The Panavia Tornado multirole aircraft is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing combat aircraft, which was jointly developed and manufactured 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 nature, it was able to replace several different fleets of aircraft in the adopting air forces.
The Panavia Tornado multirole aircraft is operational in five different forms: Tornado GR 1 interdictor strike aircraft for close air support; counter air attack and defence suppression; GR 1A tactical reconnaissance aircraft; Tornado GR 1B long-range maritime attack aircraft and Tornado F3 long-range air defence fighter. The GR 4 is a mid-life update of the GR 1.
Design
The Panavia Tornado is a multirole, twin-engined aircraft designed to excel at low-level penetration of enemy defences.Variable wing geometry, allowing for minimal drag during the critical low-level dash towards a well-prepared enemy, had been desired from the project's start. Advanced navigation and flight computers, including the then-innovative fly-by-wire system, greatly reduced the workload of the pilot during low-level flight and eased control of the aircraft. For long range bombing missions, the Tornado has a retractable refuelling probe. As a multirole aircraft, the Tornado is capable of undertaking more mission profiles than the anticipated strike mission.
Avionics
The Tornado bristles with a large number of visible and hidden antennae. The more prominent ones are as follows, blade aerial ahead of cockpit, IFF; dual blade antennae on the fuselage spine, UHF; blade aerial lower surface of airframe ahead of the cockpit, TACAN/UHF; fin mounted fairing at rear, ECM; blade antennae on side of fin, VOR. Other faired antennae include the following, top of fin, VHF; lower front of fin root, HF; wing glove, ECM. A company called Avionica Systems Engineering was formed on the 28th August 1969 to oversee the avionics program.
Construction
The airframe is built around an immensely strong electron beam welded titanium wing box. The central spine houses the control rods and engine bleed air ducting for the environmental systems. Large hydraulically actuated air brakes are positioned either side of the fin. The undercarriage is of wide track and sturdy design. It incorporates single wheel main gear and a twin wheel nose assembly. The undercarriage retracts forwards into the airframe.
Engine
Britain considered the selection of Rolls-Royce to develop the advanced engine for the MRCA to be essential, and was strongly opposed to adopting an engine from an American manufacturer, to the point where the UK might have withdrawn over the issue. In September 1969, Rolls-Royce's RB 199 engine was selected to power the MRCA. The RB199 engine was developed by Turbo Union, a company formed in 1969 by Rolls Royce, Motoren und Turbinen Union Daimler Chrysler and FIAT Avio. It was selected to power the Tornado after numerous American engines were discounted.
The RB199 is of turbofan design, i.e. not all of the air entering the intake passes through the combustion section of the engine a proportion of it passes along the exterior of the engine to provide cooling and thrust.
The advantages of this engine are according to Rolls Royce, High thrust to weight ratio, Low cruise specific fuel consumption, Full authority digital electronic control, Single crystal turbine blades, Compact, fully modular construction, On condition maintenance, Growth potential.
The RB199 engine used technology developed for the commercial RB211. The design allowed the rotating parts of the engine to operate at different speeds allowing each to operate at its optimal speed. The engine design and construction used some of the latest technology available at the time.
The fan was a development of that used on the Pegasus engine and was assembled using a novel technique. The fan blades are electron beam welded which saves weight and reduces vibration. The repair of the fans has been demonstrated by cutting the old or damaged blades from the fan and new blades welded in.
The RB199 engine first took to the air mounted under a Vulcan, during April 1973.
Rolls Royce manufactured a large proportion of the engine, the parts included the inlet, the low pressure casing, the fan, the combustion system, the whole high pressure turbine including the casing and the fuel control system. MTU produced the intermediate and high pressure compressors, the intermediate casing, the gearbox and accessory drive, the bypass duct and outer engine casing, the intermediate pressure turbine, driveshaft and the reversers. FIAT produced the complete low pressure turbine and driveshaft, the exhaust diffuser, the rear jet pipe and variable nozzle.
The engines are effectively linked by their gearboxes which allows either engine to drive all the accessories. The gearboxes are linked via a clutched driveshaft that comes into play when the engines speeds differ by a pre determined amount.
Wing
The use of a variable geometry wing allows the tornado to perform well across its entire flight envelope. The wing is assisted with full length slats, flaps and spoilers. The wing is generally used in one of three positions, fully forward, used for take off and landing as it gives tornado good low speed handling; mid sweep, gives best agility or fully swept, which allows best performance.
Armament
The Tornado is cleared to carry the majority of air-launched weapons in the NATO inventory, including various unguided and laser-guided bombs, anti-ship and anti-radiation missiles, as well as specialised weapons such as anti-personnel mines and anti-runway munitions. To improve survivability in combat, the Tornado is equipped with onboard countermeasures, ranging from flare and chaff dispensers to electronic countermeasure pods that can be mounted under the wings. Underwing fuel tanks and a buddy store aerial refuelling system that allows one Tornado to refuel another are available to extend the aircraft's range.
Strike variants have a limited air-to-air capability with AIM-9 Sidewinder or AIM-132 ASRAAM air-to-air missiles (AAMs); additionally the Tornado ADV is outfitted with beyond visual range AAMs such as the Skyflash and AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles. The Tornado is armed with two 27 mm (1.063 in) Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon internally mounted underneath the fuselage; the Tornado ADV was only armed with one cannon. When the RAF GR1 aircraft were converted to GR4, the FLIR sensor replaced the left hand cannon, leaving only one; the GR1A reconnaissance variant gave up both its guns to make space for the sideways looking infra-red sensors.[87] The Mauser BK-27 was developed specifically for the Tornado, but has since been used on several other European fighters, such as the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, Saab JAS 39 Gripen, and Eurofighter Typhoon.
The Tornado is capable of delivering air-launched nuclear weapons. In 1979, Britain considered replacing its Polaris submarines with either the Trident submarines or alternatively the Tornado as the main bearer of its nuclear deterrent. Although the UK proceeded with Trident, several Tornado squadrons based in Germany were assigned to SACEUR to deter a major Soviet offensive with both conventional and nuclear weapons, namely the WE.177 nuclear bomb, which was retired in 1998. German and Italian Tornados are capable of delivering US B61 nuclear bombs, which are made available through NATO.
Control Surfaces
The primary control surfaces of the tornado are the large all moving tailerons and the rudder, they are assisted by the slats, spoilers and flaps. The control surfaces are continually monitored and adjusted by the triplex fly by wire system. The fly by wire system is located on the starboard side just behind the cannon. A backup system is enabled should the fly by wire system fail.
Maintenance
The Tornado airframe was designed with maintenance in mind, although over the test of time I am sure a few engineers have doubted this fact. However the airframe has approximately 350 hinged or removable access panels to assist the engineers.
Production
The production allocation for the Panavia Tornado was as follows, Britain 48%, Germany 40% and Italy 12%. The production of the tornado took place at three sites, one in each of the consortium members country. In Britain major component assembly was undertaken at BAE Preston and BAE Samlesbury with final construction taking place at Warton in Lancashire. In Germany the centre fuselage was assembled at Augsburg with final assembly at Manching. In Italy the wing and other components were assembled at in Naples and Turin with final assembly at Caselle.
The number of Tornados initially to be produced by each country was as follows, Britain 385, Germany 324 and Italy 100. There have also been a number of Tornados produced for Saudi Arabia, the current totals are as follows, 96 IDS and 24 ADV. It should be noted all Tornado trainers are fully mission capable.
Variants
Tornado IDS
Tornado GR1
The Tornado GR1 is really what the Tornado is all about, an all weather, low level, deep penetration strike aircraft. The airframe, engines and radars were all designed with this role in mind.
First impressions of the GR.1 tend to be misguided, it looks short, dumpy and the huge fin looks out of proportion to the rest of the airframe.
The large tail is necessary for longitudinal stability, once the wings are swept back they play little part in controlling the aircraft, the large all moving tailerons and spoilers take over.
The engines are also optimised for low level flight, the RB199 turbofan was designed from outset to provide high power at low level and still be reasonably economical.
Most of the British GR.1 fleet now has the RB199-34 103 engine, whilst some of the older airframes are still fitted with the RB199-34 101.
The Tornado GR1 entered front line service with 9 Squadron at RAF Honington. No 9 Squadron were the first to use the Tornado for the 1985 Red Flag exercise in the USA.
142 GR.1 airframes are being upgraded to GR.4 standard, for a more detailed look at the actual upgrade please visit the GR.4 page.
Several major variants of the GR.1 package were developed, the two most obvious being the GR.1A and GR.1B. Although the GR.1B designation has now been officially dropped as the Sea Eagle launch capability will be included in the GR.4 upgrade.
Tornado GR1B
The Tornado GR.1B is a modified GR.1, it is capable of carrying the British Aerospace Sea Eagle missile.
There are next to no visual cues to differentiate a GR.1B from a GR1, unless it is carrying the above mentioned missiles.
The GR1. B is a replacement for the Blackburn Buccaneer.
Twenty six airframes have been modified for this role including two trainers. All modified airframes came from Batch 3 and are powered by the -103 variant of the RB199 engine.
ZA409 & ZA411 were the proof of installation airframes, they are both trainers.
ZA407 was the first production airframe and flew as a GR.1B on 18/09/93.
The GR.1B airframes were as follows,ZA374,ZA375,ZA399,ZA407,ZA446,ZA447,ZA450,ZA452,ZA453,ZA455,ZA456,ZA457,ZA459,
ZA460,ZA461,ZA465,ZA469,ZA471,ZA473,ZA474,ZA475,ZA490,ZA491,ZA492,ZA409,ZA411
It should be noted that the GR.4 upgrade program will see all GR.4 airframes capable of deploying the Sea Eagle missile. As of the first quarter 2001 the GR.1B designation has been dropped.
Tornado GR4
GR.4 is the designation for the upgraded GR.1 airframe. The upgrade is composed of a number of smaller modifications that address a number of issues that have been with the airframe since its inception. The overall package looks little different from the GR.1 as most of the modifications are internal.
The need for an upgrade to the GR.1 was first thought necessary in 1987/8. The upgrade was to improve the penetration and survivability aspects of the design, but due to defence cuts the upgrade was shelved.
The Gulf War along with other factors again highlighted the need to standardise the configuration of the GR.1 fleet. The fleet now had many differing standards which led to maintenance and service difficulties. There were standard airframes, those that had been modified for TIALD, those modified for ALARM and those modified for Sea Eagle amongst others. Each sub fleet had differing levels of software, Line Replaceable Units(LRUs) and wiring which placed undue strains on the engineers and support logistics units to ensure the rights parts were ordered and fitted to the correct airframe.
Tornado GR1A/GR4A
The GR1A is the reconnaissance variant used by the RAF and RSAF, fitted with the TIRRS (Tornado Infra-Red Reconnaissance System), replacing the cannon. The RAF ordered 30 GR1As, 14 as GR1 rebuilds and 16 as new-builds. When the Tornado GR1s were upgraded to become GR4s, GR1A aircraft were upgraded to GR4A standard. The switch from low-level operations to medium/high-level operations means that the internal TIRRS is no longer in use. As the GR4A's internal sensors are no longer essential, the RAF's Tactical Reconnaissance Wing operate both GR4A and GR4 aircraft.
Tornado ECR
Operated by Germany and Italy, the ECR is a Tornado variant devoted to Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) missions. It was first delivered on 21 May 1990. The ECR has sensors to detect radar usage and is equipped with anti-radiation AGM-88 HARM missiles. The Luftwaffe's 35 ECRs were delivered new, while Italy received 16 converted IDSs. Italian Tornado ECRs differ from the Luftwaffe aircraft as they lack built-in reconnaissance capability and use RecceLite reconnaissance pods, also only Luftwaffe ECRs are equipped with RB199 Mk.105 engine, which has a slightly higher thrust rating. The German ECRs do not carry a cannon. The RAF uses the IDS version in the SEAD role instead of the ECR. It also modified several of its Tornado F.3s to undertake the mission.
Tornado ADV
The Tornado ADV (air defence variant) is armed with short-range and medium-range air-to-air missiles. A typical weapons payload would include four Sidewinder short-range missiles and four Skyflash medium-range missiles.
Tornado ADV aircraft were the first aircraft to be fitted with the short-range MBDA ASRAAM air-to-air missile which entered service in January 2001 and was declared ready for operational deployment in September 2002.
In all, 100 RAF ADV Tornadoes have been upgraded to carry AIM-20 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, a Raytheon IFF 4810 SIFF (successor identification friend or foe) system and Honeywell laser inertial navigation system.
The aircraft is equipped with a BAE Systems Foxhunter radar, which provides long-range search capability and enables the aircraft to engage targets at beyond visual range.
A Tornado ADV in training flight crashed on 2 July 2009 at Glen Kinglas in Argyll, Scotland. The RAF Tornado ADV fleet was retired in March 2011 and replaced with the Eurofighter Typhoon.
Specifications (Tornado GR4)
Data from International Warbirds: An Illustrated Guide to World Military Aircraft, 1914–2000, Tornado, Modern Fighting Aircraft
General characteristics
Crew: 2
Length: 16.72 m (54 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 13.91 m at 25° wing sweep, 8.60 m at 67° wing sweep (45.6 ft / 28.2 ft)
Height: 5.95 m (19.5 ft)
Wing area: 26.6 m2 (286 ft2)
Empty weight: 13,890 kg (30,620 lb)
Loaded weight: 20,240 kg (44,620 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 28,000 kg (61,700 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Turbo-Union RB199-34R Mk 103 afterburning turbofans
Dry thrust: 43.8 kN (9,850 lbf) each
Thrust with afterburner: 76.8 kN (17,270 lbf) each
Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 2.2 (2,400 km/h, 1,490 mph) at 9,000 m (30,000 ft) altitude; 800 knots, 1,482 km/h, 921 mph indicated airspeed near sea level
Range: 1,390 km (870 mi) for typical combat mission
Ferry range: 3,890 km (2,417 mi) with four external drop tanks
Service ceiling: 15,240 m (50,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 76.7 m/s (15,100 ft/min)
Thrust/weight: 0.77
Armament
Guns: 1× 27 mm (1.06 in) Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon internally mounted under starboard side of fuselage with 180 rounds
Hardpoints: 4× light duty + 3× heavy duty under-fuselage and 4× swivelling under-wing pylon stations with a capacity of 9,000 kg (19,800 lb) of payload, the two inner wing pylons have shoulder launch rails for 2× Short-Range AAM (SRAAM) each and provisions to carry combinations of:
Missiles:
AIM-9 Sidewinder or AIM-132 ASRAAM air-to-air missiles for self-defence
6× AGM-65 Maverick; or
12× Brimstone missile; or
2× Storm Shadow
9× ALARM anti-radiation missile
Bombs:
5× 500 lb Paveway IV; or
3× 1000 lb (UK Mk 20) Paveway II/Enhanced Paveway II; or
2× 2000 lb 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
Other: Up to 4× drop tanks for ferry flight/extended range/flight time
Avionics
RAPTOR aerial reconnaissance pod
Rafael LITENING targeting pod; or
TIALD laser designator pod
BAE Systems Sky Shadow electronic countermeasure pod