UK_Widowmaker 571 Posted March 26, 2011 The Tornado is shortly to take her curtain call, to be replaced by Eurofighter...but before she does...She left a goodbye message for Col Gaddafi!...ouch..that's gotta hurt!!! http://theamericanaudacity.blogspot.com/2011/03/british-tornado-gr4-fighter-bombers.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ShrikeHawk 384 Posted March 26, 2011 Ooh yeah. That's a nice swan song for the awesome Tornado. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fallenphoenix1986 603 Posted March 26, 2011 Tornado F.3's are being replaced by the Tiffie, Gr.4's should be around for a while yet... that is they aint figured out whats replacing them yet. Craig Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
turkeydriver 4 Posted March 26, 2011 (edited) That was my understanding as well, the F.3s are being replaced and leaving the typhoon with the air defense/interceptor role. The GR4s still have a LOT more to teach to the Typhoons in regards to mud moving. After Tranche 3 birds are fully matured, the Typhoon may finally deploy as a viable A-G asset. Right now that role is still secondary IIRC. Edited March 26, 2011 by turkeydriver Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spinners 15,986 Posted March 26, 2011 Yep, no fear of the GR.4 leaving service for quite a few years yet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Derk 265 Posted March 26, 2011 (edited) Pfffft .... But one never knows with politicians: if for instance The Platform for Heterosexual Lesbiennes (a VERY pityfull and sad minority) must be subsidized, it might very well cost the Tornado it's head ....... Houdoe, Derk Edited March 26, 2011 by Derk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UK_Widowmaker 571 Posted March 26, 2011 Haha..that's news to me (indeed...good news)...Let's just hope Derk is proven wrong...But, like he says...if it's up to the Politicians Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lt. James Cater 62 Posted March 26, 2011 Haha..that's news to me (indeed...good news)...Let's just hope Derk is proven wrong...But, like he says...if it's up to the Politicians The scariest thing in the world is being at the mercy of Politicians. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UK_Widowmaker 571 Posted March 26, 2011 The scariest thing in the world is being at the mercy of Politicians. Thank god they're not in charge...It's the media and Oil Companies and Banks (so thats alright then) Oh...hmmmmm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MAKO69 186 Posted March 27, 2011 Is the RAF the last operator, and will these birds find a new home? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+SkippyBing 8 Posted March 27, 2011 Is the RAF the last operator, and will these birds find a new home? The RAF is scheduled to use them until ~2020 I think, meanwhile the Italians, Germans and Saudis also operate the Tornado. The actual aircraft taking part in OPERATION ELLAMY* are due to be retired soon as part of the UK defence cuts, this makes sense as it means you're putting extra hours on airframes that are going out of service rather than ones you're planning on keeping around for another decade. *The UK name for operations in support of UN Resolution 1973, as opposed to Odyssey Dawn which is a bit of a stupid name to use when you realise the Odyssey was the story of one man's seemingly endless struggle to return home after a ten year war in the Middle East... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+ianh755 196 Posted March 27, 2011 (edited) The actual aircraft taking part in OPERATION ELLAMY* are due to be retired soon as part of the UK defence cuts, this makes sense as it means you're putting extra hours on airframes that are going out of service rather than ones you're planning on keeping around for another decade. Sorry SkippyBing but that's not quite right, those airframes currently on Op's are part of the Tornado Diamond fleet (fully modded for the lastest enhanced muntions like Brimstone/Storm Shadow/Paveway IV etc) and as such aren't getting scrapped anytime soon, it's the none-diamond fleet being phased out. The Diamond fleet exist due to financial pressures. The RAF couldn't afford to modify the whole GR4 fleet to carry newer enhanced munitions (those that require a 1553 databus/GPS feeds etc) so a small group of GR4's were modded by BAE and are reffered to as the "Diamond XX" where the XX is the current number of modded airframes (i.e Diamond 15 etc). These are currently on Ops in Afghan & Libya with some reserves in the UK for pre-Op's training. None Diamond airframes can still carry Paveway 2 & 3 and TIALD/Litening pods giving them a precision strike capability and can carry ALARM (being phased out). Hope that make sense....................................................................................IanH (currently 617SQN) Edited March 27, 2011 by ianh755 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+SkippyBing 8 Posted March 27, 2011 (edited) IanH, thanks for that, the fleets within fleets thing makes perfect sense, at one point pretty much every Lynx flight had a unique fit which made crew allocation a nightmare. I shall now hunt down the individual who gave me the duff gen, although to be fair it was late, we had drunk a lot and the pizzas were late turning up... Edited March 27, 2011 by SkippyBing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
