91 5 as a f ig hte r unit, No.11

q ua d ro n wa s t ra ns fe rr ed t o I nd ia and

Burma, flying H urricanes and B lenheims

during WorlJ War T wo . I n 1 94 t h e u n it

moved to G ermany, eventually taking on

c ha rg e t he M et eo r anJ Javelin. Having

receiveJ L ightning interceptors i n 1 96 7,

t he u ni t moved to B in br oo k in 1 97 2,

standing down o n t he Lightning i n M ay

1988 and reforming o n t he T or na do at

RAF Le e min g in t he N ov em be r o f t h at

y ea r. I ts m a rk ing s a r e a p a ir of blackeagles

o n t h e ta il f in w ith black and yellow fight

er bars o n t he forward fuselage.

A r e co n na iss a nc e u n it Juring World War

One, No.5 Squadron flew the BE2 BE and

Bristol Fighter. During WorldWar Twothey

operated Mohawks and laterTempests, dis

h a nd ing in 1 94 7. A f ter a b r ie f r e tur n f o r ta r

g e t- tow ing d uties , N o .5 w as r e fo rm ed at

Wu ns tor f , f ly in g V am p ir e s and Javelins,

het\)re re-equipping with the Lightning at

Binbrook in 1965. The squadron retired its

Lightnings and re-formed a llmlado unit

on I May 19 at RAF Coningshy. The

u ni t s m ar ki ng s a re s om et im es a r ed t ai l

stripe with twogoldswords in the shape of a

V on a g re en m ap le l ea f w i th in a w hi te

disc, and recently a low-visibility maple leaf

w itho u ts tr ip e. A r ed a r ro w he a d is w o m o n

the forward fuselage. On the occasion ofthe

RAF s 80th Anniversary, ZG79IJCD wore

,pecial stylized squadron markingsfeaturing

an overlarge maple leafwitha yellow S and

the logo 191 19 9 p ai nt e d on its fin.

and target-towing Beaufighter and

Martinets. The unit moved to RAFChivenor in 1951 w it h the Sabre and

Hunter, plus a plethora ofother aircraftsuch

as the Oxford, Chipmunk, Mo sq u ito a n d

TIger Moth. In 1969 the unit assumed the

semi-operational task of a ir d ef en ce o ve r

Gibraltar. The unit disbandecl on 2

eptember 1969, its air craf t bei ng

transferred to 0.1 TW at RAF Brawdy.

R e-bom at oningsby, it was unofficially

re-formed on I o ve mb er 1984. T h e had

ow designation of 0 .6 5 S q ua dr o n w as

adopted by the OC U on assuming

its operational role. Similarly, later No.229

CU w as d isb a nd e d, o n ly to r e -a pp e ar as

No.56 Reserve) Squadron, formeroperators

o f t he Lightning and Phantom in the air

defence role.

The u n it s m a rk ing s a r e a r ed and yellow

flash on the nose with roundel, and a

sword, p o in t u pp e rm o st w it h a h er a ld i c

torch in saltier. odes A A - A L a re w or n

by the dual control aircraft and AM- AZ

by the single stickers . N o.65 S quadron

Tornado F rear cockpit. BAeornado F front cockpit. BAe

A pair of Tornado F s escorting IDS variants over

the desert. Author

28 29

to ok p lac e at Le e min g in November 1988

and Squadron a irc r ew p a r tic ipa te d in

the Gulf War in 1 99 0 b e fo r e the squadron

d is ba nd ed i n F eb ru ar y 1 99 4. I n 1 99 5 it

was decided to respond to the expansion

and increasing impor ta nc e o f t he RAF

Airborne Early Warning Force by forming

a Sentry AEW.I training unit to c o mp le

ment No 8 S qu ad ro n, a nd N o. 23

Squadron was accordingly se lec ted to

r e fo rm a t RAF Wadding ton on I A pr il

1 996 . I ts m ar ki ng s a re a r ed s wo op in g

eagle o n t he t ai l f in w it h a b lu e and red

arrow head on the forward fuselage.

TORNADO AIR DEFENCE VARIANT

It s m ar ki ng s a re a f al co n u po n a g lo ve d

hand on the ta il f in w ith a white and pale

b lue ta il f las h.

No.29 F Squadron

Iml igcT ct A c cr - Energetic and Keen

It had been p lanned that the first ADV

unit w ou ld b e an en ti rely new squadron

formed at RAF Coningsby i n 1 98 6 to

replace the old Lightning. These plans

were thwarted hy the delays with the

Foxhunter radar and the n ee d t o d iv er t

with 0.229 OCU. The u n it s m a rk ing s

a r e a r ed e a gle p r e yin g on a yellow buzzard

on the ta il f in with red and yellow Triple

X crosses on the in take lips.

No 43 Squadron

lcni Finis - G lory theend

Formed in Sco tland during 1916 the

unit flew t he G amec oc k a nd Siskin

before taking on charge the Hurricane,

which it flew d ur in g t he Battle of

Britain. No.43 Squadron arrived a t RAF

No Squadron

d st ncs - Standing By

0.111 served duringWorld War On e in

Pa les tine in the Near East disbanding in

1 92 0. I t w as the first RAF unit to operate

as a f igh ter with the Hawker Hurricane,

which i t f le w w i th distinction u n til 1 94 7.

Re-forming as p ar t o f Fighter Command

i n 1 95 3 i t p r ov id e d the Bla ck A r r ow s

Hunter ae robat ic team, thence convert

ing to t he L ig ht ni ng a nd t he n th e

Phantom FGR.2 and later the FG.l at

TORNADOAIR DEFENCE VARIANT

No 1453 Flight

Following the Falklands W ar o f 1 9

was decided to base fighters on the is

to p r ov id e a deterren t and policing

ence. O r igin a lly w as t he P hant om

No.29, then No.23 Squadrons that

on the r o le f r om RAF Stan ley and

RAFMount Pleasant. With the dim

ing threat from Argen tina, the ne

have a squadron s-worth of aircraft o

islands was realized to be unnecessa

the f o ur - air cr a ft 0 .1 45 3 Fligh t w as

With the re ti rement of the Phantom



No.25 F Squadron

FCTicns TCRo - Striking I defend

Formed i n 1 9 15 No.25 Squadron spent

Wor ld Wa r On e in France, and flew

Beaufighters a nd Mos qu it os d ur in g

World War Two. Retained as a night

fighter squadron post-war, the unit flew

Vampires and Jave l ins un t il d isbanded

in November 1962. Th e unit re-formed

as a Bloodhound SAM squadron in

October 1963 unt i l i t was c h os e n t o be

the final Tornado ADV u ni t at RAF

Leeming.

nF No 9 OCU Author

airframes to the Saudi contract. So

instead of being the second ADV

squadron, No.29 hecame the first. Formed

a t Gosport on 7 November 1915 it took

u p d ut i es i n F r an ce . World War Tw o s aw

operations w it h s uc h a ir cr af t as the

Blenhiem, Beaufighter and Mosquito.

Po st- w ar s u ch ty pe s a s the Meteor NEIl ,

J av el in a nd L ig ht ni ng were operated,

followed by a b r ief dishandment before re

formation with the Phan tom. A lthough

assigned t o N AT O s S AC EU R, N o. 29

Squadron deployed to the Falklands later

g iv i ng w ay to No.23 Squadron. On I

December 1986 personnel assigned to

N o.29 Squ ad ro n h eg an g ro und s ch oo l

730

Leuchars i n 1 95 0 f l y in g the Meteor, and

thence hecame a Hunter squadron, work

ing in Cyprus and Aden . In Septemher

1969 No.43 Squ ad ro n mov ed t o t h e exRoyal Navy Phan tom FG.I serving with

the type unt il t h e a d v en t o f the Tornado

ADV i n 1 989 . Partnered by No.111

Squadron, they provide a k ey element in

the northern h al f o f t he UK, a nd h av e

the addi t iona l role of fleet defence. Its

markings a re a r ed white and blue fight

ing c oc k emb lem on the ta il f in with a

d ar k b lu e a nd w hi te chequeI boa rd o n

the forward fuselage repeated across the

ta il f in.

RAF Leuchars. Universa l ly known a

Treble One , t he S qu ad ro n re-equipped

with the Tornado i n 1 98 9 and partners

No.43 Squadron in the northern defencer e gio n. I ts m a r kin gs a r e a b lac k and yellow

lightning flash on t he forward fuselage

with a b la ck and y el lo w f in s t ri pe con

taining the cross of Jerusalem symbol.

No Squadron s colours R

the UK s inventory No.1453 s aircra

lowed suit to b e r e pla c ed b y f o u r To

E 3s i n J u ly 1 99 2 The a ir cr a f t a r e n

after the va liant G los ter G lad iato rsprotected Malta during World War

Faith , Hope and Charity . The f

aircraft? What else but Desperation

f li gh t s m ar ki ng s a re a r ed Maltese

737

TORN DO IR DEFEN EV RI NT TORN DO IR DEFEN E V RI NT

emblem repositioned o n t he fin and saw

the demise of the black/white nose checks

during the la tter part of July 1997.

Further south, the two E3 squadrons at

Coningsby, had enjoyed a long-ish period

of stability with thei r aircraft, but with

upgrades t o S ta ge Two they could sec

manyof theircurrent fleet being disperseJ

as they were moJifieJ. At Leeming, where

the aircraft were o f t h e highest moJifica

tion state anJ part o f t he RAF s rapiJ

reaction force - therefore subject to san i-

tizatilln before being deployed out-of-area

- it has made sense for these aircraft to



t he RAE a t Farnborough took on c

ZD902. ZD902 was delivered in 198

was used for various equipment

avionics trials, before being flown

Athan for conversion to i rtua l E3

d ar d, b ut w it ho ut t he more pow

Mk 104 enginesand auto wingsweep

aircraft s reliance o n t he Mk1 03 p

plants was seen asfar from ideal, but

receive 5 FI modification, strength

the panels near th wing box . O

r et ur n t o F ar nb or ou gh it b ec am

intriguingly titled TIARA Tornad

acronym for Tornado Integrated Av

Research Aircraft , and wasused for

tria lsfor a varie ty of support and res

programmes to develop fu tur e a

c on c ep ts . Mak in g i ts f ir st flig

TIARA configuration on 18 Oc

1995, i t was delivered to its new b

TIARA Tornado F A

A Tornado F 3 from TrebleOne Squadron in full flow. BAe

R Leuchars Fife Scotland

Leuchars is the o ldes t Scot t ish military

airfield, dating b ac k t o 19 I I After World

War One i t w as p as se d t o the Fleet Air

Arm, bu t later became a base for Coastal

ommand operations. Post-war it became

a f ig ht er b as e with Meteors, Vampires,

Hunters, J av el i ns , L ig ht ni ng s and

Phantoms operating there over the years.

It currently su pp or ts as 43 and II I

Squadrons with theirTornado E3 .

When the former No.229 OCU relinquished its Tornado E2s i n 1 98 6, a brace

of aircraft were snapped upby the Empire

Test Pilots School at Boscomb Down and

RAF Coningsby Lincolnshire

Tornado ADV Bases

Previously the RAF s main Phantom oper

ating base, Coningsbyopened in 1940a sa

bomber s t at i on h ou si ng Manch sters,

Lincolns, Washing tons , Canberras and

Vulcans, and was chosen as an operating

base for the ill-fated TSR.2. [t was the

f ir st b a e to opera te the Tornado E3 and

currently plays h os t t o o s5 6( R) , 5 and

29 quadrons.

RAF Leeming Yorkshire

Opened in 1940 as a bomber station,

Leemingswitched to night-fighter training

d ut ie s i n 1961 with 0.3 Fr S forming

there in 196I. The base underwent a majorre-fit during [986 to make it compatible

with the new Tornado ADV Currently it

houses os II and 25 Squadrons.

The one-time Aeroplane and Armament

Experimental Establishment or A AEE,

t he u ni t has employed a n umbe r o f

Tornado E2s f or weapons te st ing and

clearance trials, an d o ne o f its internal

units, the Fast Jet Test Squadron, have

also operated E2s ZA267 and ZD900, as

wel l a sE3 ZEISS.

operate either without indiviJual mark-

No.23 Squadron s tail e mblem. A uthor ings o r, as in the case of No.25 SquaJron,

with markings in a much reJuceJ form to

make i t e as ier anJ qui ck er t o r emov ethem, shou lJ the need arise.

At Coningsby No.56(R) Sqn, the E3

OCU, began aJoptingtoneJ-Jown mark

i ng s i n miJ-1997. Its co-resiJent, No.5

qn has also now begun to fall into line

w it h t he r eJ uc eJ size mark ings , w i th

ZE729 /CF, i t is believeJ, carrying the

Jefinitive version, with a red f in banJ, the

coJe le tters moved to benea th the band

and t he mi JJ l e p a rt o f t h e fin being taken

up by another green maple leaf, retaining

the yellow V . Th e o th er Coningsby

squaJron, 0 .29 , h as r es po nJ e J t o t he

change by moving the triple XXX, or

No.43Squadron - the ightingCocks.Author brewers ign , from the intake to the tip of

the fin, the remaindero f the marking so

far staying unchanged.

DERA

Marking Changes

0.111 Squadron s E3s b eg an t o s po rt a

revised unit insignia in mid-1998 which

comprised of just the squadron s Jerusalem

cross with superimposed seaxes in yellow

( in turn uperimposed on two red crossed

swords) o n t he upper part o f t h e fin. The

two-lettercode was retained, though much

smaller and pOSitioned on the trailingedge

o f t h e fin, and the traditional black lightning bolt was removed from the forward

fuselage. Its ne ighbouring squadron a t

Leu ch ar s, 0 .4 3, had i ts fighting cock

NO 29 Squadron s tail emblem. Author

No Squadron s tail emblem. Author

t ic s for a i rc ra f t opera ting over Bosnia

using the TRD system. Three differing tail

markings have adorned the E3 OEU air

craft. Initially three swo rd s in a Y cutting

through a blue disc were worn, th isgiving

way to a stylized red chevron with the leg

end AW e upon i t i ns id e a white disc,

and the current version is the same flash

but with the a winged sword emblem, in

the same s ty le a s that applied the

AOEU aircraft.

Th e ETP S t oo k on charge a single

Tornado E2(T) , ZD935, in 198 , but

returned it t o RAF St Athan for storage

in February 1990, having found l it tl us e

for the aircraft in their particular role. I t

wore t he E TP S badge on the t ai l f in

a lo ng w it h a blue a nd w hi te nose

chevronoutlined in red containing a fullcolour roundel.

Empire t PilotsSchool

732 733

degree elevation, broadly representative

of t he m od er n s ta te - of - th e a r t HUD

design. The a i rc ra ft h as a stick top from

the F-18 H o rn e t t og e th e r wi th a Sea

H arri er H O T A S t hrot tl e as a h a nd c o n

troller, and is fitted with a v a rie ty of tele

m et r ic e q ui p me n t, t o ge t he r w it h video

r e co r de r s f or t he H UD , M F Ds p lu s an

over the shoulder view of the cockpit;

e x te r n al s h o ul d er pylon pod-mounted

FUR sensors can b e c ar r ie d, f it te d into

modified fuel tanks. One o f t h e first items

ofki t flown aboard TIARA was t he G E C

Marconi FIR ST SIG H T IR ST Infra-Red

T ORNADO AI R DEFENCE VARI ANT

im a gin g s u b- s ys tem b as e d on a TICM

Class Miniscanner operating in the 8

12um band similar t o t he type employed

o n t h e H ar r ie r G R .7 , v ia a s tab iliz ed m ir

ror arrangement which steadies the image

in el evat i on and a z imu th , w ith rotational

stabilization being provided by a p ri sm ,

and the IRST mirror can a ls o b e u se d to

steer the system s line of s ig h t. T h e sensor

image is then digitized by t he T I a n d t he n

passed for processing by the unit ssub-sys

t e m T he T I AR A a ir cr a f t w as f irs t f low n

without radar, but was later f itte d w ith the

Blue Vixen radar used o n t he S ea Harrier,

Airwork Airframes Saga

During the e ar ly 1 99 0s i t became neces

sary to increase the Fa tig ue I n de x FI ) of

t heT ornado F 3 in order t o preserve itslife

expectancy as p ar t o f a planned pro

g ra mm e o f s e r vic e lif e extension. The

w o rk w as o f fe r ed out t o pri vat e industry

under com pet i ti ve t enderi ng, and a con

tract to m o dif y an initial batch of fifteen

a i rc ra f t w as w o n b y B Ae . H ow ev er , the

follow-on c o nt r ac t t o m od if y a further

bat ch of ei ght een a ir cr a f t w as s e cu r ed by

Airwork Services, who d e liv e r ed a tender

T ORNADOAI R DEFENCE VARIANT



OnORA alert at RAF Mount Pleasant one o f th e fo u r Falklanddefenders, Faith , Hope ,

Charity and Desperation RAF

S e ar c h a n d Tr a ck ) tu r re t, interchangable

w it h a F UR . T h is is an advanced air-to

a ir in fr a - re d s e n so r developed specifically

a s a t oo l f or providing high quality digital

imagery and gat heri ng I R e n er g y through

a 1 50 m m d o me o n t h e nose o f t h e aircraft,

just a bo v e t h e radome. T hi s cont ai ns a

zinc sulphide window t hrough w hich IR

w a ve s a r e r e fle cte d d o wn i n to a thermal

chosen f or its multi-mode capabilities and

its compatability with the aircraft s other

sensors. TIARA will, at t h e t im e of writ

i ng , b e undertaking other developmental

projects such as Direct Voice Input, high

speed RHAWS, GEe s H M SS H e lm e t

M o un te d S ig h ti ng S ys te m) , a nd in a

definitive configuration i t w il l a ls o c ar ry

ASRAAM missiles.

for £ 7m , s om e £ 4m lower t ha n t he o ne

submitted b y BA e.

The f ir st f o ur ai rcraft m odi fi ed by

Airwork at RAF St Athan, ZE292, ZE295,

ZE343 and ZEn8, were returned t o s er

vice, but pilots soon began report i ng han

dl i ng pecul i ari t i es. The aircraft were

grounded and inspected by R A F t echni

c ia ns , w ho t ra ce d the p ro bl em s t o

l ongeron di stort ion w i t hi n t hecent re sec

t io n o f the fuselage. The l ongerons had

apparentl y been di stort ed w hen inappro

priate pneumatic guns h ad b ee n used to

remove the light alloycollars covering the

fasteners w hi c h c o nn e ct e d t h e panels to

the longerons. The remaining fourteen

airframes were then inspected, and twelve

w e re f o un d to b e s e ve r ely damaged, t he

other two having l i ght er damage. The

contract was immediately cancel led, and

a ll w or k stopped w hi l st r e pa i r options

were considered

It appeared t h a t t h e only credible solu

tion was to return the tw e lv e s e ve r ely

d ama ge d air fr ame s to P an av ia in

G e rm a ny w he r e t he y w o uld r e c eiv e new

centre sections. This proved to be too

costly, and i n 1 99 4 i t w as announced that

fourteen o f t h e aircraft wouldbe scrapped.

However, necessity being t h e m o th e r of

invention, i t w as s u gg e ste d that the air

c r af t b e r e pa ir ed u s in g t he cent re sections

from sixteen o f t he e ig ht ee n surviving

Tornado F 2s w hi ch h ad b ee n p l ac ed i n

storage aw ait i ng t heir t urnt o be scrapped.

This proved to be a remarkably cost-effec

tive s o lu ti o n, a n d B Ae w as a wa rd ed a

cont ract t o undert ake a tr ia l r e bu ild of F 3

Z E 15 4 u si ng t he c en tr e s ec ti on o f F 2ZD90 l. Both a ir cr a ft w er e transported

from S t A th an to Warton in October

1 9 94 w ith the marriage proving a great

success. ZE294was t h e n e x t F 3 to benefit,

734 735

T O RNADO AI R DEFENCE VARIANT TORNADO AIR DEFENCE VARIANT



Fighting th e Tornado F.3

The Tornado crews of today face as

of a challenge as the Few of World

Two. The ability to react quickly

e sential today as i t w as i n the la te

mer of 194 . Crew mus t b e p repar

w ar i n a dv an ce o f a n y b at tl e a nd

what peacetime training is all abou

defence operations m us t be extr

flexible in order to cater for the man

ferent types o f t h re at t ha t t he R AF

rently faces, not to mentiDn the e l

of surprise which is s uc h a fundam

characteristicof war.

Once c re w membe rs b ec ome o

tional o n t h ei r squadron , they are

nically ready to fight. They are ca

of carrying out interceptions a

heights and speeds , and of engadver aries in a ircombat ; they also

a g oo d k no wled g o f the weapons

carry and the in te rplayrequired be

the many on-board av ion ic sy

gets. The highly agile ASRAAM

greatly improve the 3 s short-range

bility against violently evading ta

Design and engineering work, tog

with the manufacture o f t h e modifi

kits, is h ei ng c ar ri ed o ut at B

Aerospace sites. Embodiment of the

tural and wir ing mod if ica t ions w

undertaken by RAF t Athan,who w

as a ubcontractor to British Aerospa

In order to maintain the F.3 s viability until

the Eurofighter reaches quadron service

an upgrade programme has been e tab

l is he d, a £125 million con trac t be ing

awarded to BAe in 1997. The programme

will greatly enhance the F.3 giving it the

ability to carry ASRAAM and

AMRAAM. Changes to the Missile

Management System and main computer

software will enable the F.3 to benefitfromthe f i re -and-forget capab il i ty of

AMRAAM, which will give the aircraft a

much improved beyond-visual-range per

formance, particularly against multiple tar-

F.3 Upgrade

ZE155 in the markings o f t h e A AEE DERA vi Mike Tomlinson

f roma donation by F.2 ZD906, and all six

teen of the most damaged a irf rames

received new centresection before being

returned to service. The two less damaged

aircraft were a lso repai r ed and subse

quently returned to squadrons.

A further twist to the tale came on 28

September 1996, when ZE759 crashed

i nt o t he sea off Blackpool, though there

was n o e vi de nc e t o suggest the aircraft s

loss was i n any way connected to the

A irwork contract . The Airwork stOry

c am e t o a conclusion in March 1997,

when it was announced that Airwork s

parent company, Bricom, would pay the

MoD £5 million in compensation, though

the costs of the BAe repair contract asyet

remain undisclo ed.

A low-angle presentaion of the T R Tornado which is f i t ted w i th the Sea Harrier s Blue

V ixen r a da r set DERA via Mike Tomlinson

I

136 137

TOR DO I R D FI:NCI: V R ~ nTORN DO IR DEFENCE VARIANT



One o f the twenty- four ADVs supplied to the Saudi Air Force B e

I

I

I

Fully armed an F f romthe Tornado OCU with four Sidewinder and four Skyflash AAMs. B e

738

However, the Tornado is not an air comhar fighter, rather a long-range homher

destroyer, and turning-and-hurning is

considered foolhardy in the ex treme .

Very simply, the c rews wou ld p re fe r t o

attack in the BVR mode, using hit-and

run tactics. The single-side offset keeps

the pair t og et he r o n o ne side o f the

enemy formation, approach ing on the

s lan t to launch Skyflash a t long range and

then hreak away. Close-in attack is

cautioned against, as it can leave the

attacking fighter vulnerahle to the radar

guided guns o f t h e h omhers or present a

tempting t ar ge t t o a ny s el f- de fe nc e

AAM o r f orwa rd -f ir in g g un . w hi c h

aircraft such as the Su-24 Fcncer might

carry. Where fighters are involved, the

tactics are basically the same, b ut t he

paired single-side offset is preferred. The

Tornado aircrew prefer to approach thesc

targets fast, engage the fighters at the

greatest possible range, invariably BVR,

and hreak away.

VUpgrade

Work has begun in Bri ti sh Aerosp

upgrading the Royal Air Force s T

(F3) Air Defence Variant under a

million contract awarded last yea

programme will greatly enhance t

g iving i t the ability to carry ASR

(Ad\ anced hort Range Air t

Missile) a nd MRAAM ( Ad v

Medium Range Air to All Missile)

Changes to the Mis. i1c Manag

System and main compute r softwa

enable the Tornado F3 to benefit fr

fire-and-forget capahility of AMR

which w il l g i\ e the aircraft a

improved Beyond-Visual-Range

mance, particularly against multip

get. The h ig hl y a gi le A RAAM

greatly improve the Tornado F3 s

range capabili ty against evasiveDesign and engineering work, to

with the manufacture of the modif

kits, is be ing carr ied out at

739

TOR:-J\OO AIR 01 H::-JCI:: V\RI\ : \T TOR\.\OO AIR DEI'E:'\CE VARI \;\T

Cf<lft i: . potted Hashing in .1lfO their tarhoard

quarterand they pull round onlo It. U ng t he

h o r e , i ~ h t mode on IIUD and cueing a

S lew1I1der AA1\I, rhe pdot p r ep r e , t o h re .

Th growl In the crew • hcaJ et- c h a n ~ l to <

chrrp ,md the call I ' ' Fox TW,l lanother 'kill'l

on ~ p l e -I Someone ca l l , 'kn'lCk t ol t 'o er

rhe R{f ,1111 the IFFdial re,er. All f, ,m

c r t r head e, 1 our moer t he Nm lh Se 111 Im

m t l on t o h\ok 1m tanker tol'-UPIrl\lll a VC

W 1--:2 ot 101 Squ dron. ~ L I I I e I al'pr'l che,

the 'tarhoan..l I . . l r o ~ l I c , conne l t ing with the

prohe h t tIIHC, t a k 1 l 1 ~ I\n 3 , O O O k ~ I' fuel.

, frer r e f u e l l l l l ~ , .11 f rhe ,mcrafr hrcak \\'ay

ilnd h 1 1 towilll..l . thc lowef I c n ~ I , . Slowll1 .

to reac twhen t hewheeb rouch, n d t h e th

re Cr>er> a reac t i ,· a ted when all the \l'heel,

on the t<lrmac. With Maple 2 1 ,, , on t

firma, the alrcralt r,lXl h ck ro the liAS

where the port eng1l1e j ,1uH ...10\\ n t ' ir ' t

rhe '\lng' are cpt tulh hack to 67 degree

.,llow the ,urLr<lfr h he towed b<lck II1roll'

teetl\'C ,helrer.

ADV s for Export

Oman n Jordan

So nearly the first customer for



Sweeping across the desert, a pa ir o f No.5 Squadron Tornado F 3s onpa t r ol soon a f te r

ar r iv ing in Saudi Arabia. RAF

andcom purer' are ready and rheexte rna l A PU

r r ( l \ l d e ~ power t o (<lrt the 'larboard l ng l l1c

\ \ ' h llh . h \ u c of it c r o ; . . , , ~ d n n : , 1 thell ahle to

. tan the port engine. Herore fh1 , the control

Id,lle' on Ihe I I I1g - f lap ,Ial ' and ,poder s

,UT checked \l'lIh the gtllundcre\l'. The port

engille thell 'laneL a nd t he g ro un d Cfew

Intercom I I I lC dl conncc[ed. For a modern je t

fighler, \l'lIh hoth engl11e, running, rhe

Tornado relal1\'ely quiet ,de rhe COckPit.

In 'pile of the 'Ullll1g-up and the complexity of

the 'llrcrafr\ . y tem , a sCrilmhlc alert G1T1 he

accompli,hed (tllm heing out>ide the aircraft to

chock> off in unde r two minute , .

Follo\l'ing ATC clearance, rhe cre\l taxi out

o(the IIA, complex,lining up behindMaple I

and heading to\ l' a rd , the run\l'ay. The planned

parr,rake-offi, alm 't immedi,lte followll1g the

fl11al check>. The engine. , are \l'ound up « (ull

c ol d powe r a nd a quick \,i.,ual check o f t h e

engine insuumentation m ade. M ap l e I ', p i lo t

gives a d 1 1 1 I l l h s ~ L 1 p and engages afterburner at

50p e r cent reheat. Maple I rhen taps hi, hel

me land nod, . At th s ig na l, 0 pcr ccnt rehear

engaged andthe hrakes letoff. With the ASI

I11d,catlng some 1 ,5k t, the nll'cwhcel hft., and

take-off is accompli.,hcd a r . ,ome 150kt. The

undercarriage immediately ,elecred up and,

a, the ,peed pa e , 215kl, the flap,are rerract

ed, and the afrerhurner cancelled at ,OOkt.

C:hmhl11g a\\'al a, a parr, Ihe fir,r duo ptllceed

to flight b·eI I on a headl11gof 14 degree,

lurnl11g north, and 'pl,lting inro 'hattie ' forma(Ion With ahout one nautical mile sep<lrarion.

The F. flie, on raib and I an impre»i\'e per

formance, despite its de trac tor s , and will go

'personic In the c l imh and i e\'ery hll a, good

- Of better - than many of its contemporancs.

1\laple 3 n d 4 ,plit away a, they 1'''''e\\'Gl,rle, preparing r o p la y the role o f t he

'h d guys while t he f iN part o( M ple Flight

continue to ,et up their CAr.

Th c WSO , rhen hegin thcir hunt \l'ith rhe

I el ine computcr-generated di,play of

range/a:lmuth 'search'. The plor; r e d played

(IS sho r tv cr t l cal I incs plu., a hori::onralcrosshar

to mdicare a confirmed IFF respome. The target

de;ignated hI u,ing the joy;tick ro move a

four-qu drant markcr round thc plot. Moving

ro thc all ck display m ode t h e WSOs s el e ct

the irweapom - Skyfl ,h AAM, - a nd t h e rar

get illumInated by T o r n a d o ~ c o n t i n u o l l ~ wave

, ignal. Further symbology displayed on the

.,creen and a \Iot' ~ h o w ~ the C O U f ~ C to 'tcer for a

col li ; ioncour , e with the rarget, whde a la rge r

circlc ;1 )\\,, rhe allow'lhle Meering error(ASE),

740

the diameterof which depcndenton the 1111'

,de ,eeker g1111h I I rm l t' a n d r ange t o r rgel.

Launch l I C C C ~ ~ :onc:-. arc hown on t h e fight of

thc 'CfCCIl with maxImum an J minlllHlIll

launch l<1J1ge, Memory Tt<lCkll1g aid, the re

cqui, illon of other target> frer a launch, thl

permitting rapid ,equence ofmtacks.

While t h eWSC» r c h a nd l in g rhe \ l ' e pon

.,y'tem the pilot> manage the ,mack;equence,

de ,ignatlng and rc,Je tigncHlng the tafget If

n e O ~ f l f Y lI ting an <llf'[(h:Uf o\'crriJe ~ \ \ i t c h on

the throtrle;, \l'hlch can be u,ed Ifclose comhal

occur>. This thrm\ II system, inro the arrack

mode for ins tant r eac t ion: the radar rapidly

sc m c ross the 20-degree HUD field of view,

locking on ro the frrM dctected target and pro

\' Iding aiming cue' for the idew1l1der.

Comparedwith the A1.23 of the Tornado\ pre

dece or , the Lightning, the A1.24 Foxhunter

e\'cn h ef or c r ag e I and 2 impro\'emcnts - r ep

rcsented grea t leap forward for the RAF\ air

defender>. Adopling onc-minutc 'racetr ck'

C 1 the ' f ighter;'head inro'hmrle' (ormation,

flying a t 2 , 500fr and at some -I50kt. Maple I

picb up the target ' on t he;econd turn-in and

bring' them in on a ' ,wcep r ight ' c a l ling 'Fox

One' la 'kill'l on the 'encmy' leader.Turn1l1g in

low o \ 'e r t h e o r th umb r ia n h i lb , another air-

down 10 ,50kt, II'lIh \l'lI1g' lully forw rd, M ple

I tUfn , C;l ,t ov cr t h eNo r t h SCfI c ,un.:rilft ,Ire

n ut a ll ow e J t o gu u p e f ~ ) n i l while hC<1dIl1J

<\\\ rd, the co ,t. H , I \ I I 1 ~ checkecl-in with

BlHdm . r ralLlr , thl ' throttlc ' an Ilhn l I..l lI)fwar,,-1

111to feheen a nd t h en oHnh,H power. Thl 'ct

rl11g ,tllow, a littleextra thr 't to he 'd lor <l

11111lted period of t lI11e, l l l l '<l 'urcd In minutl . At

450kt, the Wll1g are ' 'Cpr hack to -15 degree

gOll1g 10 l ul l 6 7 degree' IT I <lr 550kl. At

7 0 l ~ k t . \l'llh the ~ t c h m e t e r re<ldl11g 1.15, the

rhr' l l r e i , , e t ' I , l Ie.The Tmnadol ' , till <lccel

e r l t l n ~ ilnl..llt takl· 'lHl1L' tllnl' for the In ert Ia to

dr,'p off 'lI1d rile ,urcr<llr t o , low down . The

'mck-,te<ldy' <If Ihe F. rille punctu<lled on'

when the ,urcr<lft dOll1g 750kt <It low-le\'e1

<lnd the re-he<ll i, cancelled; the decellerallon

m<lrked and Iden like hiltl11g < hrick

\I',dl' A, the ,peed drop Ihe wll1g' <lre grad

u<llil mo\'ed forward. \V, th Ihe re f e i l ing now

c<l1l1plete the IUrlnation re-,et m'Cr the or th

Sea to pract e BVR II1rerCeptlom, , emng up a

m<lritlme CA P ag<limr Maple, nd Four. A(ler

two goe, a t h ei n g the defender, Maple I and

Two bec<lme r he t a rg et a nd \ ' i ct im' of < Fox

One; ag<lin rhe only RWR contact the enemy

,hould r e ce i e \ \ ou l d h e t h e l o c k -o n fmm the

AI.24 raLbr, <lnd therr dbrruction wo ld then

he ' lome nineteen 'lccond i Clway. Again fcvCrt,

ing to thc hunter mle 'md In the emuing Inter

ception, Maple , passc , Maple I be fore they

could lock-on. The tactic<ll , i t uat ion rhen

demanded the kill of M< lp le 4 , \ l 'h i ch was

accompli,hed alm 't , imulraneou,ly by a Fo x

One from Maple I and Fox Two from Maple 2.

M ple I rhen ' ed the Tornado', acceleration

l<l comeup behind Maple , to deli\'er anorhcr

Fox One.

Recovery to Coning,hy will sce Maples,

and 4 making a Mamlardlandll1g whilstMaples

I nd 2OI'er>hom. In Maple I the wing ' a re se t

(m\l'ard, , peed checkcd, gear and f lap , down.

Deploying f ul l f la p f or final, - I Okt with

I -IS-degreeAOA - f ina l pproach i made t

15 kt. The pilm pre-arrm the li(t dump ,poilers

Tornado ADV outside the th ree -n

European consortium W,lS the Sultana

Oman, which ordered eight aircraft o

August 1985. Due for del ivery in

they w or e a £2' )Om p ri ce t ag w

included training, ,uppor t and Sky

mi,sile,. The p lan wa, to use the Tor

to replace Oman\ SEPECAT Jagua

the air defence role, freeing the Jagua

replace the ageing Ilawker Hunters i

ground attack role. The delivery ,che

was put hack to 19 ,then to 1992 h

king cancelled in fa\'()ur o f a n o rd

the less capable BAe Hawk 200 .

Inearly' machines were then deliver

theRAF as F.3s, wearing serials ZH5

ZH559.

Jordan was another po ten ti a l

export sale. customer. With t he she

of their interest in the 'F-5-e

Northrop Tigershark, Jordan a ked

Arab ia to order an add i tiona l ten Afor direct t ransfer to the RJAF. The

was r ef us ed by the UK, e ve n t h

Jordanian pi lots had evaluated the

craft.

Yamamah - Tornados to Saud

rabia

The second order for the ADV also

from t he A ra b world, in t he s ha pe

massive package of BAe products so

Saud i Arab ia u nd er t h e AI Yam

(Bird of Peace) programme, describ

more detail on page 6 . The twenty

F.3s included in the deal were taken

the RA F's share of Bat ch 6 (they

later replaced), and i nc luded s ix

stickers. The aircraft were not allo

erials in the usual st rict RAF fas

The F.3s were delivered commenci

February 19 9 t o D ha hr an t o re-

0.29 Squadron; plans to equip a se

unit, No.34 quadron\ were abandon

747

As mentioned above,the final batch of F 3s were

delivered with t h e n e w S ta g e radar, together

with a n F -1 8 Hornet stick-top giving improved

HOTAS, bringing the weapons selection

switchology as well as the radar override t o t h e

pilots fingertips. The last eightproduction ADVs

originally intended to fulfil the cancelled order

from Oman were similarly equipped, and deliv

ered to RAF Leuchars, and thence to RAF

Leeming wherethe aforementioned desert mod

ifications were undertaken. For operations in the


Sta e Tornados

threats, and a Have Quick secure voice radio

w as f it te d. U nf or tu na te ly t his was not

sufficiently compatible with the US F-15s and

F-14s, which contributed t o t h e decision t o o nl y

allow the F.3s t o o p er a te over friendly areas.

AN/ALE-40 V) flare dispensers were scabbed

onto the lower fuselage engine access doors,

canted slightly outwards,with each unit contain

ing fifteen flare compartments. These were

replaced by Vin te n Vicon 78 Series 210 units

before the fighting started. For protection against

gained by the F 3 OEU and subsequently by NO.29

Squadron themselves w ho w e re foremost in

developing the tactics for NVG operations. With

the ever-present threat of chemical weapons

b e in g u s ed , t he crews regularly practised, and

sometimes operated, in full AR5NBC respirators.

The cockpit air conditioning s ys te m w as

upgraded a n d th e cockpit canopy rails were also

modified to prevent buckling under the desert

su n, a n d hot weathertyres, already featured on

th e Sa u d i F.3s, were also fitted.




Gulf, an interimmodification wa s ru she d through,

commonly known as Stage 1+ Sl+), which

combined a comprehensive series of modifica

t ions to the Stage 1aircraft and was intended to

enhance the aircrafts capability and survivabili

ty. By retuning the engine limiters the RB.199

engines received a 5 per cent combat boost

feature in m a xi m um d r y and maximum reheat

modes, operated by aswitch on thepi lots engine

control p a n el. Th e Fo xhu n ter radar was upgrad

ed t o A A standard, with improved cooling, soft

ware and enhanced ECCM and in-close combat

capabilities.

Improvementswere a l so m a de t o t h e H er m es

RHWR, allowing it to recognize all in-theatre

An Ita lian foreground anda British F.3. RAF

guided missiles the aircraft were f it te d w it h a

Philips-Matra Phimat chaff pod, initially carried

in place of the port fu el ta nk, but later mounted

on the port outer missile rail, even though this

affected the aircraft sfull flap ability.

The F.3s frontal RCS was also addressed with

the addition of RAM strips on the leading edges

of the wings, fin, tailplane, weapons pylons and

the inner faces o f t he e n gi ne intakes. Nickel

chrome tail plane leading edges were also fitted

beneath t he R A M, replacing t he s ta n da r d a lu

min iu m o n es which were p ron e to pitting from

the exhaust of Sidewinder missile launches.

During the course o f t he war the aircraft also

received NVGs, drawing on the experience

142

The AIM-9L Sidewinders were replaced by the

better Raytheon AIM-9M version purchased

from the US. With its WGU-4A1B seeker headthe

Mike offered greatertarget discriminationin the

hot cl imate, and carried th e imp rove d Mod

Mk36 rocket motor. During the course of opera

tions the F.3s were regularly seen carrying the

Tornado GR.1s subsonic 330gal drop tanks often

painted sand). giving up their 495gal supersonic

Hindenburger t an k s t o g iv e the GR s agreater

unrefuelled ra n ge . Th is h a d th e advantage of giv

in g th e ADVs a 5g manoeuvring limit, rather than

the 2.25g limit imp ose d b yth e larger tanks. A pool

o fso me twenty-six aircraft of Sl+ standardwas

therefore established.

Groundcrew prepare one o f t he R ADVs for another CAP over

Saudi Arabian airspace. RAF

143

TORNADOAIRD I ~ I N l

VARIA1\T


markings except for 0.11 quadron s

white two-letter codes on their r ai l f in s

ranging from DA to DZ - in deference to

the fact they would be flown by other per

sonnel. They a ls o wor e a white outlined

badge on their fins, more usually found on

the cap/shoulder o f RAF personnel; this

consisted ofan eagle encircled hy the leg

end 'Royal Air Force Desert Eagles'. This

was, however, short li\ Cd andsoon disap

peared, as did the two- let ter code to he

replaced hya single lerrer.

Wg Cdr David Hamilton, flying

ZE961/DH, led the f ir st s ix SI+ a ir c ra f t

(including twospares) toSaudi Arabia via



The e m bl e m o f th e Desert Eagles , more usually found on the cap/shoulderof RAF

personnel. Paul Jackson

In th e a fte r m ath o fth e war an F3 overflies a burning oil well in Kuwait - Saddam s leg

t o t h e Coalition forces, No.II AC) Squadron via Mike Tomlinson

TheTRD or Turd as it is known in RAF-speak

i s d e si g ne d t o present e ne m y S A M s y st em s

with an alternative target far behind the air

crafttowing the device, The TRD is advertised

as being more effective than ejected decoys

such as chaff and more effective than cross

polar jamming There are actually two deriva

tions o f t he Ariel system both designed to

operate in the E-J bands: oneis a high-power

autonomous data-linked unit and a second

uses EW equipment in the hostaircraft acting

as a slave jammer. Work on the TRD began in

1986 housed on a BAe Jetstream, then

onboard a Buccaneer and it made its first

supersonic trials with t he B Ae EAP in 1989

with Tornado trials being undertaken in 1994.

The TRD was used operationally for the first

time during t he G u lf W a r w h e n it was fitted to

RAF Nimrods

GEe-Marconi Ariel Towed Radar Decoy

Akrotiri . A second six aircraft arrived on

22 September, allowing the original

twe lve to re tu rn home. A irc ra f t accom

modation at Dhahran was shared with the

E3 ofNo,29 Squadron RSAF, the aircraft

operating from open sun shelters', com

monly referred to a car por t s' b y the

CIT\\ . However, with t he immi ne nt

th rea t o f air or missile arrack from Iraq,

concrete re\'Ctments began t o p nng up,

f t ~ l r i n g more protect ion to the ,urcraft.

A changel1\'er of per onnel ll1l1k place on

2 4 l 1\ 'Cmbe r, and the the Dhahran

Torn<ldos E)s came under the command

of Wg Cdr Andy Moir, OC of oA )

Squadron, his supporting crews coming

from 0 ,29 (RAF) and 0,25 Squadrons

(the latterdonating just one crew), and by

t he o ns et of the conflict the 'F.)

Squadron had on charge eighteen air

craft. As diplomatic efforts faded the oper-

been sheked for hudgetary or political

reasons

Media est imates a t the t ime compared

the Tornado F.) 's l ike ly performance

against Iraqi fighters , but these conjec

turesseem to have been based on the airc ra ft i n t he UK wh ic h were o 'erating

with the e ar ly Typ e Z Foxhunter radar,

which waswidely understood not to meet

the RAF's requirements. By 1989 howev

er, deliveries of 'Block 13' a ircraft firred

with the Type AA radar, nowmeetingthe

RAF's original specification, had begun,

Existing E)s then began to be filtered

th rough RAF Coningsby whe re a joint

BAe/RAF team underrook radar replace

men t a nd o rh er modifications, under a

package known as rage I ' . These 'Srage

I aircraft went to os43 and II I

q ua dr on s a t R AF Leuchars, bu t in

August 1990 they were transferred to

RAF Leeming for further upgrading for

u se in the Gulf.

By 29 August the first of the t ag e 1+'

aircraft began to arrive a t D hahr an to

replace the original F.3s which returned

to the UK. AsNo .11 quad ron was due to

reiieve the original contingent, the S 1+'

mac hi ne s a rr iv ed d ev oi d o f a ny unit

Tornados turned in a hetter sel \'iceahility

rate t ha n t he USAF , F- 15C Eagles),

Within hours of their arrival the aircraft

were mounting CAPs just to the south of

the Iraq/Kuwaiti/Saudi horders, com

mencing a cyc le that would see t he E ) spatrolling th is airspace twenty-four hours

a d ay u nt il the cessation of the conflict.

Under Operation Granh)' (so c111ed S it

was t he n ex t name o n t he MoD's Iist of

operational prefixes) the Torn,ldo E)s

hecame the first British combat aircraft in

the region, to b e h as ti ly f ol lowe d by

Jaguars and Tornado IDSs,

The first twelve aircraft, s til l carrying

their high-visibility squadron markings

were nor ideally kirred o ut t o dea l w i th

the hostile environment in towhich they

had been th rust , and back in the K a

replacement ba tch of aircraft was being

prepared. The e a ir cr af t we re b ei ng

brought up to a higher modification srate

under a programme called ' tage 1+'

which was r ep or re d I y Wg C dr David

Hamilton, OC of 0. 11 q ua dr on to

have transformed the aircraft by at least

50 per cent , which goes to prove once

again that there is norh i ng l ik e a w ar to

'ress into service requirements that have

144 145

TOR ADOAI R DEFENCE VARIA T

effect. The Iraqis unwillingness to

led to the d ec i io n t o m ov e the offe

CAP line forward positioning the

CAP nort hof t he border andoverhea

Iraqi army allowing the American

greater freedom into Iraq itself.

Media reports had i ndi cat ed a pro

associated with silica dust from the d

coating the Torn ado engi n e t u

b la de s w it h a l ay er of glass that clo

the cooling holes causi ng overhe

The silica only ever i nconven ience

Tornado GR.I which is fitted w it

Mkl 3 engines whereas the F.3 ha

i m proved MkI04 which has single c

t he q uadr an received the coded order to

implement Plan Wolfpack the liberation

of Kuwait I-I-Hour being defined as 0300

local on 17 January 1991. However when

the pace of s rt Storm operations

became intense the biggest surprise to the

ADVcont ingent was the almostnon-exis

tent Iraqi Air Force w ho presented no

opposition in the F.3 s patrol areas. On 1

January a l i tt l e action nearly came thei r

way when Wg Cdr Moir and hiswingman

were vectored nort h i n to K uw ait as a for

mation ofA-lO Warthogs were beingper

sued by IraLii fighters. The F.3s bl ew off

their fuel t anks and l ocked onto their tar

Celcius Tech O

The Tornado F.3s also began to introduce the Celcius Tech BOL integral chaff launcher which had

already been successfully fitted tothe Harrier force. The BOL pylon is fitted to the inner wing missile sta

tion instead ofthe standard LAU-7 AAM rail, the rear ofthe pylon containing sheets of chaffwhich are

then cut and dispensed, whilst the forward portion has a bulbous nose containing missile seeker

coolant. BOL is a high capacity countermeasures dispenser originally developed for installation inside

a missile launcher, thus causing no reduction in weapon payload capacity or flight performance. BOL

has revolutionized the dispensing of chaff and IR payloads by its ingenious design. An elongated boxed

shape houses a long stack of countermeasure payload. An electromechanical drive mechanism feeds

the packs towards the rear of the dispenser where one pack at a time is separated from the stack and

released into the airstream. The release mechanism forces initial dispersion ofthe chaff or IR payload,

which is then enhanced by the vortex fields behind the aircraft. If used with chaff, a large radar cross

section is generated in short time, achieving radar break lock effectively and consistently. The high

ations centre w as m oved to a concrete

bunker a nd me n a nd m ac hi ne s were

guarded day and night by the RAF

Regiment.The F.3s formed an integral part of the

overall a ir d ef en ce system and were

placed as a barrier across the border

routes. Take-offweights were in the order

of 25 tonnes including 9 t onnesof inter

nal and external fuel. The F.3s launched

i n pai rssupport edby VC-I a tanker from

Riyadh each making t wo prods during

the course of thei r 41/2-hour CAP rou

t i ne. Pract i ce interceptions w er e m ad e

s o me 2 00 m il es south of Dhahran with



Vicon 28 Ser ies 400 f la re launchers weresubsequent lyupgradedto Vicon 28 Series 400 for

those F.3s invo lved in Operat ion Deny Flight Author

A Tornado F.3 from the Air War fareCentret r ia ls the GEC Marconi erialTowed Radar

Decoy System housedin a modified BOZ pod.

blades resistant to the problem.

Following the cessation of hostilitie

Tornado F.3 crews were somewhat p

that they were not called upon to e

gets fromlong range. The Iraqi fighters on

seeing their RWRs light ur broke off the

chase and ran. On other occasions the F.3s

we re f ir ed u po n by AAA guns w i th no

capacity o f t he dispensers 160 per packl gives pilots the sustained defensive capability needed to

accomplish missions successfully. If used with payload, the same airstream phenomenon will build

up a cloud of radiation. BOL hasbeen integratedwith a range of missile launchers including the RAFs

standard LAU-7 Sidewinder launcher.

targets beingprovided by Mirage F.ls from

France a nd t he Free Kuwaiti Air Forcewhoobligingly simulated the performance

i the Iraqi F-Is.

Just prior to t he onse t of s rt Stann

146 147


C o al i ti o n, w h ic h a llow e d f or no long

t er m p r es e nc e in the Gulf the Desert

Eagles were swiftly w ithdrawn, and all

flying ceased on 8 March. On t h e 1 2 th six

a ir cr a f t le ft f or home, followed o n t h e 9th

by another pair with the remainder leav

ing on the 15th. Wg Cdr Roy Trotter

landed his specially marked T ornado back

at RAF C oningsby on the 13th, with the

other five weary-looking aircraftfollowing

in short order.

Operation r pple F s over

Bosnia


above Bosnia- H ercegovina, pro

n ot o nl y fellow NATO warplan

U NP RO FO R U N P r o te c t i on

troops but also RAF Jaguars and H

who were undertaking air suppo

sions and laser designation dutie

committment c o mi n g u n de r t h e U

ignation of O peration raPIJle Op

raplJleitselfwas activated in resp

the U nitedN ations Resolution 836

imposed all a ir e xc lus ion zone o v

region. Unlike in the Gulf Wa

Tornado F 3s were not held back an

therefore flying w it h t he i r g lov e

c o mm i tt e d t o d ea l in g w it h a n y agg

act w i th d e ad l y force. The F 3s



Soon a f te r t h e Gulf W ar t he R AF once

a g ain f o un d its elf thrust into a w ar z on e;

this time, however it wasa littlc closcr to

home, in the former Yugoslavia. The

mechan ics surround ing the politics and

humanitarian issues of this conflict are

outside t he r em it o f t hi s b oo k b ut t he

c l os e d E u ro p ea n environment within

which the warringfactions were set posed

a v er y r ea l threat t o t h e R A F aircraft oper

ating in the Balkans region.

U n de r t h e N A TO - le d O p er a t io n ny

li ht the RAF s Stage 1 Tornado F 3s

were t as ke d w it h flying CA P patrols

operations in March 1993 from G i

Colle in I ta ly o n e o f t he A MI s T

operating bases which provided al

location, having most o f t he ncc

ground support in s itu . I n itia lly it w

aircraft and c r ew s f r om R A F L

who assumed the CAP role with

23 and 25 Squadrons all detaching

ground crews t o G io ia before t he

was passed t o R AF C onings by s N o

29 Squadrons.

A s i mi l ar selection of stores an

protection a ids w e re carried over

as i n the Gulf comprising initially

Skyflash a n d l a te r four Improved S

Head on hunter. R

48

ABOVE: Italian eagle lightning tail insignia. DaveStock

49

Vinten Vicon flare dispensersfitted to the

Tornado F.3s during t he G ul f W ar had

been expanded to a fleet-wide fit , though

theseunits were ubsequently upgraded to

Vicon 2 e ri es 4 00 for those F.3s

involved in Operation Den Flight.

The I aircraft operating over the

Balkans found themselves th rus t in to a

h igh - th rea t envi ronment including

s op hi st ic at ed ho st il e AM s, wh ic h

revealed some serious shortcoming in

the a ir cr af ts ' d ef en si ve s ui te , m o t

notably after a pai r of F.3s were fired

upon by e rb S A- 2 a nd S A- 6 S AM s o n

24 ovember 1995, thankfully with no

effect. However, t h is problem h ad b ee n


aircraft, aircrew and groundcrew training

and logistic support for the term o f t he

Tornado F.3s service life with theAM .

The other governing factor surrounding

the even tua l choiceof the FJ , apar t from

the political ramifications was the ease of

i nt eg ra ti on i nt o t he AM I's exi ting

Torna d o ope ra t io n s a nd ma in t en a nc e

structure. The F.3 wa a lso s lated to r iv

t he i nd ig en ou s e le ni a A sp id e A A

though th i did not actually happen, the

Italian government in tead opting to lease

n ine ty -s ix kyf la sh mis si le to a rm the air

craft. The RAF was, a t t he time o f t he

original proposal committed to reducing

its front-line air defence strength in the

Tornado, the Italian Maintenance Unit.

The firs t a ircraft, ZE 32/MMn 36-

12, set the standard for AM I camouflage

and marking, being finished in RAFAir

Defence Grey with sma ll 'wa h ed o ut '

red/white /green roundels and white code

letters, with it RAF erial o n t he dorsal

pine. This a i rc ra ft was f lown to RAF

Coningsby on 23 June by St Athan test

ri lot Sqn Ldr Gregg Whee Ie for the offi

cial handover ceremony. Within the

AMI, the Tornado F.3s will operate with

in a M FF O (Mi xe d Fighter Force

Opera t ion ) concept with the F-I04

Starfighters, flying in a 1:2 ratio , enabling

the Tornados' systems, and in particular

in the UK and abroad is the 'positive

thunder' of the RAF Tornado F.3 display.

In the past the display team for the cur

rent yearwas c ho en from volunteer from

the front-line squadrons, but since 1994,

w ith t h e Tornado's increased o ut o f area

commitments, the trend has be en t o

select a crew from 0.56(R) Squadron,

the Tornado F.3 OCU. Such was the

choice ofthe 1995 Display Team of Fit Lts

Matt Hawkinsand Jon 'Herbie' Hancock,

both instructors with the OCU. Matt

Hawkins explains:

I uun 't th ink anyune will miss the F.3 uisplay

I laving an aircraft run in at 100ft, wings swept

TORNADOAIR DEFENCE VARIAN

performance is veryimprcsslve to say the

Being the display crew i a seconda

for Hancock and Hawkins, who hav

'day job' rooted in aircrew tra ining,

these times of increa ed aircrew th

put, to then also be the 'public face

F.3 is a huge commitment. Each

crews also has the opportunity to a

to per uade the 'powers that be' to

dedicated and specially painted a

such as the unforgettable 'Red

ZE907 aircraft flown by the FIt L

Grundyand Mart in Parker, the 19

OC U display crew. Happilyfor the

r at he r u nd er st at ed b ut h ig hl y o



Fit Lts Herbie Hancock left and Matt Hawkins. Author

re ognized sometime earlier by the MoD,

and as a result some of the R F

Leeming-based F.3s were noted carrying

GR. I-style outer wing pylons, these items

being reportedly firs t fitted during 1994,

and were c lea rly des igned to accommo

d at e t he la test i tem in the RAF's defen

sive arsenal, the GEC-Marconi Radar

and Defence y tems Ariel Towed Radar

Deco ystem, o r T RD . Housed in a

mod if ied ID -style BOZ chaff/flare pod,

the Ari I towed decoy is fitted under the

port wing, with a s t an d ar d SOZ or

Phimm pod as a counterbalance on the

starboard wing.

AMIADV

During the ear ly 1990s , d elay s with the

Eurofighter 2000's s rvi entry date beganto cause c on si de ra bl e c on ce r n t o t h e

Italian Air Force, who found themselves

in need of a cheap yet viable intercertor

fill the gap be tween their ageing F-

104 /A AM Starfighters and the entry to

service of t he A MI 's first b at ch o f

Eurofighters. T al k b eg an be tween the

governments of Italy andGrea t Brita in in

Fehruary 1993as to the possible leasing to

the AMI of up t o twent y- fo ur RAF

Tornado F.3s. This was then agreed as an

in itia l ' f ive year no-cost lease', with a fur

ther five year extension option, and the

deal wa s ub e qu en tl y s ig ne d o n 17

November 1993 folt owing Italy's examina

tion ofo ther leasing opportunities, led by

the A with thei r F-16 and F-15. The

possible lease of these would have been

politically difficult, as they may have

posed a threat to Italy's procurementof the

Eurofighter. However a n MoU was signed

on I March 1994 between the Italy and

the K, which covered the provision of

light of the diminishing Cold War threat,

and one visible result was the disbandment

of No.23(F) Squadron at RAF Leeming in

January 1994. This released some fifteen

aircraft, and with a lower than expected

attrition rate with in the F.3 force surplus

aircraft wereavailable.

A the AMI has no experience of oper

a t ing the Tornado in the air defence role

the leased F.3s, known simplyas ADVs in

I ta lian parlance , are f lown by two pilot,

with a number being specifically trained

a W 0 .The fir t of these back eat flyers

were experienced pilots and wi II pilot the

ADV after a three-year tour, retaining

their flying currencyon the MB339. Their

W 0 experience using the kyflash BVR

m is si le s ys tem w il l al 0 give t he m a n

invaluable edge when the y e vent ua ll y

c on ve rt t o t he Eurofighter 2000. Initial

aircrew training was undertaken by the0 .5 6( R) S qu ad ro n, t he UK- bas ed

Tornado FJ 0 U a t RAF Coningsby,

w ith mos tl y f orme r F-I04 Starfighter

pilots attending, although one or two

were ex-Tornado IDS flyers.

The Italian ADVs were taken from var-

ious production batches, and a ll w er e

modified t o t he S ta ge 1 standard, and

before delivery they were further modified

to t ag e I a t R AF St Athan , the addi

tional costs being met by the Italians

them elve . Thi gav them the AA radar,

VGs, uprated RHWR, chaff/flare dis

pensers a nd H av e Qui ck II secure voice

radios. The firs t a ircraft of the initial

batch were handed over t o t he AMI at

RAF Coningsby inJuly 1995, the balance

being delivered to io ia del Colle , to re

e qu ip t he 3 600

to rmo' s 1200

Gruppo,

a nd t h e s ec ond b ea ch were delivered to

the 5300

tormo' 2LO° Gruppo at

Camerai, which is also h ome t o the I

Centro M an ut en zi on e P ri nc ip al e

the Foxhunter radar, to act as an

EW& aircraft, dir ect ing t he

Starfighters to the most suitable targets.

The tarfighter, despite of itsage, remains

a potent weapons system.

Italian ADV Operators

6° Stormo - ° Gruppo CacciaIn tercettori

120

Gruppo continued to operateits F-L04

tmfighters at its Gioia del Colle base until

1995 when it re-equipped with theTornado

F.3. The Gruppo's operations are split into

fou r quadr ig le , the se being 73a , 74a , 9 a

and 90a, wearing an insignia of a b la ck

prancing horse uperimposed onto a red

bow and arrow on a green disc. Declared

'combat ready ' in February 1995, the unitbegan flying CAP over the Adr ia ti in sup

port of Operation Deny Flight.

° Stormo - 21 ° Gruppo Caccia ntercettori

530

tormo's 210 Gruppo consists of 73a,

74a, 89a and 90a quadrigle, and became

the AMI's second Tornado F.3 user during

1987; based at ovara/Camerai, i t w as a

time-served ope ra to r o f t he tarfighter.

210

Gruppo' markings consist of a t ige r

on a blue di c carried on t he aircraft's

intakes with themotto Ad Hoste Rugens

a lo ng w it h the Stormo ' s t radi t iona l

' Cu tl as a nd A ce ' playingcard symbol on

the tail fin.

Tornado F.3 - on Display

One o f t he most powerful - and noisy

experiences afforded to the airshow-goer

hack anu pulling into a tight minimum-rauius

turn in full afterburner is guaranteeu to get the

heaus turning anu force the faces o ut o f t he

beeO)urgers

As a uisplay aircraft the F.3 i s i n i t s clemcnt.

Thc original intcrceptorconccpt of long rangc

patrols anu extcnueu luitcr tlmc, still ring,

tfue hut now w so muchmorewith theair;

c ra ft t ha n w as eve r conceivc Most a rcrcw

will aumltthar theyenjuy u ng thc <lIrcraft 'H

luw-lc\'c1 uvcr lanu, whcrc hClng huncs t, t hc

'famous Waldo-Pepper' style schem

approved for their 1995 display

ZE732/S. Hawkins continues:

We a lways l ikcu to gct ai rbornc and

straight into thc routinc. Wc always line

aircraft lip so ourrotate w s aheam crow

tre anu wcpullcu intoour min-rauius turn

lots an lots of nOIse The gear came sma

a, \\C c1imhcd, and wc nlppcd back duwn

n i cc 240k t turn hack alung thc c rowu

150 5



PPE DIX PPEN IX

Serial Type Variant No Plane Set Constructors No Further Comments Serial Type Variant No. Plane Set Construct

ZA392 GR 1 BS059 185 3091 w/o 17/1/91 ZA494 GR 1 BS110 314 3146

ZA393 GR 1 BS060 188 3092 ZA540 GR 1 BT013 047 3024

ZA394 GR 1A BS061 190 3093 w/o 9/1/90 ZA541 GR 1 BT014 048 3025

ZA395 GR 1A BS062 192 3094 ZA542 GR 1 BS012 050 3026

ZA396 GR 1 BS063 194 3095 w/o 20/1/91 ZA543 GR 1 BS013 052 3027

ZA397 GR 1A BS064 197 3096 w/o 1/8/94 ZA544 GR 1 BT015 054 3028

ZA398 GR 1A BS065 199 3097 Ali AI Salim Kuwait S 7/98 ZA545 GR 1 BS014 057 3029

ZA399 GR 1B BS066 3099ZA546 GR 1 BS015 058 3030

ZA401 GR 1A BS068 206ZA547 GR 1 BS016 060 3031

ZA402 GR 1 BS069 209 3101 Incirlik R7/98 ZA548 GR 1 BT016 61 3032

ZA403 GR 1 BS070 211 3102 w/o 24/1/91 ZA549 GR 1 BT017 063 3033

ZA404 GR 1A BS071 214 3103 ZA550 GR 1 BS017 064 3034

ZA405 GR 1A BS072 216 3104 Ali AI SalimKuwait Y 7/98 ZA551 GR 1 BT018 067 3035

ZA406 GR 1 BS073 217 3105 Ali A I SalimKuwait CI 7/98 ZA552 GR 1 BT019 068 3036

ZA553 GR 1 BS018 070 3037



ZA407 GR 1B BS074 219 3106 Ali AI Salim Kuwait AJ G 7/98

ZA408 GR 1 BS075 222 3107 w/o 12n 84 ZA554 GR 1 BS019 71 3038

ZA409 GR 1B BT033 3108 Goose Bay FQ 3/98 Country Garden ZA555 GR 1 BT020 074 3039

ZA410 GR 1 BT034 227 3109 ZA556 GR 1 BS020 075 3040

ZA411 GR 1B BT035 229 3110 ZA557 GR 4 BS021 077 3041

ZA412 GR 1 BT036 232 3111 ZA558 GR 1 BS022 078 3042

ZA446 GR 1B BS076 234 3112 AWC SAOEU E 6/98 ZA559 GR 1 BS023 81 3043

ZA447 GR 1B BS077 235 3113 Incirlik FA 7/98 ZA560 GR 1 BS024 082 3044

ZA448 GR 1 BS078 237 3114 w/o 30/3/88 ZA561 GR 1 BS025 084 3045

ZA449 GR 1 BS079 240 3115 ZA562 GR 1 BT021 085 3046

ZA450 GR 1B BS080 242 3116 French Onion ZA563 GR 1 BS026 088 3047

ZA451 GR 1 BS081 245 3117 w/o 6/2/84 ZA564 GR 1 BS027 090 3048

ZA452 GR 1B BS082 247 3118 Lobster Bisque ZA585 GR 1 BS028 91 3049

ZA453 GR 1B BS083 249 3119 Ali AI Salim Kuwait AJ M 7/98 ZA586 GR 1 BS029 093 3050

ZA454 GR 1 BS084 252 3120 w/o 30/4/90 ZA587 GR 1 BS030 096 3051

ZA455 GR 1B BS085 254 3121 Incirlik FE 1/97 ZA588 GR 1 BS031 098 3052

ZA456 GR 1B BS086 257 3122 ZA589 GR 1 BS032 099 3053

ZA457 GR 18 BS087 259 3123 A.Salim Kuwait AJ J 7/98 Scotch 8roth ZA590 GR 1 8S033 1 1 3054

ZA458GR 1

BS088262 3124 Incirlik JA 7/98 ZA591 GR 1 8S034 104 3055

ZA459 GR 18 8S089 264 3125 Incirlik AJ 8 7/98 ZA592 GR 1 8S035 105 3056

ZA460 GR 18 8S090 266 3126ZA593 GR 1 8S036 107 3057

ZA461 GR 18 BS091 269 3127 ZA594 GR 1 8T022 110 3058

ZA462 GR 1 8S092 271 3128ZA595 GR 1 8T023 112 3059

A463 GR 1 8S093 273 3129 ZA596 GR 1 8S037 113 3060

ZA464 GR 1 BS094 276 3130 w/o 14/8/90 ZA597 GR 1 8S038 116 3061

ZA465 GR 1B BS095 278 3131ZA598 GR 1 8T024 118 3062

ZA466 GR 1 8S096 281 3132 w/o 19/10/90 ZA599 GR 1 8T025 120 3063

ZA467 GR1 BS097 283 3133 w/o 22/1/91 ZA600 GR 1 8S039 122 3064

ZA468 GR 1 8S098 285 3134 w/o 2 n 89ZA601 GR 1 8S040 124 3065

ZA469 GR 1B 8S099 288 3135 ZA602 GR 1 8T026 127 3066

ZA470 GR 1 8S100 290 3136 ZA603 GR 1 8S041 129 3067

ZA471 GR 18 8S101 293 3137 ZA604 GR 1 8T027 131 3068

ZA472 GR 1 8S102 295 3138 Ali AI Salim Kuwait CT 7/98 ZA605 GR 1 BS042 134 3069

ZA473 GR 18 BS103 298 3139 Royal GameZA606 GR 1 BS043 136 3070

ZA474 GR 18 8S104 300 3140 ZA607 GR 1 BS045 141 3072

ZA475 GR 1B 8S105 302 3141 ZA609 GR 1 BS046 143 3073

ZA490 GR 18 8S106 305 3142 AliAI Salim Kuwait FJ

7/98

ZA610 GR 1 8S047 147 3074

ZA491 GR 18 8S107 307 3143 Goose 8ay FK 3/98 ZA611 GR 1 8S048 148 3075

ZA492 GR 1B BS108 310 3144 Al iA I Salim Kuwait FL 7/98 ZA612 GR 1 8T028 150 3076

ZA493 GR 1 BS109 312 3145 w/o 17/6/87 ZA613 GR 1 BS049 152 3077

77

PPEN IX PPEl DIX

Serial Type Variant No Plane et onstructors No urther omments Serial Type Variant No Plane et onstructo

ZA614 GR l 8S050 153 3078 Z0899 F 2 ATOOl 318 3147

Z0707 GR l 8S111 319 3148 Z0900 F 2 AT002 342 3158

Z0708 GR.4 8S112 321 3149 Z0901 F 2 AT003 356 3164

Z0709 GR l 8S113 324 3150 Z0902 F 2 AT004 367 3170

Z0710 GR l BSl14 326 3151 w o 14/9/89 Z0903 F 2 AT005 377 3174

Z0711 GR l BT037 329 3152 Z0904 F 2 AT006 387 3178

Z0712 GR l BT038 331 3153 Z0905 F 2 ASOOl 397 3182

Z0713 GR l 8T039 334 3154 Z0906 F 2 AS002 408 3186

Z0714 GR l 8S115 336 3155 Z0932 F 2 AS003 418 3191

Z0715 GR l 8S116 339 3156 Z0933 F 2 AS004 428 3195

Z0716 GR l BSl17 341 3157 Z0934 F 2 AT007 438 3200

Z0717 GR l BSl18 344 3159 w o 14/2/91 Z0935 F 2 AT008 446 3203

Z0718 GR l BSl19 346 3160 w o 13/1/91 Z0936 F 2 AS005 453 3207

Z0719 GR l BS120 348 3161 Z0937 F 2 AS006 459 3209

Z0720 GR l BS121 352 3162 Z0938 F 2 AS007 464 3212



Z0738 GR l BS122 354 3163 w o 7n 87 Z0939 F 2 AS008 469 3213

Z0739 GR l 8S123 358 3165 Z0940 F 2 AS009 474 3215

Z0740 GR l 8S124 360 3166 Z0941 F 2 AS010 479 3217

Z0741 GR l 8T040 361 3167 Z0996 GR.1A BS156 480 3218

Z0742 GR l 8T041 364 3168 Z0997 lOS 8S157 483 3219

Z0743 GR l 8T042 366 3169 Z0998 lOS 8S158 488 3221

Z0744 GR l 8S125 371 3171 Ali AI Salim Kuwait 80 8/98 ZEl14 lOS 8S159 490 3222

Z0745 GR l 8S126 373 3172 ZEl15 lOS 8T045 495 3224

0746 GR l 8S127 376 3173 ZEl16 GR.4A

Z0747 GR l 8S128 379 3175 ZE168 F 3 AS020 549 3247

Z0748 GR l 8S129 382 3176 ZE199 F 3 AT014 552 3248

Z0749 GR l 8S130 384 3177 Ali AI Salim Kuwait 8G 7/98 ZE200 F 3 AS021 555 3249

Z0788 GR l BS131 389 3179 ZE201 F 3 AS022 559 3251

Z0789 GR l BS132 391 3180 AI Kharj CB/ JE 7/98 ZE202 F 3 AT015 562 3253

Z0790 GR l BS133 394 3181 ZE203 F 3 AS023 565 3254

Z0791 GR l BS134 400 3183 w o 16/1/91 ZE204 F 3 AS024 569 3255

Z0792 GR l BS135 402 3184 Incirlik ZE205 F 3 AT016 571 3256

Z0793 GR l 8S136 405 3185 ZE206 F 3 AS025 574 3257

Z0808 GR l BS137 409 3187 w o 10/5/88 ZE207 F 3 AS026 576 3258

Z0809 GR l BS138 411 3188 ZE208 F 3 AT017 581 3260

Z0810 GR l 8S139 414 3189 ZE209 F 3 AS027 583 3261

Z0811 GR l BS140 416 3190 ZE210 F 3 AS028 586 3262

Z0812 GR l BT043 420 3192 ZE250 F 3 AT018 590 3264

Z0842 GR l BT044 423 3193 ZE251 F 3 AS029 593 3265

Z0843 GR l BS141 426 3194 ZE252 F 3 AS030 594 3266

Z0844 GR 1 BS142 429 3196 ZE253 F 3 AT019 600 3268

Z0845 GR l 8S143 432 3197 w o 26/2/96 ZE254 F 3 AS031 602 3269

Z0846 GR l 8S144 434 3198 w o 9/1/96 ZE255 F 3 AS032 605 3270

Z0847 GR l 8S145 437 3199 ZE256 F 3 AT020 607 3271

Z0848 GR l 8S146 441 3201 ZE257 F 3 AS033 610 3272

Z0849 GR l 8S147 444 3202 ZE258 F 3 AS034 612 3273

Z0850 GR l BS148 447 3204 Goose 8ay OR 3/98 ZE287 F 3 AT021 614 3274

Z0851 GR l BS149 450 3205 Goose 8ay AJ 3/98 ZE288 F 3 AS035 617 3275

Z0890 GR l 8S150 452 3206 Goose 8ay AE 3/98 ZE289 F 3 AS036 619 3276

Z0891 GR l BS151 455 3208 w o 13/1/89 ZE290 F 3 AT022 622 3277

Z0892 GR l BS152 460 3210 Ali AI Salim Kuwait 8J 7/98 ZE291 F 3 AS037 624 3278

Z0893 GR 1 BS153 463 3211 w o 20/1/91 ZE292 F 3 AS038 626 3279

Z0894 GR l BS154 471 3214 w o 30/3/87 ZE293 F 3 AT023 629 3280

Z0895 GR l BS155 477 3216 ZE294 F 3 AS039 631 3281

7 7 7

APPENDIX APPE DIX

Serial Type Variant No Plane et onstructors No urther omments Serial Type Variant No Plane et onstructo

ZE295 F3 AS040 633 3283 rebui l t using F2 Z0938 ZE860 AOV AS085 739 3339

ZE296 F3 AT024 636 3285 ZE861 AOV AS086 740 3340

ZE338 F3 AS041 638 3286 ZE862 F 3 AT034 742 3341

ZE339 F3 AS042 641 3287 ZE884 AOV AS089 747 3344

ZE340 F3 AT025 643 3288 ZE885 AOV AS090 749 3345

ZE341 F3 AS043 645 3289 ZE886 F 3 AS091 751 3346

ZE342 F3 AS044 647 3290 ZE887 F 3 AS092 753 3347

ZE343 F3 AT026 649 3291 rebui l t using F2 Z0900 ZE888 F 3 AT035 3348

ZE728 F3 AT027 652 3292 rebuilt using F2 Z0903 ZE889 F 3 AS093 757 3349

ZE729 F 3 AS045 654 3293 rebui l t using F2 Z0933 ZE890 AOV AS094 758 3350

ZE730 F 3 AS046 656 3294 t o AM I as mm7204 ZE891 AOV AS095 760 3351

ZE731 F 3 AS047 658 3295 ZE905 AOV AS096 761 3352

ZE732 F 3 AS048 660 3296 ZE906 AOV AS097 763 3353

ZE733 F 3 AS049 662 3297 w o 30/10/95 ZE907 F 3 AS098 765 3354

ZE734 F 3 AS050 664 3298 ZE908 F 3 AT036 766 3355



ZE735 F 3 AT028 666 3299 ZE909 AOV AS099 768 3356ZE736 F 3 AS051 669 3300 rebui l t using F2 Z0937 ZE910 AOV AS100 770 3357

ZE737 F3 AS052 671 3301 ZE911 F3 AS10l 772 3358

ZE755 F 3 AS053 673 3302 ZE912 AOV AS102 773 3359

ZE756 F3 AS054 674 3303 ZE913 AOV AS103 775 3360

ZE757 F 3 AS055 676 3304 ZE914 AOV AS104 777 3361

E758 F3 AT029 679 3306 w o 28/9/96 ZE934 F3 AT037 778 3362

ZE760 F3 AS057 681 3307 t o AM I as MM7206 ZE935 AOV AS105 780 3363

ZE761 F3 AS058 683 3308 t o AM I as MM7203 ZE936 F 3 AS106 781 3364

ZE762 F3 AS059 685 3309 t o AM I as MM7207 ZE937 AOV AS107 782 3365

ZE763 F3 AS060 687 3310 ZE938 AOV AS108 784 3366

ZE764 F3 AS061 689 3311 ZE939 AOV AS109 785 3367

ZE785 F3 AS062 691 3312 ZE940 AOV ASll0 787 3368

ZE786 F3 AT030 693 3313 rebui l t using F 2 Z0934 ZE941 F 3 AT038

ZE787 F3 AS063 695 3314 t o AM I as MM7205 ZE943 AOV ASl12 791 3371

ZE788 F3 AS064 697 3315 ZE944 AOV ASl13 793 3372

ZE789 F3 AS065 699 3316 w o 10/3/95 ZE961 F 3 ASl14 794 3373

ZE790 F3 AS066 700 3317 ZE962 F 3 AS115 796 3374

ZE791 F3 AS067 702 3318 ZE963 F 3 AT039 797 3375ZE792 F3 AS068 704 3319 to AMI as MM7211 ZE964 F 3 AT040 798 3376

ZE793 F3 AT031 705 3320 rebui l t using F2 Z0935 ZE965 F 3 AT041 799 3377

ZE794 F 3 AS069 707 3321 ZE966 F 3 AT042 800 3378

ZE808 F 3 AS070 709 3322 ZE967 F 3 AT043 801 3379

ZE809 F 3 AS071 711 3323 w o 8/6/94 ZE968 F 3 AS120 802 3380

ZE810 F 3 AS072 712 3324 ZE969 F3 AS121 803 3381

ZE811 F3 AS073 714 3325 t o AM I as MM7208 ZE982 F 3 AS122 804 3382

ZE812 F 3 AS074 716 3326 ZE983 F 3 AS123 805 3383

ZE830 F 3 AT032 718 3327 ZG705 GR.1A 8S172 811 3387

ZE831 F3 AS075 719 3328 ZG706 GR.1A 8S173 813 3389

ZE832 F3 AS076 721 3329 t o AM I as MM7202 ZG707 GR.1A 8S174 814 3390

ZE833 F3 AS077 723 3330 w o 21/7/89 ZG708 GR.1A 8S175 815 3391

ZE834 F3 AS078 725 3331 ZG709 GR.1A 8S176 816 3392

ZE835 F 3 AS079 726 3332 t o AM I as MM7209 ZG710 GR.4A 8S177 819 3393

ZE836 F3 AS080 728 3333 to AMI as MM7210 ZG711 GR.1A 8S178 820 3394

ZE837 F3 AT033 730 3334 t o AMI as MM55057 ZG712 GR.1A 8S179 822 3395

ZE838 F3 AS081 732 3335 G713 GR.1A 8S180 824 3396

ZE839 F3 AS082 733 3336 ZG714 GR.1A 8S181 825 3397

ZE858 F3 AS083 735 3337 w o 21/10/93 ZG725 GR.1A 8S182 828 3399

ZE859 AOV AS084 737 3338 to RSAF as 2905 OSOOl ZG726 GR.1A 8S183 829 3400

158 159

APPENDIX APPENDIX

Serial Type Variant No. Plane Set Constructors No. Further Comments Serial Type Variant No. Plane Set Constructo

ZG727 GR.1A BS184 832 3402 ZH912 IDS CT022 937 3478

ZG728 F 3 AS124 834 3403 t o A M I as MM7229 ZH913 IDS CT023 938 3479

ZG729 GR.1A BS185 836 3405 ZH914 IDS CT024 939 3480

ZG730 F 3 AS125 838 3406 t o A M I as MM7230 ZH915 IDS CS035 940 3481

ZG731 F 3 AS126 841 3408 ZH916 IDS CS036 941 3482





ZG750 GR.4 BT051 862 3420 ZH921 IDS CS041 946 3487

ZG751 F 3 AS131 863 3421 ZH922 IDS CS042 947 3488

ZG752 GR.l BT052 868 3424 ZH923 IDS CS043 948 3489

ZG753 F 3 AS132 872 3426 ZH924 IDS CS044 949 3490

ZG754 GR.l BT053 875 3428 ZH925 IDS CS045 950 3491

ZG755 F 3 AS133 877 3429 ZH926 IDS CS046 951 3492



ZG756 GR.l BT054 880 3431 ZH927 IDS CS047 952 3493ZG757 F 3 AS134 882 3432 ZH928 IDS CS048 953 3494


ZG769 GR.l BT055 889 3437 ZH930 IDS CS050 955 3496

ZG770 F 3 AS136 891 3438 ZH931 IDS CS051 956 3497

ZG771 GR.l BT056 893 3440 ZH932 IDS CS052 957 3498

ZG772 F 3 AS137 899 3443 IZH933 IDS CS053 958 3499

ZG773 GR BS186 902 3445 ZH934 IDS CS054 959 3500

ZG774 F 3 AS138 904 3446 ZH935 IDS CS055 960 3501

ZG775 GR.l BS187 907 3448 ZH936 IDS CS056 961 3502

ZG776 F 3 AS139 908 3449 ZH937 IDS CS057 962 3503

ZG777 GR.l BS188 909 3450 ZH938 IDS CS058 963 3504

ZG778 F 3 AS140 911 3451 ZH939 IDS CS059 964 3505

ZG779 GR.l BS189 911 3452 ZH940 IDS CS060 965 3506

ZG780 F 3 AS141 912 3453 ZH941 IDS CS061 966 3507

ZG791 GR.l BS190 913 3454 ZH942 IDS CS062 967 3508

ZG792 GR.l 914 3455 ZH943 IDS CS063 968 3509

ZG793 F 3 AS142 915 3456 ZH944 IDS CS064 969 3510

ZG794 GR.l BS192 916 3457 ZH945 IDS CS065 970 3511ZG795 F 3 AS143 917 3458 ZH946 IDS CS066 971 3512

ZG796 F 3 AS144 918 3459 ZH947 IDS CS067 972 3513

ZG797 F 3 AS145 919 3460 ZH948 IDS CS068 973 3514

ZG798 F 3 AS146 920 3461 ZH949 IDS CS069 974 3515

ZG799 F 3 AS147 921 3462 ZH950 IDS CS070 975 3516

ZH552 F 3 AT044 922 3463 ZH951 IDS CS071 976 3517

ZH553 F 3 AT045 923 3464 ZH952 IDS CS072 977 3518

ZH554 F 3 AT046 924 3465GERMAN TORNADOS

ZH555 F 3 AT047 925 3466

ZH556 F 3 AT048 926 3467 Serial Type Variant No. Plane Set Constructor

ZH557 F 3 AT049 927 3468 98+01 PS ll Pre product

ZH558 F 3 AT050 928 3469 w/o 8/7/94 98+02 P13 PS-13 Pre product

ZH559 F 3 AT051 929 3470 98+03 ECR PS-16 Pre producti

ZH905 IDS CT015 930 3471 to RSAF as 7501 98+04 POl P-Ol Prototype 0-9591 .

ZH906 IDS CT016 931 3472 to RSAF as 7502 98+05 P04 P-04 Prototype 0-9592

ZH907 IDS CT017 932 3473 to RSAF as 7503 98+06 P 7 P-07 Prototype wfu

ZH908 IDS CT018 933 3474 to RSAF as 8301 98+59 IDS ex 43+21

ZH909 IDS CT019 934 3475 to RSAF as 8302 98+60 IDS ex 43+89

ZH910 IDS CT020 935 3476 to RSAF as 8303 98+79 ECR ex 45+75

ZH911 IDS CT021 936 3477 to RSAF as 6625 43+01 IDS GTOOl 002 4001

7



APPE DIX APPENDIX

Serial Type Variant o Plane et onstructors o urther omments Serial Type Variant o Plane et onstructors

44 11 IDS GS075 284 4111 44 65 IDS GS122 417 4165

44 12 IDS GS076 287 4112 44 66 IDS GS123 421 4166

44 13 IDS GS077 289 4113 44 67 IDS GS124 422 4167

44 14 IDS GS078 291 4114 44 68 IDS GS125 425 4168

44 15 IDS GT037 294 4115 44 69 IDS GS126 427 4169

44 16 IDS GS079 296 4116 44 70 IDS GS127 431 4170

44 17 IDS GS080 299 4117 44 71 IDS GS128 433 4171

44 18 IDS GS081 301 4118 w o 4 12 87 44 72 IDS GT044 435 4172

44 19 IDS GS082 304 4119 44 73 IDS GT045 439 4173

44 20 IDS GT038 306 4120 49FW USA 44 74 IDS GT046 440 4174

44 21 IDS GS083 308 4121 44 75 IDS GT047 443 4175

44 22 IDS GS084 311 4122 44 76 IDS GS129 445 4176

44 23 IDS GS085 313 4123 44 77 IDS GS130 448 4177

44 24 IDS GS086 316 4124 44 78 IDS GS131 451 4178

44 25 IDS GT039 317 4125 44 79 IDS GS132 454 4179

44 26 IDS GS087 320 4126 44 80 IDS GS133 457 4180



44 27 IDS GS088 323 4127 44 81 IDS GS134 458 4181

44 28 IDS GS089 325 4128 44 82 IDS GS135 462 4182

44 29 IDS GS090 327 4129 44 83 IDS GS136 465 4183

44 30 IDS GS091 330 4130 44 84 IDS GS137 466 4184

44 31 IDS GS092 332 4131 44 85 IDS GS138 468 4185

44 32 IDS GS093 335 4132 44 86 IDS GS139 470 4186

44 33 IDS GS094 337 4133 44 87 IDS GS140 472 4187

44 34 IDS GS095 340 4134 44 88 IDS GS141 475 4188

44 35 IDS GS096 343 4135 44 89 IDS GS142 476 4189

44 36 IDS GT040 347 4136 44 90 IDS GS143 481 4190

44 37 IDS GT041 349 4137 44 91 IDS GS144 482 4191

44 38 IDS GT042 351 4138 44 92 IDS GS145 484 4192

44 39 IDS GT043 353 4139 44 93 IDS GS146 487 4193

44 40 IDS GS097 355 4140 44 94 IDS GS147 489 4194

44 41 IDS GS098 359 4141 44 95 IDS GS148 491 4195

44 42 IDS GS099 362 4142 44 96 IDS GS149 494 4196

44 43 IDS GS100 365 4143 44 97 IDS GS150 496 4197

44 44 IDS GS101 368 4144 44 98 IDS GS151 499 4198

44 45 IDS GS102 370 4145 w o 24 10 85 44 99 IDS GS152 501 4199

44 46 IDS GS103 372 4146 45 00 IDS GS153 504 4200

44 47 IDS GS104 374 4147 w o 21 1 86 45 01 IDS GS154 506 4201

44 48 IDS GS105 378 4148 45 02 IDS GS155 508 4202

44 49 IDS GS106 380 4149 45 03 IDS GS156 510 4203

44 50 IDS GS107 383 4150 45 04 IDS GS157 512 4204

44 51 IDS GS108 385 4151 45 05 IDS GS158 516 4205

44 52 IDS GS109 388 4152 5 06 IDS GS159 518 4206

44 53 IDS GS110 390 4153 45 07 IDS GS160 521 4207

44 54 IDS GS111 393 4154 45 08 IDS GS161 523 4208

44 55 IDS GS112 395 4155 45 09 IDS GS162 525 4209

44 56 IDS GS113 396 4156 45 10 IDS GS163 528 4210

44 57 IDS GS114 398 4157 45 11 IDS GS164 530 4211

44 58 IDS GS115 401 4158 45 12 IDS GT048 533 4212

4 59 IDS GS116 403 4159 45 13 IDS GT049 535 4213

44 60 IDS GS117 404 4160 45 14 IDS GT050 539 4214

44 61 IDS GS118 407 4161 45 15 IDS GT051 541 4215

44 62 IDS GS119 410 4162 45 16 IDS GT052 543 4216

44 63 IDS GS120 412 4163 45 17 IDS GS165 546 4217

44 64 IDS GS121 415 4164 45 18 IDS GS166 548 4218

64 65

APPEl DIXAPPE DIX

Serial Type Variant o Plane et onstructors o urther omments Serial Type Variant o Plane et onstructors45 19 IDS GS167 551 4219 45 74 IDS GS216 684 427445 20 IDS GS168 553 4220

45 75 IDS GS217 686 427545 21 IDS GS169 554 4221 45 76 IDS GS218 688 427645 22 IDS GS170 558 4222 45 77 IDS GT059 690 427745 23 IDS GS171 560 4223 45 78 IDS GS219 692 427845 24 IDS GS172 564 4224

45 79 IDS GS220 694 427945 25 IDS GS173 566 4225

45 80 IDS GS221 696 428045 26 IDS GS174 568 4226 45 81 IDS GS222 698 428145 27 IDS GS175 570 4227

45 82 IDS GS223 701 428245 28 IDS GS176 572 4228

45 83 IDS GS224 703 428345 29 IDS GS177 575 4229 45 84 IDS GS225 703 428545 30 IDS GS178 577 4230 45 86 IDS GS227 710 428645 31 IDS GS179 579 4231

45 87 IDS GS228 713 428745 32 IDS GS180 582 4232 w o 24 8 96 45 88 IDS GS229 715 428845 33 IDS GS181 584 4233 45 89 IDS GS230 717 4289

45 34 IDS GS182 587 4234 45 90 IDS GS231 720 4290



45 35 IDS GS183 589 4235 45 91 IDS GS232 722 429145 36 IDS GS184 592 4236

45 92 IDS GS233 724 429245 37 IDS GS185 594 4237

45 93 IDS GS234 727 429345 38 IDS GS186 596 4238

45 94 IDS GS235 729 429445 39 IDS GS187 599 4239

45 95 IDS GS236 731 429545 40 IDS GS188 601 4240

45 96 IDS GS237 734 429645 41 IDS GS189 604 4241

45 97 IDS GS238 736 429745 42 IDS GS190 606 4242

45 98 IDS GS239 738 429845 43 IDS GS191 608 4243

45 99 IDS GS240 741 429945 44 IDS GS192 611 4244

46 00 IDS GT060 743 430045 45 IDS GS193 613 4245 46 01 IDS GS241 745 430145 46 IDS GS194 616 4246 46 02 IDS GS242 748 430245 47 IDS GS195 618 4247

46 03 IDS GT061 750 430345 48 IDS GS196 620 4248 46 04 IDS GT062 752 430445 49 IDS GS197 623 4249 46 05 IDS GT063 754 430545 50 IDS GS198 625 4250

46 06 IDS GT064 756 430645 51 IDS GS199 628 4251 46 07 IDS GT065 759 4307

45 52 IDS GS200 630 4252 46 08 IDS GT066 762 430845 53 IDS GS201 637 4253

46 09 IDS GT067 764 430945 54 IDS GS202 640 4254

46 10 IDS GS243 767 431045 55 IDS GS203 642 4255 46 11 IDS GS244 769 431145 56 IDS GS204 646 4256

46 12 IDS GS245 771 431245 57 IDS GS205 648 4257

46 13 IDS GS246 774 43135 58 IDS GS206 651 4258 w o 7 9 93 46 14 IDS GS247 776 431445 59 IDS GS207 653 4259

46 15 IDS GS248 779 431545 60 IDS GT053 655 4260

46 16 IDS GS249 783 431645 61 IDS GT054 657 4261

46 17 IDS GS250 786 431745 62 IDS GT055 659 4262

46 18 IDS GS251 789 43185 63 IDS GT056 661 4263 w o 19 11 91

46 19 IDS GS252 792 431945 64 IDS GS208 663 4264

46 20 IDS GS253 795 432045 65 IDS GS209 665 4265 49FW USA 46 21 IDS GS254 806 432145 66 IDS GS210 667 4266

46 22 IDS GS255 807 432245 67 IDS GS211 668 4267

46 23 ECR GS256 817 432345 68 IDS GS212 670 4268

46 24 ECR GS257 818 432445 69 IDS GS213 672 4269

46 25 ECR GS258 821 4325

45 70 IDS GT057 4271 46 26 ECR GS259 823 432645 72 IDS GS215 680 4272 46 27 ECR GS260 827 432745 73 IDS GT058 682 4273

46 28 ECR GS261 830 4328

7

PPEN IX PPE DIX

Serial Type Variant No Plane Set onstructorsNo Further omments Serial Type Variant No Plane Set onstructors

46 29 ECR GS262 833 4329 MM7 14 IDS IS013 170 5019

46 30 ECR GS263 837 4330 MM7 15 IDS IS014 176 5020

46 31 ECR GS264 839 433 MM7 16 IDS IS015 187 5022

46 32 ECR GS265 842 4332 MM7 17 IDS IS016 195 5023

46 33 ECR GS266 844 4333 MM7 18 IDS IS017 207 5025

46 34 ECR GS267 847 4334 MM7 19 IDS IS018 213 5026

46 35 ECR GS268 848 4335 MM7 2 IDS IS019 225 5028

46 36 ECR GS269 85 4336 MM7021 IDS IS020 23 5029

46 37 ECR GS270 854 4337 MM7 22 IDS IS021 244 5 3

46 38 ECR GS271 856 4338 MM7 23 IDS IS022 250 5032

46 39 ECR GS272 858 4339 MM7 24 IDS IS023 255 5033

46 40 ECR GS273 860 4340 MM7 25 IDS IS024 26 5034

46 41 ECR GS274 864 434 MM7 26 IDS IS025 267 5035

46 42 ECR GS275 866 4342 MM7 27 IDS IS026 274 5036

46 43 ECR GS276 869 4343 MM7 28 IDS IS027 280 5037

46 44 ECR GS277 87 4344 MM7 29 IDS IS028 286 5038



46 45 ECR GS278 873 4345 MM7 3 IDS IS029 292 5039

46 46 ECR GS279 876 4346 MM7031 IDS IS030 297 5040

46 47 ECR GS280 879 4347 MM7 33 IDS IS032 309

46 48 ECR GS281 88 4348 MM7 34 IDS IS033 315 5043

46 49 ECR GS282 884 4349 MM7 35 IDS IS034 322 5044

46 50 ECR GS283 887 4350 MM7 36 IDS IS035 328 5045

46 51 ECR GS284 890 435 MM7 37 IDS IS036 333 5046

46 52 ECR GS285 894 4352 MM7 38 IDS IS037 338 5047

46 53 ECR GS286 896 4353 MM7 39 IDS IS038 345 5048

46 54 ECR GS287 898 4354 MM7 4 IDS IS039 350 5049

46 55 ECR GS288 900 4355 MM7041 IDS IS040 357 5050

46 56 ECR GS289 903 4356 MM7 42 IDS IS041 363 5051

46 57 ECR GS290 906 4357 MM7 43 IDS IS042 369 5052

98 02 ECR WTD 61 MM7 44 IDS IS043 375 5053

98 03 ECR WTD 61 MM7 45 IDS IS044 38 5054

98 59 ECR WTD 61 MM7 46 IDS IS045 386 5055

98 60 ECR WTD 61 MM7 47 IDS IS046 392 5056

98 79 ECR WTD 61 MM7 48 ECR IS047 399 5057

98 97 ECR WTD 61 MM7 49 IDS IS048 406 5058

MM7 5 IDS IS049 413 5059

ITALIAN TORNADOSMM7051 IDS IS050 419 5060

Serial Type Variant No. Plane Set onstructorsNo Further omments MM7 52 IDS IS051 424 5 6

MM586 P 5 P 05 ex X 586 Prototype MM7 53 IDS IS052 430 5062

MM587 P 9 P 09 ex X 587 Prototype MM7 54 IDS IS053 436 5063

MM7001 P 4 PS 14 MM7 55 IDS IS054 442 5064

MM588 Pre production wfu 9 88 MM7 56 IDS IS055 449 5065

MM7 2 IDS IS001 065 5003 MM7 57 IDS IS056 456 5066

MM7 3 IDS IS002 073 5004 MM7 58 IDS IS057 46 5067

MM7 4 IDS IS003 5006 MM7 59 IDS IS058 467 5068

MM7 5 IDS IS004 094 5007 MM7 6 IDS IS059 473 5069

MM7 6 IDS IS005 102 5008 MM7061 IDS IS060 478 5070

MM7 7 IDS IS006 114 5010 MM7 62 IDS IS061 492 5072

MM7 8 IDS IS007 119 5011 MM7 63 IDS IS062 498 5073

MM7 9 IDS IS008 125 5012 MM7 64 IDS IS063 503 5074

MM7 1 IDS IS009 133 5013 MM7 65 IDS IS064 514 5076

MM7011 IDS IS010 139 5014 MM7 66 IDS IS065 520 5077

MM7 12 IDS IS011 154 5016 w 2 1 92 MM7 67 IDS IS066 526 5078

MM7 13 IDS IS012 158 5017 MM7 68 IDS IS067 53 5079

8 9

APPENDIXAPPENDIX

Serial Type Variant No. Plane et onstructors No. urther omments 5AUDI TORNADOES

MM7069 IDS IS068 537 5080 w/o 18/11/93Serial Type Variant No. Plane et onstructors

MM7070 IDS IS069 544 5 81751 IDS CSOOl 483 3219,

MM7071 IDS IS070 550 5082752 IDS CS002 488 3221,

MM7072 IDS IS071 556 5083753 IDS CS003 490 3222,

MM7073 ID5 IS072 563 5084754 IDS CTOOl 495 3224,

MM7074 IDS IS073 567 5085 w/o 18/1/91755 IDS CT002 522 3235,

MM7075 ID5 IS074 573 5086756 IDS CT003 547 3246

MM7076 ID5 IS075 580 5087 w/o 31/8/95757 IDS CS004 511 3230,

MM7077 ID5 15591 5089758 IDS CS005 515 3232,

MM7079 ECR 15078 597 5090759 IDS CT004 598 3267,

MM7080 ID5 15079 603 5091760 IDS CS006 517 3233,

MM7081 ID5 15080 609 5092761 IDS C5007 527 3237

MM7082 ECR 15 81 615 5093762 IDS CS008 534 3240,

MM7083 IDS 15082 621 5094763 IDS C5009 536 3241,

MM7084 IDS 15083 627 5095764 IDS C5010 540 3243,

MM7085 IDS IS084 634 5096 765 IDS C5011 557 3250,MM7086 IDS 15085 639 5097



766 IDS C5012 561 3252,MM7087 IDS 15086 644 5098

767 IDS CS013 578 3259,MM7088 IDS IS087 650 5099

768 ID5 CT005 632 3282MM7202 ADV AS076 721 3329 ex-ZE832

769 IDS CT006 635 3284MM7203 ADV AS058 683 3308 ex-ZE761

770 IDS CS014 588 3263,MM7204 ADV AS046 656 3294 ex-ZE730





29 1 ADV DTOOl 740 3340,MM7209 ADV AS079 726 3332 ex-ZE835

2902 ADV DT002 744 3342,MM7210 ADV AS080 728 3333 ex-ZE836



2905 ADV D5001 737 3338,MM7226 ADV AS127 845 3410 ex-ZG732

2906 ADV DS002 739 3339,MM7228 ADV AS128 850 3413 ex-ZG733

2907 ADV D5003 749 3345,MM7229 ADV AS124 834 3404 ex-ZG728

2908 ADV DS004751 3346,MM7230 ADV AS125 838 3406 ex-ZG730 2909 ADV D5005 758 3350,

MM7231 ADV AS129 855 3416 ex-ZG7342910 ADV D5006 760 3351,

MM7232 ADV AS130 859 3418 ex-ZG7352911 ADV DS007 761 3352,

MM7233 ADV AS135 886 3435 ex-ZG7682912 ADV D5008 763 3353,

MM7234 ADV AS019 545 3245 ex-ZE1672913 ADV DT005 768 3356,

MM55000 IDS ITOOl 045 5 12914 ADV DT006 770 3357,

MM55001 IDS IT002 056 50022915 ADV DS009 773 3359,

MM55002 IDS IT003 080 50052916 ADV DS010 775 3360,

MM55003 IDS IT004 108 50092917 ADV DSOll 777 3361,

MM55004 IDS IT005 144 50152918 ADV DS012 780 3363,

MM55005 IDS IT006 164 50182919 ADV DS013 782 3365,

MM55006 IDS IT007 182 5 212920 ADV DS014 784 3366,

MM55007 IDS IT008 2 1 50242921 ADV DS015 785 3367,

MM55008 IDS IT009 220 50272922 ADV DS016 787 3368,

MM55009 IDS IT010 238 50302923 ADV DS017 791 3371,

MM55010 IDS ITOll 485 5 712924 ADV DS018 793 3372,

MM55011 IDS IT012 507 50756601 IDS CS015 826 3398

MM55056 ADV AT015 562 3253 ex-ZE202

6602 IDS CS016 831 34 1MM55057 ADV AT033 730 3334 ex-ZE8376603 IDS C5017 835 3404

MM55060 ADV AT017 581 3260 ex-ZE2086604 IDS CS018 840 3407

MM55061 ADV AT016 571 ex-ZE205

APPENDIX

Serial Type Variant o Plane et onstructors o urther omments

loss ry605 IDS CS025 874 3427

6606 IDS CS026 878 3430

6607 IDS CS027 883 3433

6608 IDS CS028 885 3434

6609 IDS CS029 888 3436

6610 IDS CS030 892 3439

66 IDS CS031 895 3441 A AEE Aircraft / Armament CA P Combat Air Patrol6612 IDS CS032 897 3442 Establishment CBLS Carrier Light BombStores

IDS CS033 9 3444 AAA Anti-Aircraft Artillery CBU Cluster Bomb Unit613

AAM Air-to-Air Missile CCD Charge-Coupled evices614 IDS CS034 905 3447

AAR Air-to-Air Refuelling CCIP Co n ti nuously-Compu ted615 IDS CS019 843 3409ACA Advanced Combat Aircraft Impact616 IDS CS020 846 3411ACM Air Combat Manouvering CDLP Combined Laser and617 IDS CS021 849 3412ADC Air-Data Compurer Designated Pod618 IDS CS022 852 3414ADI Attitude Director Indicator CLOP Combined Laser Designato619 IDS CS023 853 3415AECM Active Electronic

Pod6620 IDS CS024 857 3417 recce Countermeasures CoG Centre ofGravity662 IDS CTOll 86 3419



AEW Aircraft Engineering Wing CPGS Cassette Preparation Groun6622 IDS CT012 865 3422 AFB A i Force Base Station6623 IDS CTOB 867 3423 AFDS Autopilot and Flight Director CRT Cathode Ray Tube

IDS CT 2 936 3477, ex-ZH911 System CSAS Command Stability6625

AFVG Anglo-French Variable Augumentation System37 3478, ex-ZH912626 IDS CT 22

Geometry CTTO Central Trials and Tactics627 IDS CT023 938 3479, ex-ZH913Al Airborne Intercept radar) Organisation628 IDS CT024 939 3480, ex-ZH914ALARM Air Launched Anti-Radiation CVR Cockpit Voice Recorder629 IDS CS035 940 3481, ex-ZH915 recce

Missile DACT Dissimilar Air Combat630 IDS CS036 94 3482, ex-ZH916AMRAAM Medium Range Ai r- to- Training63 IDS CS037 942 3483, ex-ZH917

Air Missile DASS Defensive Aids Sub System632 IDS CS038 943 3484, ex-ZH918AOA Angle Of Attack DERA Defence Evaluation and

75 IDS CT015 930 3471, ex-ZH905 APU Auxiliary Power Unit Research Agency7502 IDS CT016 93 3472, ex-ZH906 ARF Aircrew Reconnaissance ORA Defence Research Agency7503 IDS CT 7 932 3473, ex-ZH907 Facility DTEO E-scope

IDS CS041 946 3487, ex-ZH921 ARWE Advanced Radar Warning EAP Experimental Aircraft7504

Equipment Prototype47 3488, ex-ZH922505 IDS CS042

ASE AllowableSteering Error EBW Electron-Beam Welding506 IDS CS043 948 3489, ex-ZH923

ASF Aircraft Servicing Flight ECM Electronic Countermeasures507 IDS CS044 949 3490, ex-ZH924AShM Anti-Ship Missile ECR Electronic Combat and508 IDS CS045 950 3491, ex-ZH925ASM Air-to-Surface Missile Reconnaissance509 IDS CS046 95 3492, ex-ZH926ASM Air-to-Surface Missile EIAW Enhanced Imagery Analysis510 IDS CS047 952 3493, ex-ZH927ASRAAM Short Range Air-to-Air Workstation512 IDS CS049 954 3495, ex-ZH929

Missile ELS Emitter Locator System7514 IDS CS051 956 3497, ex-ZH931

ATF Automatic Terrain-Following EO Electro-Optical8301 IDS CT018 933 3474, ex-ZH908 AVM Air Vice-Marshal ERU Ejector Release Unit8302 IDS CT019 934 3475, ex-ZH909 AVS Advanced Vertical Strike ETPS Empire Test Pilots School

IDS CT020 935 3476, x-ZH910 AWACS Airborne Warning / Control FAA Federal Aviation Authority303

System FADEC Full Authority DigitalAWC Air Warfare Centre Electronic ControlAWS Automatic Wing Sweep FI Fatigue IndexBAC British Aircraft Corporation FJTS Fast Jet Training SquadronBOA Bomb Damage Assessment FUR Forward-Looking Infra-RedBDR Battle Damage Repair FMICW Frequency ModulatedBITE Built-In Test Equipment Interrupted Continuous WaBVR Beyond Visual Range FOD Foreign Object Damage

772 773

GLOSSARY

MWCS Multiple Weapon Carrier Interpretation Centre Programme

System ROF Royal Ordnance Factory TFR Terrain-Following Radar

N A MM A N AT O M RC A Management RWR Radar Warning Receiver TIALD Thermal Imaging Airborne

Agency SACEUR Supreme AlliedCommand Laser Designator

N A MM O N A TO M RC A Management Europe TIARA Tornado Integrated Avionics

Organization SAHR Secondary Attitude and Research Aircraft

Notam Notice to Airmen Heading Reference T IC MS T he rm al Imaging Common

NVG ight Vision Goggles SAM Surface-to-Air M issi Ie Module System

OC A Offensive Counter Air SAOEU Strike A tta ck O perational TIRRS Tornado Infra-Red

OCU Operational Conversion Unit Evaluation Unit Reconnaissance System

OEU Operational Evaluation Unit SAP Simulated Attack Profile TISMT Tornado In Service

OFP Operational Flight SARS Secondary Attitude Maintenance Team

Programme Reference System TOEU Tornado Operational

OT C Official Test Centre SATCOM Satellite Communications Evaluation Unit

PBF P il ot Br ie fin g F ac ility SBAC Society of British Aircraft TO T Time on Target

PE Procurement Executive Companies TRD Towed Radar Decoy

PGM Precision Guided M unit ion SEA D Suppression of Enemy Air TITE Tri-national Tornado Training

PI Photographic Interpreter Defences EstablishmentPINST Proof of Installation SU R Side Looking Infra-Red TWCU Tornado Weapons

AerialTRD 144,147A AEE 16, 137AFVG 7

ALARM 32 42 63 65 66 69 83 85 87 88 94

AMRAAM 123,137ASRAAM 123,137

BAC PAS 7 9 IIBeamonr, Roland 12

BOl, CelciusTech 146

Bolton Operation 77

Bristol Siddeley 7, 24Buccaneer 12 13 32 67 68 69 89 90 113

n ex

MW-I Dispenser 14 30 55 56 57

NightFoxTornado 43

ODIN 78, 79

Panavia 9, 10

Pave Spike 67, 68, I 15Paveway munitions 30 60 68 70 77 115

Phimat 142,149PrairieVortex 40Provide Comfort, Operation 118

Quaranrelli, Manilo 15,16



PLTK Planned Track SMS Stores Management System Conversion Unit

PRF Pul se R ep et it io n F re qu en cy SPILS Spin Prevention and UKADR UK Air DefenceRegion

PTA Practice TargetArea Incidence Limiting System UKVG

QWI Qualified Weapons Instructor SPRITE Signal Processing In The UNPROFOR UN Protection Force

RAE Royal Aircraft Establishment Element VASTAC Vector Assisted Attack

RAF Royal A ir F orce STF SpecialTrials Fits VCR Video Cassette Recorder

RAM Radar Absorbent Material SURPIC Surface Picture VMC Visual Meteorological

RFC Royal FlyingCorps SWAM SurfaceWave Absorbent Conditions

RHAWS Radar Homingand Warning Material WSO Weapons System Operator

Receiver TACAN Tactical Air Navigation

RIC Reconnaissance TAP TIALD Accelerated

7

Cereb us 2 8, 5 7, 9 4

Deliberate Force, Operation 80Deny Flight Operation 80DERA 41

Desert Swnn,Opemrion 32, 71

Eagles, David 13, 14

Eckert, Fritz 14

Einsarzgeschwader I 80Evans,Jim 16EWR-Sud 8

F-I I I 7 8 10, 13

Ferguson, Tim 13,16F JT S 47FUR 47, 56Foxhunter radar 122,125,143,144

ranbyOperation 62, 108

Gra/J/J e, Operation 149

HARM AGM 88 17 29 55 60 78 80 82 84 94110

Hindenburger fuel tanks 43

Hunting Aviation 29,30

IWKA-Mauser cannon 7 , 12, 14,94

JP233 30 , 33 , 40,62, 6 3, 6 4, 6 6, 6 7, 6 8, 6 9, 87Jural Operation 76 77 91 118

Kenward, Roy 16

Konnoran ASM 16 57 59 94 95

lee, Jerry 16Lightning 12

LoCtlSla, Operation 71, 72 , 73

lRMTS 17 29 32 70

Marshallsof Cambridge 1I, 12

Martin Baker 24

MBB 8 9 16

Meister, ils 12, 13

Millett, Paul 12, 15

MRCA 9,10, II 12,26,121

Ramenesse, Hans Fredrick 13

RAPTOR 41

Rolls-Royce RB.153 8RB.199 10, 11 24 26 27 39 70 80

SAOEU 40,45St.Athan, RAF 45,69, 70

Sea Eagle ASM 89 90 92 93

SEPECAT Jaguar 7 9 32 40 89

Shari uard Operation 94

Skyflash AAM 121,124,137,149,150SOUlhem Watch, Operation 75, 76 , 118SPI lS 28, 122

Stewart, Robbie 21, 51 , 66

Tank, Kurt 8

Threadgould,Alan 109,109, III 112, 114

TIALD 45 63 67 77 87, 90 112 113 115 1

117, 118, 119Tornado

1 9 15

POI 8 12 13 17P02 9, 10, 15

P03 13

P05 14P08 15

P04 12, 151 .11 15

PI2 16

1 14 16

F.2 7 31 121 123 126

F.3 126,127,135,136,137,143F.30EU 131

GR.IA 31 49 97 99 100 102

104,105,106,112,113GR.IB 19 40 44 89 90 92

GRA 44, 45, 48, 49, 108, 109ECR 53, 56, 78 , 79 , 80 , 82 , 83TFR 20 21 22

TornadoJ 95

Tornado UnitsBritish

No.2 AC 31 44 67 75 76 91 97 100 1

103 105 106 107 109 112 118

No.9 31, 33, 44,49, 76 , 79 , 83, 113

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Documents

Crowood - Tornado