Panavia Tornado IDS (InterDictor / Strike)

History

Panavia Tornado was the product of a consortium of European companies from Britain, West Germany and Italy in the second half of the Cold War. The company was established as "Panavia Aircraft GmbH" and was founded on March 29, 1969, with its headquarters in Hallbergmoos, Bavaria, Germany (the group was originally intended to include the Netherlands).

This aircraft was one of several notable "rotor" developments that appeared during this period, which also included the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, the General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark and the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23/-27 "Flogger" belonging to the Turbo Consortium of Rolls-Royce, MTU and FiatAvio.

At a time when World War 3 was very likely across Europe, the Tornado was considered a strike-oriented fighter capable of operating on short and/or battle-damaged runways. In fact, tornadoes proved to be a very important component of European deterrence during this period, intended as a first-strike system during the "hot" Cold War.

Since then, Panavia Tornado has been deployed in Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia and the UK.

The initial prototype first flew on 14 August 1974, and production quality sheets were delivered from July 1980. The radar is Texas Instruments' terrain tracking system with ground-mapping capabilities. Flight control is aided by a complete center joystick fly-by-wire kit. Both crew positions have ejection seats.

Navigate using a digital inertial navigation system.

The Tornado series evolved during its life cycle through three main production variants, which became the attack-oriented Tornado IDS (InterDictor/Strike), the Tornado ECR (Electronic combat / reconnaissance) and Tornado ADV - participating interceptors of the group. IDS and ECR airframes are the two most closely related brands, with a partial similarity of about 80%, but the IDS brand can be asked to supply all types of ordnance, including missiles and bombs, while ensuring their own defense by the two internal cannons and Composition of countermeasures on board.

All Tornado forms are two seater products. The variable-wing nature of the design allows the aircraft to adjust its wing angle during flight. This design decision allows the body to retain all the qualities of low-speed processing, as well as high-speed performance when needed.

The wing assemblies can be adjusted manually (or automatically on some models) to achieve angles from 25 to 67 degrees.

Tornado IDS received a thick hull with board edges and a flat bottom. The twin-engine (side-by-side) configuration draws in through two large air intakes located on either side of the aircraft. The crew sat side by side with the pilot in the front and the systems officer in the back. The wings are swept back along their leading and trailing edges - each with multiple hardpoints that also adjust to the wing's swept (always facing forward).

Additional hardpoints were found under the fuselage to significantly expand the aircraft's ordnance transport mass. The tail consists of a vertical tail and a swept horizontal tail. The tricycle landing gear is fully retractable in design.

The RAF places the initial stock of IDS models as the Tornado GR. 1 and these appeared in 1979 with laser rangefinders under their noses. In addition, they received a less powerful engine and fixed air intakes. The reconnaissance version then became the GR.

The 1A is equipped with BAe Side-Looking Infrared (SLIR) and Vinten IR Linescan systems (without internal guns), while the GR. 1B is branded as a dedicated anti-ship strike model (armed with 4 x Seahawk anti-ship missiles), these All are based on the previous GR. 1. This modifies about 26 examples, earlier versions lacked the onboard trace feature (added later).

An upgrade program from 1996 to 2003 produced the GR. 4 (Blow) and GR. 4A (reconnaissance), of which 142 eventually existed. gr. 4 was born in GR. 1 modernization attempt (mid-cycle upgrade), the series came out in 1994 and is still in use today (February 2014).

A new HUD (Head-Up Display), improved Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) and improved avionics were introduced.

Genetic resources. 4 Powered by 2 Turbo-Union RB199-34R Mk 103 afterburning turbofan engines providing 9,850 pounds of dry thrust and 17,270 pounds of reheated thrust.

Top speed is 1,500 mph (approximately Mach 2.2), range is up to 2,415 miles (ferry), service is capped at 50,000 feet, and climb rate is 15,100 feet per minute. Standard armament includes 2 x 27mm Mauser BK-27 internal cannons along the sides of the fuselage and up to 11 mounts for rockets, bombs, fuel tanks and mission pods.

To date, Tornado platforms have been used in the Gulf War (1991), Bosnian War (1992-1995), Kosovo War (1998-1999), Operation Enduring Freedom (since 2001) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (since 2003) 2011), the Libyan civil war (2011), and to some extent Yemen. Even today, tornadoes GR.

The 4 Mark remains an important part of European strike firepower, although nearing the end of its useful life, the stockpile is expected to be completely eliminated by the end of the century.

The Eurofighter Typhoon and upcoming Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II are expected to lead the British strike force after the retirement of the Tornado.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes