The Plane Built to Break Russia

so much respect to the engineers that build that thing without (advanced) computer aid

It is this Tornado not doneyt Ukraina end can win Rusia

As a little kid I loved playing the tornado simulator by Digital integration. It was very hard but I still played through and read through the manuals to be able to understand the controls. The most new thing to me was that almost everything was automated to every minute and synchronised with other planes from the group when running a carpet bombing assault on the airfields. Also that simulator shown a rare load out variant with non guided antitank missiles as you can see for example on the hind choppers or some versions of early f16s. I heard that such load out allowed it also to be used as a10 replacement which seems doubtful because tornado was far more expensive plane to be used with full wingspan as a storm plane

My uncle flew tornados in the 90s and early 2000s, he was piloting one which had an engine fire and he ejected. I believe, after some digging, that it was ZE809. ZE809 was a Tornado F3 (what he flew) which had an engine fire and both of the crew ejected and survived. This lines up with the story he told us to the letter and it was lost in 1994 which was when he was in service. If anybody could find any info on this then i would appreciate it. I'm trying to find a video he showed us of the instruments showing the failure. His name is Martin Stevenson/Stephson and his middle name begins with a C.

The finest looking aircraft ever conceived.

My favorite warplane growing up. 😍 What a legendary and gorgeous aircraft!

In terms of low-level flight performance as well as fuel economy thanks to its triple-concentric-shaft Rolls Royce turbo fan - Tornado is still best in class.

If you were ever walking or climbing in the Llanberis pass in Wales these used to fly below you.....

Such a sexy plane but damn is it smaller than you think.

While fly by wire might have been new to this consortium it wasn't exactly unheard of. The F-16 prototype first took flight a full six months prior to the Tornado and is also fully fly by wire. They can go for the claim to fame of being the first fly by wire variable geometry wing setup though.

Even the first time you see it the Tornado just looks "right", a superb design but now sadly retired

The plane that made start loving aviation, when i was 3 or 4 years old and i saw one doing a fly by near the roof of my uncle's house.

..much like the Aardvark!(follow terrain)

My favorite Jet fighter/bomber

….“still is“… would be the correct form to address this aircraft. One of the best sounding jets out there

The TSR2. The plane that should have been!!

The flying lawn mower

An awesome piece of kit

Pakistan was so near in buying these jets in the 1990s but then the French came with their mighty Mirage 2000s

I remember when i was at middle school 8 to 13 years old for an exam i had to do a talk and being that i was nuts about avation i choose this aircraft. I gave such a detailed talk that i was praised for it. I have seen this aircraft quite a few times there is one acting as a gate guard at RAF Sealand. Panavia Tornado GR4 - Royal Air Force - ZA607 EB-X. If your in the UK and you love this aircraft i recommend that you go take a look.

Those countries that still retain the Tornado as an active part of their Air Force do so knowing that it’s as good as any current new technological aircraft made today. Britain should have retained not only the Tornado but also the Harriet Jets.

After Desert Storm some USAF fighter pilots told of their sheer disbelief at the low level flying of the British Tornado pilots.
Below tree top height (had there been any) literally 10-15m off the ground at high speeds and while maneuvering.
The Brits took some heavy losses among the Tornado crews but they hammered their targets relentlessly and with great effect.

Nice pics from the Yorkshire dales, A5 Pass, too, was a lot of fun. Sorry, we were not allowed to do this stuff in Germany. But the Baltic and the North Sea had a lot of space. You know how to spot a "Klappdrachen" (Folding Dragon): look for the water spray coming up behind the bird when flying real low levels.
Best regards
skunk

F-111 also had pylons that rotated as the wings swept...

That is pronounced Tor-NAH-do

The Tornado reminds me of the Hurricane, solid, the workhorse of air defence. Reliable and stalwart.

The most beautiful plane built by the UK and very, very effective

The most underrated and best looking aircraft ever created. Truly beautiful machine.

Thanks. Very relavent in todays enviro.

Tornados were scary

This plane would do wonder for the Ukrainians at the present time

Hmm, okay we had Tornado and Typhoon but I don't see a future for significant european collaborations like this again. Looks like we will rely on US from now on.....

Very vunerable at low-level iraq downed 8 of them easy to lock onto due to high RCS and ability to fall for AD traps

This is one of the loudest aircraft I have ever heard, just deafening.

I remember building an Airfix model of the Tornado as a kid in the 80’s. Thought it was the coolest looking plane I’d ever seen.

I worked on the 1st hp turbine blades for the RB199 engines. They were complex for the era.
Directionally cooled single crystal castings with radial holes running the length of the blade.
connected to the leading edge by spark eroded holes 2 tenths of a mm wide, 2 tenths of a mm apart.
Similar holes in the trailing edge made by acid etching methods. Every blade x-rayed and examined.
The joke was we were looking to see if they had `Blade Worms.`😄
The legend was that with the air forced through them they could operate above their own melting point.
No wonder the price tag was high.

The perfect aircraft for Ukraine

Man really said "Just like the Simulations"

These videos so consistently throw in errors that it almost seems like deliberate misinformation. Of course the F-111 had rotating pylons.

We'll see if not Russia will actually break it!

Good old aircraft but, in modern days has no stealth capacity.
I did happen to be in a briefing though with cockpit video and audio of a RAF mission in the Yugoslavia war and I will say what great brave men they are to complete their mission.
I cannot describe to you how intense the communication between the Weapons Officer and Pilot was like. I wish that things like this could be released because the intensity of it is nothing you could understand until you hear or see. As I can say what brave men.

Britain should have kept at least 30 40 tornadoes and updated them fitted up to date radars and avionics ,they would have still been very capable and would fill the gap an increase our air power til the tempest arrives

Until the F-14 showed up.

Aviation and sea has a use but when
It comes to Nuclear the largest aircraft carriers will end up ingulfed
By sea water along with land
I can't see many surviving airports
As all will be turned to waterlogged
Rubble no where to land planes
Will fall from the skies men women children no more
It will be imaginable but it won't
Matter you wouldn't even want
Warning

Awesome plane.
I worked on the HUD for the Tornado.

wonder what technology break through that made swept wing redundant?

unrivaled in high-speed low-level flight and uninterceptable by manpads and modern russian weapons

The Tornado is awesome!

Western countries, especially Anglo-Saxon's are exceedingly amazing in marketing and spin and propaganda.