Home > RAF Tornado GR4
| Panavia Tornado GR4
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| Description
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| Role | Ground attack/reconnaissance/ SEAD
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| Crew | 2
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| First Flight | August 14 1974
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| Entered Service | June 5 1979
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| Manufacturer | BAE SYSTEMS (British versions)
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| Dimensions
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| Length | 16.7 m | 54 ft 10 in
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| Wingspan 67° sweep | 8.6 m | 28 ft 3 in
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| Wingspan 25° sweep | 13.9 m | 45 ft 8 in
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| Height | 5.95 m | 19 ft 6 in
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| Wing Area | 26.6 m² | 286.3 ft²
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| Weights
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| Empty | 20,410 kg | 45,000 lb
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| Loaded | 29,410 kg | 64,842 lb
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| Maximum Takeoff | 28,000 kg | 61,729 lb
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| Capacity |
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| Powerplant
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| Engines | 2 x Turbo-Union RB199 turbofans
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| Dry thrust | 40.5 kN | lbf
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| Afterburner thrust | 71.2 kN | lbf
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| Performance
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| Maximum Speed | 2,336 km/h | 1,452 mph
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| Combat Range | 1,482 km | 921 miles
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| Ferry Range | 3,797 km | 2,360 miles
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| Service Ceiling | > 15,240 m | 50,000 ft
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| Rate of Climb | 4572.5 m/min | 15,000 ft/min
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| Wing Loading | kg/m² | lb/ft²
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| Thrust/Weight | N/kg | lbf/lb at normal takeoff weight
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| Power/Mass | kW/kg | hp/lb
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| Avionics
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| Avionics |
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| Armament
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| Guns | 1 x 27 mm Mauser BK-27 cannon
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| Missiles | AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-132 ASRAAM, Storm Shadow, ALARM, Brimstone
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| Bombs | Paveway LGBs, Dumb bombs
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| Other | RAPTOR Reconnaissance pod, TIALD Laser designator
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The Tornado GR4 is a Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) used for low-level penetration to attack ground targets. It said to be the most effective fighter-bomber in service.
1 History
The Tornado programme first began with Tornado GR1s, which were built by a tri-national company ( Panavia). As early as 1984 the UK Ministry of Defence began studies of a Mid-Life Update (MLU) of the aircraft. The GR4 upgrade was not approved until 1994, which was revised to include lessons learned from the GR1's performance in the 1991 Gulf War. One major change was the move from low level penetration to medium level attacks, while maintaining the low level capability. The contracts were signed in 1994 for the upgrade of 142 GR1s to GR4 standard, work began in 1996 and finished in 2003. Upgrades to the more than twenty-year old aircraft included, FLIR (Forward-Looking InfraRed), a wide-angle HUD ( Heads-Up Display), improved cockpitA cockpit was originally a pit used for cockfighting, where owners would pit fighting roosters against each other for the purpose of gambling. In 1759, the English artist William Hogarth produced a satirical print called The Cockpit showing the enthusiasm displays, NVG (Night Vision Goggle) capabilities, new avionicsThe onboard electronics used for piloting an aircraft are called avionics . Avionics include communications and navigation systems, autopilots, and electronic flight management systems (FMS). Onboard electronics that are unrelated to piloting tasks, such and weaponA weapon is a tool used to kill, maim, destroy or perhaps simply disable, a person or animal and as a result, also to threaten and defend. Since the dawn of humanity the use of weapons has been codified resulting in both martial arts and strategic doctrins systems, updated computer systems, and a Global Positioning Systemsatellites such as this NAVSTAR have been launched since 1978. The Global Positioning System usually called GPS (the US military refers to it as NAVSTAR , is a satellite navigation system used for determining one's precise location and providing a highly. The updated weapons system allowed integration of the latest offensive weapons, for example the Storm Shadow and Brimstone missiles.
