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Fighter Tornado ADV     
Developer: 
Operator:  Great Britain  Saudi Arabia 

Designed and built as a collaborative project in the UK, Germany and Italy, the Tornado is in service with all three air forces and the German Navy. Tornado is also in service in Saudi Arabia and Oman. It is a twin-seat, twin-engined, variable geometry aircraft and is supersonic at all altitudes. The design authority for the Tornado is Panavia, the tri-national consortium which comprises British Aerospace, DASA of Germany and the Italian firm Alenia.

The wings of the the aircraft are high-mounted, variable, swept-back, and tapered with angular, blunt tips. There are two turbofan engines inside the body. The air intakes are diagonal and box-like alongside the fuselage forward of the wing roots. There are twin exhausts. The fuselage is solid and has a needle nose. The body thickens midsection and tapers to the tail section. There is a bubble cockpit. The tail is tall, swept-back, and has a tapered fin with a curved tip and a step in the leading edge. The flats are large, mid-mounted on the body, swept-back, and tapered with blunt tips.

The Tornado GR1 strike/attack aircraft is capable of carrying a wide range of conventional stores, including the JP233 anti-airfield weapon, the ALARM anti-radar missile, and laser-guided bombs. The reconnaissance version, designated the GR1A, retains the full operational capability of the GR1. The GR1B, equipped with Sea Eagle air-to-surface missiles, undertakes the anti-surface shipping role. For self-defence, the Tornado carries Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and is fitted with twin internal 27mm cannons.

The GR1 originated from a UK Staff Requirement in 1969, calling for a medium-range, low-level, counter-air strike aircraft, with the further capabilities of interdiction and reconnaissance. The Tornado first saw action during the Gulf conflict of 1991, when several were lost as a result of daring ultra-low-level missions to close Iraqi airfields. The proliferation of anti-aircraft defences in Iraq, Bosnia and elsewhere that the UK might be called on to operate has meant that the standard GR1 is in danger of not being able to fulfil the covert deep penetration operations that it was designed for. Furthermore the advance of air-delivered weapons has meant that strike aircraft need to become ever more sophisticated, especially given the fears of 'collateral damage' or accidentally hitting civilian targets.

The Tornado F3 air defence fighter has an 80% commonality with the Tornado GR1 strike/attack aircraft. The Tornado F3 is optimised for long-range interception, for which it carries four Skyflash radar-guided missiles and four AIM 9-L Sidewinder infra-red homing air-to-air missiles, plus an internally-mounted 27mm Mauser cannon. Tornado F3s are being equipped with the new Joint Tactical Information Distribution System. Operating in conjunction with E-3D Sentry airborne early warning aircraft and other allied fighters, the system gives an unprecedented picture of the air battle, including information obtained by other sensors in other fighters or AEW aircraft. The crew can thus select its own target and move to within 'kill' distance without using the fighter's own search radar with its position-revealing signature until the very last moment.

The Tornado GR1A is a world leader in the field of all-weather, day and night tactical reconnaissance. The GR1A has no cannons mounted in the forward fuselage. Replacing these are a Sideways Looking Infra-Red system and a Linescan infra-red surveillance system.

Originally intended for use in Central Europe, interdicting Warsaw Pact armoured columns and operating in the counter-air role against enemy airfields, the GR1 is now facing a more challenging future, with improved air defences to face and more difficult targets to engage. The GR1 Mid-Life Update (MLU) is intended to enhance the capabilities of many of the GR1 fleet, allowing a wider range of missions in all weathers and permitting the use of the advanced, so-called 'smart' munitions now available. The new version will be known as the Tornado GR4.

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