RAF Panavia Tornado F3 ADV Interceptor Fighter Serial ZE789.(AU) Based Leeming. GAV 2058-158
The Tornado ADV had its origins in an RAF requirement (Air Staff Requirement 395 or ), which called for a long-range interceptor to replace the Lightning F6 and Phantom FGR2. The requirement for a modern interceptor was driven by the threat posed by the large Soviet long-range bomber fleet, in particular the supersonic Tupolev Tu-22M. From the beginning of the Tornado IDS's development in 1968, the possibility of a variant dedicated to air defense had been quietly considered; several American aircraft had been evaluated but found to be unsuitable. The concept was not attractive to other European partners, thus UK proceeded alone; development of the Tornado ADV was approved on 4 March 1976, with British Aerospace (BAe, now BAE Systems) to provide 3 prototypes. Formation take-off of an RAF Tornado and a Tornado prototypeThe first prototype was rolled out at Warton on 9 August 1979, before making its maiden flight on 27 October 1979. The second and third development aircraft made their first flights on 18 July and 18 November 1980, respectively During the flight testing, the ADV demonstrated noticeably superior supersonic acceleration to the IDS, even while carrying a full weapons loadout. The testing of the prototypes was greatly aided by the use of real-time telemetry being broadcast back to ground technicians from aircraft in flight. The third prototype was primarily used in the testing of the new Marconi/Ferranti Foxhunter airborne interception radar. The Tornado ADV's differences compared to the IDS include a greater sweep angle on the inboard fixed wing sections, deletion of the Krueger flaps and the port cannon, a longer radome for the Foxhunter radar, and a fuselage stretch of m to allow the carriage of four Skyflash semi-active radar homing missiles. The stretch was applied to the Tornado front fuselage being built by the UK, with a plug being added immediately behind the cockpit, which had the incidental benefit of reducing drag.
Size: 6144px × 3976px
Location: RAF Lossiemouth, Moray. Grampian Region. Scotland. United Kingdom.
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: air, defence, imposing, panavia, sleek, streamlined, tornado, variant
