| Tornado ADV | |
|---|---|
| RAF Tornado F3 | |
| Role | Interceptor |
| Manufacturer | Panavia Aircraft GmbH |
| First flight | 27 October 1979 |
| Introduction | 1 May 1985 |
| Status | Active service |
| Primary users | Royal Air Force (historical) Royal Saudi Air Force Italian Air Force (historical) |
| Number built | 218 |
| Developed from | Panavia Tornado IDS |
The Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant (ADV) is a long-range, twin-engine interceptor version of the swing-wing Panavia Tornado. The aircraft's first flight was on 27 October 1979, and it entered service in 1986. It was retired on 22 March 2011 by the Royal Air Force, currently it is only in service with the Royal Saudi Air Force. It was also previously operated by the Italian Air Force.
The aircraft was originally designed to intercept Soviet bombers as they came in from the East to strike the United Kingdom. The Tornado ADV for the Royal Saudi Air Force were produced to F3 standard. Both the RAF and RSAF have or are replacing the Tornado ADV with the Eurofighter Typhoon.
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The Tornado ADV had its origins in an RAF requirement (Air Staff Requirement 395 or ASR.395), which called for a long-range interceptor to replace the Lightning F6 and Phantom FGR2.[1] The requirement for a modern interceptor was driven by the threat posed by the large Soviet long-range bomber fleet, in particular the supersonic Tupolev Tu-22M.[2] From the beginning of the Tornado IDS's development in 1968, the possibility of a variant dedicated to air defense had been quietly considered; several American aircraft had been evaluated but found to be unsuitable.[3] The concept was not attractive to other European partners, thus UK proceeded alone; development of the Tornado ADV was approved on 4 March 1976, with British Aerospace (BAe, now BAE Systems) to provide 3 prototypes.[4][5]
The first prototype was rolled out at Warton on 9 August 1979, before making its maiden flight on 27 October 1979.[4] The second and third development aircraft made their first flights on 18 July and 18 November  1980, respectively.[2] During the flight testing, the ADV demonstrated noticably superior supersonic acceleration to the IDS, even while carrying a full weapons loadout.[6] The testing of the prototypes was greatly aided by the use of real-time telemetry being broadcast back to ground technicians from aircraft in flight.[7] The third prototype was primarily used in the testing of the new Marconi/Ferranti AI.24 Foxhunter airborne interception radar.[8]
The Tornado ADV's differences compared to the IDS include a greater sweep angle on the inboard fixed wing sections, deletion of the Krueger flaps and the port cannon, a longer radome for the Foxhunter radar, and a fuselage stretch of 1.36 m to allow the carriage of four Skyflash semi-active radar homing missiles.[9][1] The stretch was applied to the Tornado front fuselage being built by the UK, with a plug being added immediately behind the cockpit, which had the incidental benefit of reducing drag and making space for an additional fuel tank (Tank '0') carrying 200 imperial gallons (909 L; 240 U.S. gal) of fuel.[10] The artifical feel of the flight controls was lighter on the ADV than on the IDS.[11] Various internal avionics, pilot displays, guidance systems and software also differed; including an automatic wing sweep selector not fitted to the strike aircraft.[12]
The Tornado F2 (sometimes written as F.2) was the initial version of the Tornado ADV in Royal Air Force service, with 18 being built. It first flew on 5 March 1984 and was powered by the same RB.199 Mk 103 engines used by the IDS Tornado, capable of four wing sweep settings, and fitted to carry only two underwing Sidewinder missiles.[13] Serious problems were discovered with the Foxhunter radar, which meant that the aircraft were delivered with concrete and lead ballast installed in the nose as an interim measure until they could be fitted with the radar sets. The ballast was nicknamed Blue Circle, which was a play on the Rainbow Codes nomenclature, and a British brand of cement called Blue Circle.[14][1]
A total of 165 Tornado ADVs were ordered by Britain, the majority being the Tornado F3.[15]
The Tornado F3 made its maiden flight on 20 November 1985.[4] Enhancements over the F2 included RB.199 Mk 104 engines, which were optimised for high-altitude use with longer afterburner nozzles, the capacity to carry four underwing Sidewinder missiles rather than two, and automatic wing sweep control.[14] The F3's primary armament when it was introduced into service was the short-range Sidewinder and the medium-range Skyflash missiles, a British design based on the American AIM-7 Sparrow.[16]
In order to maintain the Tornado F3 as an effective platform up to its planned out-of-service date of 2010, the Ministry of Defence initiated the Capability Sustainment Programme (CSP). This project, announced on 5 March 1996, involved many elements, including the integration of ASRAAM and AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, and radar upgrades to improve multi-target engagement. Additionally, pilot and navigator displays would be improved, along with the replacement of several of the onboard computer systems.[17] The CSP would see the removal of a non-standard state of aircraft; various upgrades, in particular to the Foxhunter radar, had led to a situation described as "fleets within fleets."[17] The Foxhunter radar was a source of difficulties in the upgrade programme, in particular the intergration of the new AMRAAM missile.[18]
The Tornado F3 was not able to exploit the full capabilities of either the AMRAAM or ASRAAM missiles. AMRAAM uses two mid-course updates after launch to refresh target information prior to its own seeker taking over, however the CSP did not include the datalink to provide this capability, as it was considered to be too expensive. In addition, the ASRAAM was not fully integrated, which prevented the full off-boresight capability of the missile being exploited.[19] On 8 June 2001, the MoD signed a contract for a further upgrade to the F3 force to allow these midcourse updates.[20] The upgrade to give full AMRAAM capability, together with updated IFF, known as the AMRAAM Optimisation Programme (AOP) was incorporated in the remaining F3 fleet between December 2003 and September 2006.[20]
A further upgrade, disclosed in early 2003, was the integration of the ALARM anti-radiation missile to enable several Tornado ADVs to conduct suppression of enemy air defence (SEAD) missions.[21] The F3's existing radar warning receivers formed the basis of an Emission Location System (ELS), which is can be employed to detect and locate operational radar systems in the aircraft's vacinity. These modified aircraft were re-designated Tornado EF3 and operated by RAF No. 11 Squadron RAF.[22]
The Tornado ADV was designed to serve in the role of an interceptor against the threat of Soviet bombers, rather than as an air superiority fighter for engaging in agile dogfights with various types of enemy fighters.[9] In order to perform its anti-bomber primary mission, it was equipped with long range beyond visual range missiles such as the Skyflash, and later the AMRAAM; the aircraft also had the ability to stay aloft for long periods of time and remain over the North Sea and Northern Atlantic in order to maintain its airborne patrol.[23] The Ministry of Defense acknowledged the the Tornado ADV was not signficantly superior as an aircraft to the Phantoms it had replaced in the air-defense role, however the capability of its weapon systems was a dramatic improvement; in particular the radar and onboard computer facilities.[24] Compared with the Phantom, the ADV has greater acceleration, twice the range and loiter time, and is more capable of operating from short 'austere' air strips.[25]
The Tornado's advanced avionics meant it could be more effective than previous British interceptors like the Lightning. While older aircraft were reliant on a network of ground-based radar stations, the onboard Foxhunter radar was capable of performing much longer and wider scans of surrounding airspace; the Tornado could track and engage targets at far greater distances.[9] The Tornado also had the ability to share its radar and targeting information with other aircraft; the Tornado was one of the first aircraft to have a digital data bus, used for the transmission of data.[26][27]
The Tornado F2 was first delivered to the RAF on 5 November 1984, and its short career came to an end after the Tornado F3 entered service. These aircraft were used primarily for training by No. 229 Operational Conversion Unit RAF until they were placed in storage. The F2s were intended to be updated to Tornado F2A standard (similar to the F3 but without the engine upgrade) but only one F2A, the Tornado Integrated Avionics Research Aircraft (TIARA) was converted, having been customised by QinetiQ for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) trials at Boscombe Down.[28]
Entering service in July 1986, 152 Tornado F3s were ordered. The Tornado F3 made its combat debut in the 1991 Gulf War with 18 aircraft deployed to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. While the aircraft deployed were upgraded with improved radar, better defensive countermeasures and more powerful engines, they still lacked modern IFF and secure communications equipment. They therefore flew patrols further back from Iraqi airspace where encounters with enemy aircraft were less likely, and did not get the opportunity to engage any enemy aircraft.[29]
As part of Delivering Security in a Changing World, the British Government's 2003 Defence White Paper, on 21 July 2004, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon detailed plans to reduce the number of Tornado F3 squadrons by one to three squadrons.[30] This represented 16 aircraft and was the first stage in the transition to the F3's replacement, the Eurofighter Typhoon, which entered operational service with the RAF in 2005. In April 2009, it was announced that the Tornado F3 force would be reduced to one squadron of 12 aircraft in September 2009.[31] The last Tornado F3s in RAF service, at RAF Leuchars, were retired on 22 March 2011 when No. 111 Squadron RAF was disbanded. The airframes will be transferred to RAF Leeming, where they will be broken down or sold for scrap.[32]
In the early 1990s the Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana, or AMI) identified a requirement for a fighter to boost its air defence capabilities pending introduction of the Eurofighter Typhoon. These fighters were to operate alongside the service's obsolescent F-104ASA Starfighters. The Tornado ADV was selected from, amongst others, the F-16. On 17 November 1993, Italy signed an agreement with the RAF to lease 24 Tornado F3s from the RAF for a period of ten years.[33] At this time the Eurofighter Typhoon was expected to begin entry into service around 2000.[34]
First training of AMI pilots began in March 1995 at RAF Coningsby while technicians gained experience at RAF Cottesmore and Coningsby. The first aircraft was accepted on 5 July 1995 and flown to its Italian base the same day. Delivery of the first batch was completed by 1996. The second batch was delivered between February and July 1997 and these aircraft were of a slightly higher specification.[33]
In 2000, with major delays hampering the Eurofighter, the AMI began a search for another interim fighter. While the Tornado itself was considered, any long term extension to the lease would have involved upgrade to RAF CSP standard at least. This was not considered cost effective and 34 ex-USAF F-16s were selected instead. By 2003 the AMI began returning Tornados to the RAF, with the final aircraft arriving at RAF Saint Athan on 7 December 2004. One aircraft was retained by the Italian Air Force.[35]
The UK and Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding, the Al-Yamamah arms deal, for the provision of various military equipment and services. This involved the purchasing of a large number of Tornados of various variants, along with weapons, radar equipment, spares and a pilot-training programme; this was in exchange for providing 600,000 barrels of oil per day for several years.[36] The first Al-Yamamah agreement ordered 24 Tornado ADVs and 48 Tornado IDSs.[37] The RSAF received its first ADV on 9 February 1989.[4]
Historian Anthony Cordesman commented that "the Tornado ADV did not prove to be a successful air defense fighter... The RSAF's experience with the first eight Tornado ADVs was negative".[38] Saudi Arabia later chose to convert further orders for up to 60 ADVs to the IDS variant.[39] As of 2011, the RSAF plan to retire the Tornado ADV, the Eurofighter Typhoon is to take over its duties.[32]
| External images | |
|---|---|
| Tornado ADV F2 cutaway illustration | |
| Hi-res cutaway of Tornado ADV F2 by Flight Global, 2006. | |
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1993–94,[40]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Avionics
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