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The Panavia Tornado ADV (Air Defense Variant) was developed for the Royal Air Force (RAF) to fulfill the role of long-range, maritime interceptor. The ADV was based on the Tornado IDS ground attack variant and was selected as a cost-effective solution to replace the aging inventory of McDonnell Douglas Phantom IIs and English Electric Lightnings. Despite seeing a production run of just 218 aircraft, the Tornado ADV variant formed an important "quick-reaction" force against airspace aggression on the part of the Soviets. The Tornado ADV variant is set to be replaced in British and Saudi service by the ultra-modern, oft-delayed Eurofighter Typhoon. In all, service of the ADV has been limited to the British RAF, the Saudis RAF and Italian AF - the latter no longer making use of the platform.


The Panavia Name

The name "Panavia" stems from the multi-national design effort to produce a "Multi-Role Combat Aircraft" (project "MRCA", formerly known as "MRA" - Multi-Role Aircraft). MRA was initiated by Canada, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands and West Germany to replace their stable of aging Lockheed F-104 Starfighters which were beginning to reach the end of their useful lives. Britain joined the program when their other AFVG (Anglo French Variable Geometry) "swing-wing" joint venture with France fizzled. While Canada, Belgium and Netherlands ultimately left the now-named MRCA project, Britain, West Germany and Italy forged ahead to form Panavia Aircraft GmbH, splitting the company stake between the three (for both the airframe and the powerplant production). Components (broken down into the nose/tail - Britain; fuselage - West Germany; and wings - Italy) would be individually completed in their respective nations before final assembly. The engine conglomerate (Turbo-Union) was made up of Rolls-Royce of Britain and MTU of West Germany and Italian firm FIAT. Italy held a minor stake in both the airframe and poweplant groups. Panavia Aircraft GmbH was based in Germany while Turbo Union Ltd was based in the UK. The NATO Multirole Combat Aircraft Development and Production Management Agency (NAMMA) was established to direct and manage Tornado production. Similarly, the model was used for the upcoming Eurofighter Typhoon program, then known as the European Fighter Aircraft (EFA). NAMMA and EFA were both superseded by the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA). As a result, the multi-national Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH has taken over Panavia's commitment to the Tornados.


The Tornado ADV is Born

Despite the "multi-role" direction of the MRCA program (the end product becoming the Tornado IDS - InterDiction / Strike), there was little value in showcasing the new aircraft as a point air defense platform. Britain's major threat was to be the unescorted, long-range bombers originating from within the Soviet Union. While the agile aircraft offerings of mainland Europe proved suitable for that respective environment, defense of the British Isles brought with it a certain dedicated level of requirements from a point defense fighter design - mainly long ranges over featureless water.

As such, the RAF took it upon themselves to have the Tornado airframe offer up a sort of "double duty" requirement within its ranks. Seizing the opportunity, the RAF moved to develop a cost-effective solution for its aging air defense corps, a solution not requiring wholesale changes of the base IDS variant. The heart of the new system would be the Marconi Avionics pulse-Doppler radar suite tied to the new British Aerospace Dynamics XJ521 Sky Flash medium-range air-to-air missile (a derivative of the American AIM-7 Sparrow). Beyond Visual Range (BVR) engagements would be the call of the day for such a maritime interceptor and the new Tornado ADV (Air Defense Variant) was perceived as the most effective solution in bringing down a fast, high-flying Soviet bomber.

In 1976, the initial Tornado order of 385 total was now to include 165 Tornado ADV variants. The prototype ADV "ZA254" (first of the of the three ultimately constructed) was unveiled on August 9th, 1979 with a first flight taking place on October 27th, 1979, over Warton. This initial flight included the use of several "dummy" Skyflash missiles and was able to top Mach 1.0. Handling was improved over the IDS counterpart thanks in part to the revised lengthened fuselage sporting a new center of gravity. Further tests validated the design and included an in-flight refueling exercise as well as a night-time landing attempt. The second prototype became ZA267 on July 18th, 1980, and was tasked with weapons development for the ADV program. The final prototype became ZA254 on November 18th, 1980, and ultimately ended her developmental tenure as a museum-like showpiece outside of RAF Coningsby.


First Delivery and Operation

Deliveries of the initial F.Mk 2 began in 1984 and comprised just 16 examples. Interestingly, these first airframes were delivered without their all-important Marconi radars. Apparently, the Marconi Foxhunter radar still had much in the way of issues to be ironed out. A forward concrete weight (designated as "Blue Circle") was therefore added in their place to keep the weight of the aircraft balanced per her intended specifications and training could commence. The first ADV squadron formed as No.29 out of RAF Coningsby in May of 1987. Operational status was determined by the end of November of that year. These early F.Mk 2s were eventually set up in storage and stripped of useful parts for future ADVs further down the road.

The Tornado ADV quickly offered an integral part of the UK's air defense web. The ADV would operate in conjunction with NATO forces and ground points as well as in-flight fuel tankers and supply the UK proper with a long-range defense element. The basis of this defense web would become the ADV itself, coupling speed, firepower and tracking/targeting capabilities well-beyond that as was made available from the aircraft in the current RAF inventory. The ADV furthered the legacy of the Tornado family, though of by some as THE most important aircraft development of the Cold War.


You're No Dogfighter

While an interceptor by name, the Tornado ADV was never to be fully remembered for her close-in fighter qualities - this no doubt being the inherent limitation of her original low-level strike fighter origins. As a Cold War-era design, she was a missile-laden platform at heart, designed for overall speed to a target area and delivery of air-to-air missiles against aerial targets at range. This explains her need for only one internal cannon (she was not expected to be much of a close-range dogfighting mount to begin with) and her many available external hardpoints. Where the ADV did shine was in her delivery of speed, response time during take-offs and her BVR engagement capabilities. By modern standards, however, this would seem to no longer fit the perceived air combat bill but - in Cold War thinking - this was appropriately the norm in aircraft design - even across the United States and the Soviet Union. Regardless, the Tornado ADV still maintains a presence within the ranks of her users - predominantly the RAF - and has even recently seen action in the interception of stray Russian Tupolev Tu-160 "Blackjack" bombers near UK airspace.



General characteristics

* Crew: 2
* Length: 18.68 m (61 ft 3½ in)
* Wingspan: (Variable geometry wing)
o At 25° wing position : 13.91 m (45 ft 7½ in)
o At 67° wing position: 8.60 m (28 ft 2½ in)
* Height: 5.95 m (19 ft 6½ in)
* Wing area: 26.60 m² (286.3 sq ft)
* Empty weight: 14,500 kg (31,970 lb)
* Loaded weight: 21,546 kg[citation needed] (47,500 lb)
* Max takeoff weight: 27,986 kg (61,700 lb)
* Powerplant: 2× Turbo-Union RB199-34R Augmented Turbofans
o Dry thrust: 40.5 kN (9,100 lbf) each
o Thrust with afterburner: 73.5 kN (16,520 lbf) each

Performance

* Maximum speed: 1,480 km/h (800 knots, 920 mph) IAS (Mach 2.2 at altitude)
* Combat radius: more than 1,853 km (1000 nmi, 1,151 mi) (subsonic), more than 556 km (300 nmi, 345 mi) supersonic
* Ferry range: 4,265 km[13] (2,300 nmi, 2,650 mi) with four external tanks
* Endurance: 2 hr combat air patrol at 560–740 km (300–400 nmi, 345–460 mi) from base
* Service ceiling: 15,240 m [14] (50,000 ft)

Armament

* Guns: 1× Mauser BK-27 Revolver cannon with 180 rounds (internally mounted under starboard side of fuselage, versus 2× BK-27 mounted on Panavia Tornado IDS)
* Hardpoints: 10 total (4× semi-recessed under-fuselage, 2× under-fuselage, 4× swivelling under-wing) holding up to 9000 kg (19,800 lb) of payload, the two inner wing pylons have shoulder launch rails for 2× Short-Range AAM (SRAAM) each
* Missiles:
o 4× AIM-9 Sidewinder or AIM-132 ASRAAM
o 4× British Aerospace Skyflash or AIM-120 AMRAAM (mounted on 4 semi-recessed under-fuselage hardpoints)
* Others:
o Up to 2× drop tanks for extended range/loitering time. Up to 4 drop tanks for ferry role (at the expense of 4 Skyflash/AMRAAM).

Avionics

* Marconi/Ferranti AI.24 Foxhunter radar

Excellent stuff

A bit of useless Tornado trivia - The under-belly armaments are held on by a device called a mace adaptor (1 per bomb, 2 per missile) that is essentially a shaped bracket that grips the ordnance and is pinned to the aircraft by a release bolt. Being made of steel that is close to stainless, these things are heavy, for such small objects (about 2lbs each) and are ejected with the ordnance. During the first Gulf war, allied forces reported finding two enemy combatants who had died after being struck by falling mace adaptors! The guys who machined them (by the thousands by all accounts) were very proud of this, and are still recounting the story now.

JLAmber wrote:Excellent stuff

A bit of useless Tornado trivia - The under-belly armaments are held on by a device called a mace adaptor (1 per bomb, 2 per missile) that is essentially a shaped bracket that grips the ordnance and is pinned to the aircraft by a release bolt. Being made of steel that is close to stainless, these things are heavy, for such small objects (about 2lbs each) and are ejected with the ordnance. During the first Gulf war, allied forces reported finding two enemy combatants who had died after being struck by falling mace adaptors! The guys who machined them (by the thousands by all accounts) were very proud of this, and are still recounting the story now.

What morbid amusement! I always liked the Tornado. It's a stout bird.