Tornado IDS
Description
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The Panavia Tornado is a family of [twin-engine] [variable-sweep wing] [multi-role combat aircraft], jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany. There are three primary [Tornado variants]: the Tornado IDS interdictor/strike fighter-bomber, the Tornado ECR electronic combat/reconnaissance [SEAD] aircraft and the [Tornado ADV] (air defence variant) [interceptor aircraft].
The Tornado was developed and built by [Panavia Aircraft GmbH], a tri-national consortium consisting of [British Aerospace] previously [British Aircraft Corporation], [MBB] 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 addition to the three original partner nations. A tri-nation training and evaluation unit operating from [RAF Cottesmore], the [Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment], maintained a level of international co-operation beyond the production stage.
The Tornado was operated by the [Royal Air Force] (RAF), [Italian Air Force], and RSAF during the [Gulf War] of 1991, in which the Tornado conducted many low-altitude penetrating strike missions. The Tornados of various services were also used in the [Bosnian War], [Kosovo War], [Iraq War], in Libya during the [2011 Libyan civil war], as well as smaller roles in Afghanistan, Yemen, and [Syria]. Including all variants, 990 aircraft were built.
Armaments
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- Guns: 1 × 27 mm (1.06 in) [Mauser BK-27] revolver cannon internally mounted under starboard side of fuselage with 180 rounds
- Hardpoints: 3 × under-fuselage and 4 × under-wing pylon stations with a capacity of 9,000 kg (19,800 lb), with provisions to carry combinations of:
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Missiles:
- 2 × [AIM-9 Sidewinder] (AIM-9B / AIM-9G / AIM-9L) (GR.1) or [AIM-132 ASRAAM] [air-to-air missiles] for self-defence (GR.4)
- 12 × [Brimstone] [air-to-surface missile]; or
- 2 × [Storm Shadow] [cruise missile]
- 9 × [ALARM] [anti-radiation missile]
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Bombs:
- 5 × 500 lb (230 kg) [Paveway IV]; or
- 3 × 1,000 lb (450 kg) [(UK Mk 20) Paveway II/Enhanced Paveway II]; or
- 2 × 2,000 lb (910 kg) [Paveway III (GBU-24)/Enhanced Paveway III (EGBU-24)]; or
- [BL755] [cluster bombs]; or
- Up to 2 × [JP233] or [MW-1] munitions dispensers (for runway cratering operations)
- Up to 4 × [B61] or [WE.177] tactical nuclear weapons
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Other: Up to 4 × [drop tanks] for ferry flight/extended range/flight time
Photos
Sources