Posted on 08/05/2015 10:17:01 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
The RAF Tornado mission in Iraq, which was supposed to be disbanded last March, will be extended until "at least" March 2017. Why has this veteran Cold War combat jet proved so enduring?
The cockpit of a supersonic Tornado attack bomber is a much more peaceful place than you might expect.
"It's incredibly quiet," says Jas Hawker, a former RAF wing commander who flew the aircraft over Iraq and Kosovo. "The pilot and the navigator could drop their oxygen masks and talk to each other. It's not silent but it's a lot quieter than people think."
It also has a rather retro feel, as befits a four-decade-old model approaching the end of its time in service. "It's still full of 1980s dials," says Hawker. There isn't the array of screens you might see in more modern fighters, he adds.
Despite this, it's just been given a new lease of life.
The eight Tornado GR4 fighter bombers launching ground attacks against the Islamic State group in Iraq - Number 12 Squadron, which is deployed in Cyprus - were due to be disbanded last year and replaced with more modern Eurofighter Typhoons.
But then Prime Minister David Cameron announced the Tornados' mission would continue until March 2016, and on Tuesday Defence Secretary Michael Fallon announced it would be extended by a further year.
It's a distinction for an aircraft that was conceived in the late 1960s, flew for the first time in 1974 and entered service in 1980. The RAF's Tornado fleet is due to retire in 2019, the date having been brought forward from the original deadline of 2025.
The jet is very much a product of its era. The Panavia Tornado was developed jointly by the UK, Germany and Italy to fly low and fast, avoid
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
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Ask why we’re still so dependent on F-15s. The Tornado and F-15 both were developed in the early 1970s.
Hell, ask why we still depend on the B-52. . . .the NEWEST ones are over 50 years old. . .
In many ways the "Flying Fin", the B-52, the KC-135 and the C-130 are testaments to the old school slide rule designers. Man, they built 'em to last.
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