The Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant (ADV) is a long-range, twin-engine swing-wing interceptor aircraft developed by the European Panavia Aircraft GmbH consortium. It was a specialised derivative of the multirole Panavia Tornado.
Development of the Tornado ADV formally commenced in 1976. It was primarily intended to intercept Soviet bombers as they were traversing across the North Sea with the aim of preventing a successful air-launched nuclear attack against the United Kingdom. In this capacity, it was equipped with a powerful radar and beyond-visual-range missiles. Having been based on the multinational Tornado IDS, development was relatively quick. Originally, the programme was solely pursued by the United Kingdom. The first prototype performed its maiden flight on 27 October 1979; two further prototypes followed in the year after. The initial production model, the Tornado F2, entered service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1986.
The Tornado F2, which was only produced in small numbers, lacked key features such as radar, due to development issues. Accordingly, it was quickly followed by the Tornado F3, which was introduced in 1989. Featuring optimised RB.199 Mk 104 engines, an expanded missile capacity, and automatic wing sweep control system amongst other improvements, the Tornado F3 became the definitive variant operated by the RAF. It was also operated by the Italian Air Force (AMI) and the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF). The AMI leased the type during the 2000s as an interim aircraft while awaiting delivery of multirole Eurofighter Typhoon fighters. During its service life, the Tornado ADV received several upgrades which enhanced its aerial capabilities and enabled it to perform Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) missions in addition to its interceptor duties. Both the RAF and RSAF retired their Tornado ADV fleets in the early 2010s; the type has been replaced in both services by the Eurofighter Typhoon.
Design and development
Background The origins of the Tornado ADV can be traced back to the issuing of RAF Air Staff Requirement 395 (ASR.395), which called for a long-range interceptor to replace both the English Electric Lightning F6 and McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR2 then in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). The necessity to procure a modern interceptor was primarily driven by the threat posed by the sizable strategic bomber fleet then being operated by the Soviet Union, in particular the Tupolev Tu-22M, a recently introduced supersonic bomber. Even at the onset of development on what would become the Tornado IDS (interdictor/strike) in 1968, the possibility of a variant dedicated to air defence had been quietly considered. While several American aircraft had been evaluated for meeting this requirement, they were all determined to be unsuitable.Aeroguide 21 1988, p. 3.
Despite Britain's strong interest in the air defence concept, it proved to be unattractive to the other European partners on the Tornado project, leading to its development being pursued solely by the United Kingdom. On 4 March 1976, the development of the Tornado ADV was approved and it was announced that 165 of the 385 Tornados that were on order for the RAF would be of the air defence variant.Leek 2015, p. 23. In 1976, the British Aircraft Corporation was contracted to provide three prototype aircraft.Aeroguide 21 1988, p. 1.
On 9 August 1979, the first prototype was rolled out at Warton; it performed its maiden flight on 27 October 1979, piloted by David Eagles. The second and third development aircraft made their first flights on 18 July and 18 November 1980 respectively. The third prototype was primarily used in the testing of the new Marconi/Ferranti AI.24 Foxhunter aircraft interception radar.Eagles 1991, p. 92. During flight testing, the Tornado ADV demonstrated its noticeably superior supersonic acceleration to the Tornado IDS, even while carrying a full weapons loadout.Eagles 1991, p. 91. The test programme was greatly aided by the use of real-time telemetry, which broadcast live data from in-flight aircraft back to technicians on the ground.Eagles 1991, pp. 90–91.
The Tornado ADV's differences compared to the Tornado IDS include a greater sweep angle on the wing gloves, and the deletion of their Krueger flap, deletion of the port cannon, a longer radome for the Foxhunter radar, slightly longer airbrakes, and the fuselage being lengthened by 1.36 m; the latter change permitted the carriage of four Skyflash semi-active radar homing missiles.Laming 1996, p. 97. This stretch was achieved by altering the Tornado's forward fuselage, which was built in the UK, via the addition of a plug immediately behind the cockpit, which had the unexpected benefit of reducing drag and making space for an additional fuel tank (Tank '0') carrying of fuel.Evans 1999, p. 121. The artificial feel of the flight controls was lighter on the Tornado ADV than on the IDS.Eagles 1991, p. 89. Various other differences were present amongst the aircraft's avionics, displays, guidance systems and software packages.Aeroguide 21 1988, pp. 6–7.
The Tornado F2 was the initial version of the Tornado ADV in RAF service, a total of 18 aircraft were built. Making its first flight on 5 March 1984, it 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.Aeroguide 21 1988, p. 7. Serious problems were discovered with the Foxhunter radar, which meant that the aircraft were delivered with concrete or 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.
Tornado F3
Quantity production of the Tornado ADV started in 1980 and continued through to 1993. On 20 November 1985, the Tornado F3 made its maiden flight. Enhancements over the Tornado F2 included RB.199 Mk 104 engines, which were optimised for high-altitude use with longer afterburner tailpipes, the capacity to carry four underwing Sidewinder missiles rather than two, and automatic wing sweep control.Evans 1999, p. 126. Upon its entrance into service, the principal armament of the Tornado F3 was the short-range Sidewinder and the medium-range Skyflash missiles, the latter being a British design derived from the American AIM-7 Sparrow.Butler 2001, p. 101.
Perhaps the most prominent of the innovations incorporated into the Tornado F3 was an automatic manoeuvre device system that enabled the flight control computer to automatically adjust the level of wing sweep to maintain optimum flight characteristics. This function was similar in concept to the automatic sweeping wing (ASW) capability of the American Grumman F-14 Tomcat, a capability that greatly enhanced manoeuvrability, but was not present on any previous Tornado IDS and ADV models. During 1989, the Tornado F.3 (originally F.Mk3) was declared operational.
Capability Sustainment Programme In order to maintain the Tornado F3 as an effective platform up to its planned phasing out date of 2010, the Ministry of Defence initiated the Capability Sustainment Programme (CSP). This £125 million project, announced on 5 March 1996, involved many elements, including the integration of the ASRAAM and AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, and radar upgrades to improve multi-target engagement. Additionally, it entailed improvement in pilot and navigator displays, along with the replacement of several of the onboard computer systems.Nicholas 2000, pp. 29–30. The CSP saw 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". The Foxhunter radar caused difficulties in the upgrade programme, in particular the integration of the new AMRAAM missile.
Cost-saving decisions meant that the CSP did not fully exploit the capabilities of either the AMRAAM or ASRAAM missiles. AMRAAM typically 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 necessary datalink to provide this capability. The ASRAAM was not fully integrated, which prevented the full off-boresight capability of the missile being used.Nicholas 2000, p. 30. However, in June 2001, the MoD signed a contract for a further upgrade to allow for these midcourse updates. This upgrade, together with updated IFF, was known as the AMRAAM Optimisation Programme (AOP) and was incorporated in the remaining F3 fleet between December 2003 and September 2006.
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 Defenses (SEAD) missions. The F3's existing radar warning receivers formed the basis of an Emission Location System (ELS), which can be employed to detect and locate operational radar systems in the aircraft's vicinity, while two ALARM missiles could be carried on pylons under the fuselage. Twelve aircraft, sometimes known by the unofficial designation Tornado EF3, were converted under an Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) as part of the build up to Operation Telic, the 2003 invasion of Iraq and operated by No. 11 Squadron RAF.Hunter 2004, p. 60.
Performance
According to aviation historian Michael Leek, from the onset of the type's development, the Tornado ADV encountered "...controversy and many questions over the ADV's performance and suitability - controversy which stayed with the aircraft for much of its service life".
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 prolonged air combat manoeuvering with various types of enemy fighters.Eagles 1991, p. 88. 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 and remain over the North Sea and Northern Atlantic in order to maintain its airborne patrol.Butler 2001,
The capability of its weapon systems was a dramatic improvement over its predecessors.Smith 1980, p. 134. Compared with the Phantom, the Tornado had greater acceleration, twice the range and loiter time, and was more capable of operating from short 'austere' air strips.Aeroguide 21 1988, p. 2. Older aircraft were reliant on a network of ground-based radar stations, but the F3's 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. The Tornado also had the ability to share its radar and targeting information with other aircraft via JTIDS/Link 16 and was one of the first aircraft to have a digital data bus, used for the transmission of data between onboard computers.Moir and Seabridge 2011, pp. 447–448.Aeroguide 21 1988, p. 6.
Operational history
Royal Air Force
On 5 November 1984, the first interim Tornado F2 was first delivered to the RAF. These aircraft were primarily for training by No. 229 Operational Conversion Unit RAF.Jackson 1985, p. 206. From July 1986, the F2's short career came to an end as they were replaced as the improved Tornado F3 entered service; the interim aircraft were promptly placed into storage.Jackson 1988, p. 84. Originally, the Tornado F2s were intended to be updated to Tornado F2A standard (similar to the F3, but without the engine upgrade) however, only the one F2A, the Tornado Integrated Avionics Research Aircraft (TIARA) was ever converted, having been customised by QinetiQ for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) trials at MoD Boscombe Down.