Further Developments
The Tornado F3 made its maiden flight on 20 November 1985. Enhancements over the F2 included RB.199 Mk 104 engines, which were optimised for high-altitude use with longer afterburner nozzles, the capacity to carry four underwing Sidewinder missiles rather than two, and automatic wing sweep control. The F3's primary armament when it was introduced into service was the short-range Sidewinder and the medium-range Skyflash missiles, a British design based on the American AIM-7 Sparrow.
In order to maintain the Tornado F3 as an effective platform up to its planned out-of-service date of 2010, the Ministry of Defence initiated the Capability Sustainment Programme (CSP). This project, announced on 5 March 1996, involved many elements, including the integration of ASRAAM and AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, and radar upgrades to improve multi-target engagement. Additionally, pilot and navigator displays would be improved, along with the replacement of several of the onboard computer systems. The CSP would see the removal of a non-standard state of aircraft; various upgrades, in particular to the Foxhunter radar, had led to a situation described as "fleets within fleets." The Foxhunter radar was a source of difficulties in the upgrade programme, in particular the integration of the new AMRAAM missile.
The Tornado F3 was not able to exploit the full capabilities of either the AMRAAM or ASRAAM missiles. AMRAAM uses two mid-course updates after launch to refresh target information prior to its own seeker taking over, however the CSP did not include the datalink to provide this capability, as it was considered to be too expensive. In addition, the ASRAAM was not fully integrated, which prevented the full off-boresight capability of the missile being exploited. On 8 June 2001, the MoD signed a contract for a further upgrade to the F3 force to allow these midcourse updates. The upgrade to give full AMRAAM capability, together with updated IFF, known as the AMRAAM Optimisation Programme (AOP) was incorporated in the remaining F3 fleet between December 2003 and September 2006.
A further upgrade, disclosed in early 2003, was the integration of the ALARM anti-radiation missile to enable several Tornado ADVs to conduct suppression of enemy air defence (SEAD) missions. The F3's existing radar warning receivers formed the basis of an Emission Location System (ELS), which can be employed to detect and locate operational radar systems in the aircraft's vicinity. These modified aircraft were re-designated Tornado EF3 and operated by RAF No. 11 Squadron RAF.
Read more about this topic: RAF Tornado F3, Design and Development
Famous quotes containing the word developments:
“The developments in the North were those loosely embraced in the term modernization and included urbanization, industrialization, and mechanization. While those changes went forward apace, the antebellum South changed comparatively little, clinging to its rural, agricultural, labor-intensive economy and its traditional folk culture.”
—C. Vann Woodward (b. 1908)
“I don’t wanna live in a city where the only cultural advantage is that you can make a right turn on a red light.
Freedom from labor itself is not new; it once belonged among the most firmly established privileges of the few. In this instance, it seems as though scientific progress and technical developments had been only taken advantage of to achieve something about which all former ages dreamed but which none had been able to realize.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)