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Panavia Tornado IDS / ECR
A Panavia Tornado on display.
By Staff Writer
The Panavia Tornado was produced from a consortium of companies in the UK, Germany and Italy. The weapon system was designed from the beginning to operate from extremely short or battle-damaged runways, with the assumption being the worst-case scenario brought on from an all-out invasion with the Soviet Union. Thusly, the Tornado became the principle European defender during the Cold War.
The Tornado is a two-man variable swept-wing fighter/bomber, meaning that the wings can maintain an extended or retracted position depending on the settings controlled by the pilot. The aircraft is designed to fulfill a variety of battlefield and maritime roles including interception, close-support and interdiction strike missions (the wings was extended in the close-support role for increased drag).
Three base Tornado variants are available in the forms of the IDS, ECR and the ADV. The IDS and ECR variants are the most closely related though all share an 80% commonality in systems and parts.
The IDS represents the base interdiction and strike warplane model, capable of achieving high-success in the ground bombing role utilizing a variety of munitions. The ECR represents the electronic combat and reconnaissance role, armed with a variety of radar tracking and jamming equipment systems.
The ADV variant represents the air-defense fighter with updated tracking systems and a full-compliment of air-to-air weaponry. The ADV features an extended fuselage and is armed with a base arrangement of 4 x AMRAAMS. The ADV model also features only a single 27mm Mauser-type cannon instead of the 2 featured in the IDS and ECR models. The ADV is also powered by the Turbo-Union RB199-34R Mk 104 powerplant.
The Panavia Tornado has been called to action in the Persian Gulf War, Kosovo and Operation Iraqi Freedom with good results. The Tornado also replaced the American-built F-4 Phantoms in defense of the Falkland Islands near Argentina. Some Tornado elements also take part in NATO air defense for other European countries such as Lithuania. Its multi-role efficiency and long-range on standard fuel arrangement has made the Tornado a quite capable aircraft.
Despite its advanced age, the Panavia Tornado has proven a quite capable aircraft in the multi-mission role. Incidentally, the Tornado did fulfill the intended role of short runway operation quite well.
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| Specifications for the Panavia Tornado IDS |
 Dimensions: |
Length: 54.79ft (16.70m)
Width:45.64ft (13.91m)
Height: 19.52ft (5.95m)
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| Performance: |
About MACH |
Max Speed: 1,479mph (2,381kmh; 1,286kts)
Max Range: 921miles (1,482km)
Rate-of-Climb: 40,000ft/min (12,192m/min)
Service Ceiling: 50,000ft (15,240m; 9.5miles)
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| Structure: |
Accommodation: 2
Hardpoints: 6
Empty Weight: 30,865lbs (14,000kg)
MTOW: 61,729lbs (28,000kg)
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| Powerplant: |
| Engine(s): 2 x Turbo-Union RB199-34R Mk 103 turbofan engines generating 9,100lb thrust with afterburner. |
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| Armament Suite: |
2 x 27mm cannon
19,842lbs of external ordnance including dumb bombs, rocket pods, ECM pods, smart bombs and air-to-surface / air-to-air missile systems.
AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles
AMRAAM
ASRAAM
JTIDS
Alenia Aspide air-to-air missiles (ITA)
ALARM anti-radiation missiles
HARM anti-radiation missiles
WE177B nuclear bombs (RAF)
B61 nuclear bombs (GER)
JP 233 area denial weapon (RAF)
MW-1 area denial weapon (GER)
Sea Eagle anti-ship missile (RAF)
Kormoran anti-ship missile (Germany)
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| Pictures of the Panavia Tornado IDS / ECR |
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Aircraft Quick Profile |
Image courtesy of the United States Department of Defense.
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| 1979 |
Designation: Panavia Tornado IDS / ECR
Classification Type: All-Weather Low Level Strike and Reconnaissance
Contractor: Panavia Aircaft GmbH = BAe - UK / MBB - Germany / Alenia - Italy
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Production Total: Not Available |
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Operators: Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.
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| Variants |
Tornado IDS - Base interdiction and strike variant.
Tornado ADV - Air-Defense Variant with improved tracking radar and air-to-air missile systems.
Tornado ECR - Electronic Combat and Reconnaissance aircraft variant.
Tornado GR.Mk 1 - British designation of the Tornado IDS model.
Tornado GR.Mk 1A - British designation of the Tornado ECR model.
Tornado GR.Mk 1B - British anti-ship variant.
Tornado GR.Mk 4 - Upgrade of Tornado Mk 1 model.
Tornado GR.Mk 4A - Upgrade of Tornado Mk 1A model.
Tornado F.Mk 3 - British designation for air defense interceptor variant.
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