The Panavia Tornado is a variable geometry aircraft designed to fill the roles of a fighter bomber or interceptor depending on configuration. It was developed and built by Panavia, a tri-national consortium consisting of British Aerospace, MBB of West Germany, and Alenia Aeronautica of Italy, the Panavia Tornado first flew in August 1974 and entered operational service in 1979. When production ceased in 1999 a total of 992 Tornados had been produced. It is of note that the Panavia Tornado saw action with the RAF, the Italian Air Force, and the Royal Saudi Air Force in the Gulf War. The Tornado GR1B was a specialised anti-shipping version of the RAF Tornado GR1 strike aircraft delivered in early 1994. Once introduced the Tornado GR1B replaced the Blackburn Buccaneer in it's anti-shipping role, delivering the Sea Eagle anti-ship missile. As the need for an anti-shipping aircraft decreased and the Sea Eagle became obsolete the Tornado GR1B's and the GR1's in RAF service were modified into the Tornado GR4 strike aircraft, the last GR1's were taken out of RAF service in 1999. Tornado GR1B Specifications: - Crew: 2
- Length: 16.72 m (54 ft 10 in)
- Wingspan: 13.91 m at 25° wing sweep, 8.60 m at 67° wing sweep (45.6 ft / 28.2 ft)
- Height: 5.95 m (19.5 ft)
- Wing area: 26.6 m² (286 ft²)
Empty weight: 13,890 kg (31,620 lb) - Max takeoff weight: 28,000 kg (61,700 lb)
- Engines: Twin 76.8 kN (17,270 lbf) Turbo-Union RB199-34R Mk 103 afterburning turbofans
- Maximum speed: Mach 2.34 (2,417.6 km/h, 1,511 mph)
- Combat range: 1,390 km (870 mi)
- Service ceiling: 15,240 m (50,000 ft)
- Rate of climb: 76.7 m/s (15,100 ft/min)
- Thrust/weight: 0.55
Armament: - Single 27 mm Mauser BK-27 cannon with 180 rounds
- Four fuselage pylons and four swivelling under-wing pylons with a capacity of a maximum of 9000 kg (19,800 lb) of stores which may consist of the following
Auxiliary fuel tanks
ECM pods
AIM-9 Sidewinder
IRIS-T ASRAAM air-to-air self-defence missiles
AIM-132 ASRAAM air-to-air self-defence missiles
Sea Eagle anti-ship missile
Various air-to-ground guided or non guided ordnance
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