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RAF Tornado GR4 in 2012 | |
Role | Multirole aircraft, strike aircraft |
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National origin | Italy, West Germany, United Kingdom |
Manufacturer | Panavia Aircraft GmbH |
First flight | 14 August 1974 |
Introduction | 1979 |
Retired | 2019 (RAF) |
Status | In service |
Primary users |
German Air Force
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Produced | 1979–1998 |
Number built |
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Variants | Panavia Tornado ADV |
Development
The Tornado was developed and built by Panavia Aircraft GmbH, a tri-national consortium consisting of British Aerospace (previously British Aircraft Corporation), MBB[b] of West Germany, and Aeritalia of Italy. It first flew on 14 August 1974 and was introduced into service in 1979–1980. Due to its multirole design, it was able to replace several different fleets of aircraft in the adopting air forces. The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) became the only export operator of the Tornado.
In order for the Tornado to perform well as a low-level supersonic strike aircraft, it was considered necessary for it to possess good high-speed and low-speed flight characteristics. To achieve high-speed performance, a swept or delta wing is typically adopted, but these wing designs are inefficient at low speeds. To operate at both high and low speeds with great effectiveness, the Tornado uses a variable-sweep wing. This approach had been adopted by earlier aircraft, such as the American Grumman F-14 Tomcat, which is the most similar in mission flexibility.[] The swing-wing was also shared by the older American General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark strike fighter, and the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 fighter. The smaller Tornado has many similarities with the F-111, however the Tornado differs in being a multi-role aircraft with more advanced onboard systems and avionics
Ceiling
Combat RANGE
Aircraft Speed
Max Crew
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The Tornado ADV (air defence variant) was an interceptor variant of the Tornado, developed for the RAF (designated Tornado F2 or F3) and also operated by Saudi Arabia and Italy.
Operated by Germany and Italy, the ECR (Electronic Combat / Reconnaissance)
Operated by Germany and Italy, the ECR (Electronic Combat / Reconnaissance)