UK Tornados Biding Time
(click to view full)
With the retirement of the RAF’s Jaguar fleet, the core of Britain’s land-based tactical air fleet rests in a pair of multinational European fighters. The new Eurofighter Typhoon is one of the top 3 air superiority fighters in the world, and enhancements are finally beginning to give it some precision strike capability. The mainstay of the existing fleet is made up of the British-Italian-German Panavia consortium’s Tornado aircraft, in both F3 air defense and GR4 low-level precision strike configurations.
The F3s are being pushed aside by the Eurofighters, but the GR4s were expected to remain in place until 2025. A 2007 effort added LITENING surveillance and targeting pods, to improve the aircraft’s close air support capabilities on the front lines of Iraq and Afghanistan. Now a GBP 253 million (about $496 million) “Capability Upgrade Strategy (Pilot)” program seeks to take the next steps, and is intermeshed with the Tornado fleet’s successful ATTAC fixed-price through-life maintenance program…
(click to view full)
Under the CUS (P) program, BAE will design, development, integration and embodiment of an upgraded Secure Communications System and the introduction of a Tactical Data Link Capability onto the Tornado GR4 fleet, along with the integration of the Paveway IV laser/GPS guided bomb.
The program will deliver the upgrade in 2 stages.
Tornado CUS (P) Capability A will incorporate the secure communications upgrade, and integrate the troubled Paveway IV bomb that was recently the target of an effective short-term fix. The Paveway II+ bombs are already operating in Afghanistan. The improved secure communications will allow pilots to talk securely to air controllers on the ground, E-3 AWACS and R1 ASTOR surveillance aircraft, and other combat aircraft on the same operation.
The Tornado CUS (P) Capability B release will provide the Tactical Data Link upgrade. Tactical Information Exchange Capability (TIEC) is the project name adopted for the introduction of a common system solution that provides Link 16 and IDM data link communications for Tornado GR4 and Harrier GR9 fleets. TIEC will not use a standard MIDS-LVT black boxes, substituting an equivalent item which is lighter, slightly smaller, and comes in a single box instead of 2 boxes. It also reportedly offers higher bandwidth for information sharing than Link 16 alone.
The design and development of these capability insertions will take place at BAE Systems’ site at Warton. Once they are developed and tested, fleet upgrades will take place as the aircraft are cycled through the Combined Maintenance and Upgrade facility at RAF Marham, as part of the ATTAC maintenance program. The British have found that combining scheduled maintenance and upgrades is an excellent way to save money, and improve the percentage of planes available for use.
Updates
February 6/19: Homecoming The British Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Tornado jets returned home for the last time after almost 40 years in service. The stalwart of Britain’s bomber force since the days of the Cold War carried out its last operational strike on January 26, when a pair of Tornados hit five positions in Syria, all of which were being used by fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The last operational sortie by Tornado GR4s was on January 31. Two Tornados flew an uneventful patrol over Syria, recovering safely to base at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus after a mission lasting six and a half hours. The weapons capabilities of the soon-to-retire Tornados are now being delivered by RAF Typhoon jets. The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, multirole fighter designed as an air superiority fighter.
March 30/18: Introducing BriteCloud The British Royal Air Force (RAF) will be the first air force in the world to field the new BriteCloud countermeasure system produced by the Italian company Leonardo. The decoy will be deployed on the Tornado G4 fighter-bomber. BriteCloud is an electronic radar jamming system that can fit into a fighter’s chaff and flare dispenser without modifications and will provide enhanced protection from advanced guided missiles. The countermeasures update comprises an active, expendable decoy which is capable of luring an incoming radar-guided missile away from a host aircraft. The acceptance into service follows a series of tests carried out by the RAF in the United States in June 2017. These live firings saw dozens of BriteCloud decoys launched from Tornado GR4 aircraft by the RAF’s 41 Test and Evaluation Squadron against high-tech radar guidance systems. The RAF’s remaining two squadrons of Tornado GR4s are scheduled to be retired by April 2019, with the type’s capabilities to be assumed by the service’s Eurofighter Typhoons via the Project Centurion activity, and subsequently by the UK’s incoming fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35Bs.
October 26/16: The UK RAF has commenced an operational evaluation of upgrades to their Eurofighter Typhoon, giving it the ground-attack capabilities of their Panavia Tornado GR4 fleet. Enhancements include additional human-machine interface integration and increased air-to-surface targeting capabilities for in-service tranche 2 aircraft, which will contribute to its future role. Munitions to be eventually integrated include MBDA’s Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air and Brimstone 2 air-to-surface missiles as well as the Storm Shadow stand-off air-to-surface missiles. The RAF plans to have the Typhoon take over from the Tornado by the end of 2018.
July 17/15: Two Brimstone ground-attack missiles reportedly detached from a Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 fighter-bomber during landing on Wednesday morning. The aircraft saw a heavy landing at the RAF’s Aktrotiri base in Cyprus, which has been used to launch operations against ISIL in Iraq. The missiles did not detonate and there were not reported injuries.
Nov 25/10: BAE Systems announces that a Tornado GR4 has successfully made its first test flight with the Tactical Information Exchange Capability (TIEC), during a test flight from Warton aerodrome in Lancashire. The airborne Tornado successfully made contact with the supporting E-3D Sentry aircraft and the Tactical Data Link Support Unit at RAF Waddington.
BAE Systems is expected to complete development flying of TIEC on Tornado during 2012. This will lead to Aircraft Design Authority clearance mid 2012 with delivery of an operational capability later that year. Unfortunately, Britain is going to phase out all of its GR4 Tornado aircraft quite early, keeping only a few for use in Afghanistan until 2014-15. BAE Systems.
Additional Readings & Sources
- UK MoD (Jan 14/08) – RAF jets to get £350M technology boost. The MoD places the Tornado program’s value at GBP 253 million.
- BAE Systems (Jan 14/08) – BAE Systems Awarded £200m Tornado Capability Upgrade Contract. Also DID conversations with BAE.
- DID FOCUS Article – Britain’s Future Contracting for Availability Approach
- DID Spotlight – Britain Hammers Out Through-Life Support Framework for Tornado Fleet. Fully implemented. Describes some of the challenges at a front-line level as well, including the need for a “Dirk Gently” approach to maintenance.
- DID FOCUS Article – The Wonders of Link 16 For Less: MIDS-LVTs (updated)
- DID (Dec 9/07) – My PGM for a Fuze… Paveway-IV Hits Trouble in Britiain
