Tornado ADV
ManufacturerPanavia Aircraft GmbH
The Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant (ADV) is a long-range, twin-engine swing-wing interceptor aircraft developed by the European Panavia Aircraft GmbH consortium. It was a specialised derivative of the multirole Panavia Tornado.
Development of the Tornado ADV formally commenced in 1976. It was primarily intended to intercept Soviet bombers as they were traversing across the North Sea with the aim of preventing a successful air-launched nuclear attack against the United Kingdom. In this capacity, it was equipped with a powerful radar and beyond-visual-range missiles. Having been based on the multinational Tornado IDS, development was relatively quick. Originally, the programme was solely pursued by the United Kingdom. The first prototype performed its maiden flight on 27 October 1979; two further prototypes followed in the year after. The initial production model, the Tornado F2, entered service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1986.
The Tornado F2, which was only produced in small numbers, lacked key features such as radar, due to development issues. Accordingly, it was quickly followed by the Tornado F3, which was introduced in 1989. Featuring optimised RB.199 Mk 104 engines,...
Development of the Tornado ADV formally commenced in 1976. It was primarily intended to intercept Soviet bombers as they were traversing across the North Sea with the aim of preventing a successful air-launched nuclear attack against the United Kingdom. In this capacity, it was equipped with a powerful radar and beyond-visual-range missiles. Having been based on the multinational Tornado IDS, development was relatively quick. Originally, the programme was solely pursued by the United Kingdom. The first prototype performed its maiden flight on 27 October 1979; two further prototypes followed in the year after. The initial production model, the Tornado F2, entered service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1986.
The Tornado F2, which was only produced in small numbers, lacked key features such as radar, due to development issues. Accordingly, it was quickly followed by the Tornado F3, which was introduced in 1989. Featuring optimised RB.199 Mk 104 engines,...
