Tornado F3 Bows Out by Mark McGrath

For the last 20 years, the men and women of 43 (F) and 111 (F) Squadrons, based at Royal Air Force Leuchars in Scotland, have flown the Panavia Tornado F3 in defense of the United Kingdom’s northern airspace. However, the Tornado F3’s time as the first line of defense is drawing to a close – prematurely, in the case of 43(F) Squadron, which stood down and disbanded in mid-July 2009, nine months earlier than their originally planned. 111 (F) Squadron will soldier on as the last RAF operators of the Tornado F3 until the type’s planned out-of-service date sometime in 2011.

Origins of the F3

The Tornado F3 was developed from the tri-national Tornado IDS strike aircraft (designated as GR.1 in RAF service), to meet an RAF requirement for a long-range interceptor to replace the English Electric Lightnings and McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms that made up the RAF's air defence fleet in the 1970's. The Cold War was then at its peak, and daily encounters with wandering TU-95 Bears were not an uncommon occurrence. An order was placed with British Aerospace in March 1976 for three prototype Tornado ADV (Air Defence Variant ) airframes. The first was rolled out from BAe's production facility at Warton in August of 1979 and made its maiden flight in October of the same year. Externally, the ADV. as it was at the time, differed from the GR1 by having a 1.36m fuselage plug inserted immediately behind the cockpit section, allowing for the carriage of four Skyflash Air to Air missiles under the fuselage, and a longer radome to accommodate the Marconi/Ferranti AI24 Foxhunter radar system.

Designated F.2, the first of 18 production ADVs flew in March 1984 and was delivered to the RAF in November of the same year. There were, however, some serious issues with the development of the Foxhunter radar, and the F,2's were delivered instead with the "Blue Circle" radar – a ballast block made from cement. (The name "Blue Circle" came about due to it being a prominent British brand of cement.)

The Tornado F3 made its first flight in November of 1985, and entered service in September 1986. Along with a functional Foxhunter radar, the F3 featured the upgrade RB199 Mk104 engine, optimised for high altitude use, and was able to carry four rather than two Sidewinder missiles on the wing pylons. The RAF procured 152 examples of the F3, disposing of the F.2s after using them briefly for training.

Role of the F3

Since the type’s entry into service, the primary tasking for the Tornado F3 fleet has been to provide QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) interception cover for UK airspace, with jets on standby to launch at between 8 and 10 minutes’ notice. During the Cold War, the mission was primarily to intercept Soviet Tuplolev Tu-95 Bear and Tu-160 Blackjack bombers, which would regularly test UK air defences. QRA aircraft are armed with live weapons, typically carrying four short-range ASRAAM missiles, four medium-range AMRAAM missiles, an internal Mauser MB27 canon with 180 rounds, and two long range, 2250-litre external fuel tanks.

When the Cold War came to an end, the amount of QRA launches to intercept intruder aircraft declined siginificantly, resulting in the government of the time deciding to start the draw down of the Tornado F3 force while awaiting delivery of the Eurofighter Typhoon. However, things changed following the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11th 2001. No longer were Russian bombers the only focus of attention; the threat to UK airspace now included the potential of terrorist attack from the air. In 2007, the Russian Air Force bomber fleet which had been largely grounded since the end of the Cold War, became active again as high oil prices allowed the Russian government to channel financial resources towards their armed forces. The F3 force found itself carrying out its original mission, the interception of wandering Bears, once again.

The F3 at War

Eighteen aircraft from the Tornado F3 fleet were forward-deployed to Dhahran Air Force Base in Saudi Arabia in 1991, to participate in Operation Granby following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. No strike escort missions were flown over Iraq, and no enemy aircraft were shot down by the F3 fleet. Royal Saudi Air Force Tornado F3s also took part in operations during the first Gulf War. After the end of hostilities, the F3 fleet continued to operate in the Gulf region, providing an average of six aircraft to police the Southern No-Fly Zones.

The F3 fleet next operated a little closer to home, providing aircraft to police the no-fly zones in the North Atlantic Treaty Organizaion’s Opertion Deny Flight over Bosnia, from April 1993 to December 1995. Italian Air Force Tornado F3s also flew combat air patrols over Yugoslavia during Operation Allied Force, a NATO led mission in 1999.

2003 once again saw aircraft from the Tornado F3 fleet forward deployed to Saudi Arabia to participate in Operation Telic. This time the F3s operated as escort aircraft for strike packages deep into the heart of Iraq, but as in the first Gulf War no shots were fired in anger – mainly because no Iraqi aircraft took to the skies in the second conflict.

Since 1992, four Tornado F3s have been stationed at RAF Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands, providing QRA coverage for the remote British islands in the South Atlantic. These aircraft, operated by the RAF’s 1435 Flight, are due to be replaced by the Eurofighter Typhoon in September 2009.

Other F3 Operators

Apart from the RAF, only two other air forces have operated the Tornado F3. The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) obtained 24 as part of the Al Yamamah arms deal, with the first aircraft being delivered in February 1989. These aircraft are still in service; however, the RSAF have just taken delivery of the first Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to replace them.

The other operator was the Italian Air Force, which, due to delays to the Eurofighter Typhoon program, operated 24 aircraft on a ten-year lease from the RAF from 1995 to 2004. Following further delays to the Typhoon, Italy decided in 2000 to acquire another interim fighter. This time ex-U.S. Air Force F-16s were chosen, as it was not considered cost-effective to bring the leased F3s up to the latest spec being operated by the RAF.

End of an Era

In 2004, with the Typhoon preparing to enter RAF service, it was decided as part of a UK defence review to begin the final draw-down of the F3 fleet. 11 Squadron, based at RAF Leeming, stood down as an F3 operator in October of 2005 before re-forming as a Typhoon unit in March 2007. In early 2008, 25 Squadron, also based at RAF Leeming, was disbanded, along with 56 Squadron, the Tornado F3 Operational Conversion Unit at RAF Leuchars. This left 43 Squadron and 111 Squadron, along with 1435 Flight (crewed and operated by the Leuchars squadrons), as the last remaining users of the RAF’s F3s.

In April 2009, it was announced that 43 Squadron would be disbanding and standing down as an F3 operator in July. On July 2nd, just 11 days before the squadron was to disband, two aircrew from 43 Squadron were tragically killed when their aircraft crashed during a routine training mission. When 1435 Flight replaces its F3s with Typhoons, 111 Squadron will hold the distinction of being the final RAF Tornado F3 squadron. 6 Squadron is due to reform on the Eurofighter Typhoon and move to RAF Leuchars sometime in 2010, becoming the base's first Typhoon squadron. At the time of writing it has not been decided by the Ministry of Defence, what the other two planned Leuchars Typhoon squadrons will be.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Steve for being an excellent host for my base visits, and to the men and women of RAF Leuchars.

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