Tornado GR4

The Tornado GR4 is a Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) originally designed for low-level penetration to attack ground targets, now increasingly used to deliver stand-off weapons and guided bombs at medium altitude. The GR4 is the British variant of the "Inderdictor/Strike" (IDS) model of the Panavia Tornado. Tornado GR.4A. GR4A reconnaissance version - note the Sideways-looking infared system, a window in the fuselage below and to the right of the RAF roundel and below the cockpit. ... Tornado GR.4A. GR4A reconnaissance version - note the Sideways-looking infared system, a window in the fuselage below and to the right of the RAF roundel and below the cockpit. ... The Panavia Tornado is a jet engine fighter-bomber jointly developed as the Multi-role combat aircraft - or MRCA - by the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. ...

History

British Tornados were built by British Aerospace as part of the tri-national company Panavia. The aircraft entered service as the Tornado GR1 in 1979. As early as 1984 the UK Ministry of Defence began studies of a Mid-Life Update (MLU) of the aircraft. The GR4 upgrade was not approved until 1994, which was revised to include lessons learned from the GR1's performance in the 1991 Gulf War. One major change was the move from low level penetration to medium level attacks, while maintaining the low level capability. The contracts were signed with British Aerospace (later BAE Systems) in 1994 for the upgrade of 142 GR1s to GR4 standard, work began in 1996 and finished in 2003. British Aerospace (BAe) was a UK aircraft manufacturer, now part of BAE Systems. ... RAF Panavia Tornado GR4 Panavia Aircraft is a multinational company established by the three partner nations of the Tornado Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) project, Germany, Italy and the UK. The company is based and registered in Germany. ... 12 Sqn Tornado GR1 The RAF Tornado GR1 was the first generation version of the Panavia Tornado strike aircraft of the Royal Air Force. ... BAE Systems, plc is the worlds fourth largest defense contractor [2] and a commercial aerospace products manufacturer. ...

Upgrades to the more than twenty-year old aircraft included, FLIR (Forward-Looking InfraRed), a wide-angle HUD (Heads-Up Display), improved cockpit displays, NVG (Night Vision Goggle) capabilities, new avionics and weapons systems, updated computer systems, and a Global Positioning System. The updated weapons system allowed integration of the latest offensive weapons, for example the Storm Shadow and Brimstone missiles and reconnaissance equipment such as the RAPTOR pod. For other meanings of Hud, see this article A Rafale fighter of the FS Charles de Gaulle, seen through the HUD of another Rafale. ... Cockpit of a light aircraft, showing instrumentation dials and dual control yokes. ... The onboard electronics used for piloting an aircraft are called avionics(AVI-ation electr-ONICS). ... The bayonet, still used in war as both knife and spearpoint. ... Over fifty GPS satellites such as this NAVSTAR have been launched since 1978. ... Storm Shadow is an Anglo-French air-launched cruise missile, manufactured by MBDA and used by Britain, France, and Italy. ... Brimstone test firing from Panavia Tornado The Brimstone missile is an advanced Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) developed by MBDA. The missile is a development of Boeings AGM-114 Hellfire is designed to meet the RAFs requirement for a long range anti-armour weapon, allowing strike aircraft to... The term raptor can refer to: In zoology, a bird of prey. ...

Military operations

The Tornado GR4 made its operational debut in patrols during Operation Southern Watch. The aircraft flew from Ali Al Salem in Kuwait, and patrolled a large part of southern Iraq. Several times bombs were dropped when the aircraft were fired upon by Iraqi ground defences. Operation Southern Watch was an operation conducted by Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) with the mission of monitoring and controlling airspace south of the 33rd Parallel in Iraq, following the 1991 Gulf War up until the start of the Second Gulf War in 2003. ... Ali Al Salem is an airfield situated in Kuwait approximately 23 miles from the Iraqi border. ...

Its full wartime debut came in Operation Telic, the British part of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The aircraft, according to all indications in the public domain, performed well. The campaign in Iraq marked a number of firsts for the aircraft. No. 617 Squadron debuted the Storm Shadow Missile, and enhanced Paveway Missiles were used in an anti-runway capacity. Operation Telic is the codename under which all British operations of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and after are being conducted. ... 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... No. ... Storm Shadow is an Anglo-French air-launched cruise missile, manufactured by MBDA and used by Britain, France, and Italy. ... Paveway is the name given to a series of American laser-guided bombs. ...

Roles

The Tornado GR4's main function is ground attack (generally low to medium-level bombing) using the full range of air-to-ground munitions. Typical missions include precision strike (e.g. Paveway/Storm Shadow) and Supression of Enemy Air Defence (e.g. ALARM missile or LGB attacks on Command & Control.) AGM-88 HARM missile on a US Navy aircraft SEAD (pronunciation: see-add), or Suppression of Enemy Air Defences operations are military actions to suppress enemy surface-based air defences (SAMs and AAA) primarily in, but not limited to, the first hours of an attack. ...

The GR4 will be replaced in RAF service by the Future Offensive Air System. This could be a manned aircraft, a UAV or cruise missile (possible Storm Shadow) based weapons system. Options for manned aircraft include modified versions of the Eurofighter Typhoon or the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. If selected the Typhoon would likely be modified for internal weapons carriage and increased internal fuel capacity. The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... BAE SYSTEMS FOAS Concept The Future Offensive Air System is the system which will replace the RAFs strike capability currently provided by the Tornado GR4. ... Unmanned Aerial Vehicle over Iraq. ... A Tomahawk cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile which uses a lifting wing and most often a jet propulsion system to allow sustained flight. ... British Eurofighter Development Aircraft (DA) The Eurofighter Typhoon is a highly agile twin-engine multi-role canard-delta fighter aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of European nations formed in 1983. ... The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is a joint venture between the USA, Britain and several partner countries, to replace the current generation of strike fighters, particularly the VSTOL AV-8 Harrier II (US), Harrier GR7/9 (UK), the Sea Harrier (UK) and the conventional A-10 Thunderbolt II...

Specifications

General characterisitics

• Crew: 2
• Wing Span: (Variable geometry wing)
  • At 25° wing position : 13.91 m (45.6 ft)
  • At 67° wing position: 8.60 m (28.2 ft)
• Wing Area: 26.6 m² (286 ft²)
• Length: 16.7 m (54 ft 10 in)
• Height: 5.95 m (19 ft 6 in)
• Weights:
  • empty: 20,410 kg (45,000 lb)
  • maximum take-off: 28,000 kg (61,700 lb)
• Powerplants: Two Turbo-Union RB199 afterburning turbofans:
  • each with 40.5 kN (9,100 lbf) dry thrust or 71.2 kN (16,000 lbf) in reheat

A swing-wing is a type of pivoted wing planform that attempts to combine the advantages of a swept wing at high speeds, while avoiding its problems at lower speeds. ... RB199s of Tornado F3 The Turbo Union RB199 is an aircraft jet engine designed and built jointly by Rolls-Royce, MTU and FiatAvio (now Avio). ... CFM56-3 turbofan, lower half, side view. ...

Performance

• Max. Speed: clean: 2,338 km/h (1,452 mph)
• Range:
  • Typical hi-lo-hi mission: 1,480 km (800 n mi)
  • Ferry Range: (four external tanks): 3,800 km (2,360 mi)
• Service Ceiling: 15,240 m (50,000 ft)
• Maximum rate of climb: 4,600 m/s (15,000 ft/min)
• Wing loading:
• Thrust/weight: 1.38 N/kg (0.14 lbf/lb) at normal takeoff weight

Armament

• Guns: One 27mm Mauser BK-27 cannon with 180 rounds per gun.
• Missiles: AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-132 ASRAAM, Storm Shadow, ALARM, Brimstone
• Bombs: Paveway LGBs, Dumb bombs
• Other: RAPTOR Reconnaissance pod, TIALD Laser designator

The BK 27 (also BK27 or BK-27) (Translation: Board Cannon) is a 27 mm autocannon manufactured by Mauser (currently part of Rheinmetall). ... Sidewinder Missile The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range, air-to-air missile carried by fighter aircraft. ... The AIM-132 Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile is a British air-to-air missile with infra-red guidance. ... Storm Shadow is an Anglo-French air-launched cruise missile, manufactured by MBDA and used by Britain, France, and Italy. ... For the British anti-radiation missile, see ALARM. An alarm gives an audible or visual warning of a problem or condition. ... Brimstone test firing from Panavia Tornado The Brimstone missile is an advanced Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) developed by MBDA. The missile is a development of Boeings AGM-114 Hellfire is designed to meet the RAFs requirement for a long range anti-armour weapon, allowing strike aircraft to... A Paveway III seeker head, at the RAF Museum in Hendon, London. ... BAE TIALD pod on Panavia Tornado TIALD, the Thermal Imaging Airborne Laser Designator pod, is manfactured by BAE SYSTEMS and is the UKs laser designator for laser-guided bombs. ...

Units

• No. 9 Squadron - RAF Marham
• No. 12 Squadron - RAF Lossiemouth
• No. 14 Squadron - RAF Lossiemouth
• No. XV (Reserve) Squadron - RAF Lossiemouth
• No. 31 'The Goldstars' Squadron - RAF Marham
• No. 617 Squadron - RAF Lossiemouth

No. ... RAF Marham is a Royal Air Force station in Norfolk, England. ... No. ... RAF Lossiemouth is a Royal Air Force station in Scotland. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ...