Panavia Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat / Reconnaissance)

Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) Aircraft

Germany | 1990

"The Panavia Tornado ECR forms the second of three major Tornado aircraft variants."

Image courtesy the United States Department of Defense Imagery Database.

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Panavia Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat / Reconnaissance) Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) Aircraft.

2 x Turbo-Union RB199-34R Mk 103 turbofan engines with afterburn capability developing 17,270lb of thrust.
Propulsion

1,491 mph
2,400 kph | 1,296 kts
Max Speed

50,000 ft
15,240 m | 9 miles
Service Ceiling

870 miles
1,400 km | 756 nm
Operational Range

15,100 ft/min
4,602 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Panavia Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat / Reconnaissance) Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) Aircraft.

2
(MANNED)
Crew

54.9 ft
16.72 m
O/A Length

45.6 ft
(13.91 m)
O/A Width

19.5 ft
(5.95 m)
O/A Height

30,644 lb
(13,900 kg)
Empty Weight

61,729 lb
(28,000 kg)
MTOW

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Panavia Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat / Reconnaissance) Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) Aircraft .

STANDARD:
2 x 27mm Mauser BK-27 cannons under fuselage sides.

OPTIONAL:
Up to 19,800lb of external ordnance including conventional dumb / drop bombs, rocket pods, ECM pods, precision-guided "smart" bombs and air-to-surface / air-to-air missiles.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Panavia Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat / Reconnaissance) family line.

Tornado ECR - Base Series Designation; German and Italian service with minor differences in between.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 03/12/2019 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat / Reconnaissance) is a specialized "Suppression of Enemy Air Defense" (SEAD) offshoot of the original Tornado IDS (InterDictor / Strike) strike-fighter. The version is outfitted with a higher degree of onboard sensors as well as support for the AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile. The aircraft is used to counter enemy air defenses prior to the involvement of the main strike force, effectively "blinding" the enemy from further reaction through its air force. As such, ECRs were equipped with sophisticated Electronic CounterMeasures (ECMs) for survival while its missiles can ride incoming radar signals down to their source through an Emitter Location System (ELS). The initial Tornado ECR was delivered on May 21st, 1990 and have been operated by the air services of Germany and Italy. The United Kingdom, the other major Tornado IDS user, instead makes use of a specialized Tornado ADV F.3 mark for the role.

There are three major Tornado forms - the IDS, ECR and ADV. The IDS is the dedicated strike platform while the ECR is the dedicated SEAD model. The ADV is the interceptor variant. The original Tornado IDS was taken into service by West Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. The Panavia name was formed from the tri-national effort of West Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom while strike-minded and ECR Tornados still form a vital part of the aerial firepower for Western Europe - though its service life is expected to come to a close by the end of the decade.

The German Luftwaffe was the recipient of some 35 Tornado ECR platforms and these were received as "new-build" aircraft. Italian ECRs were sixteen examples converted from existing Tornado IDS strike platforms. The German and Italian models differed between themselves in several ways: German ECRs operated with an uprated engine and integrated reconnaissance equipment while Italian ECRs made use of a slightly downrated powerplant and external reconnaissance pods.

ECRs are more closely associated with the Tornado IDS line than the Tornado ADV and shared up to 80% commonality of parts, largely visually similar to one another on the whole. However, all Tornado forms share the same two-seat tandem cockpit (with ejection seats), single vertical tail fin arrangement and swing-wing capability. The swing-wing approach allows for the aircraft to adjust its wing angle in-flight, in turn allowing the airframe to retain the qualities of both low-speed and high-speed performance when needed.

Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

February 2019 - German authorities have dropped the F-35 Lightning II from contention for its PANAVIA Tornado strike-fighter replacement initiative.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Panavia Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat / Reconnaissance). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 52 Units
Contractor(s): Panavia Aircaft GmbH / BAe - UK / MBB - Germany / Alenia - Italy

[ Germany; Italy ]

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Image of the Panavia Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat / Reconnaissance)

Image courtesy the United States Department of Defense Imagery Database.

Going Further...
The Panavia Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat / Reconnaissance) Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) Aircraft appears in the following collections:

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