Originally Posted by
huge72
I wouldn't say that the RB199 has given that good a service, most of them have more flying hours in the back of a C130 than in a Tornado!!!!
Not that good a service. Really that is completely incorrect. The speciation reliability requirement was a Basic Unplanned Removal Rate of 4.0/1000 flying hours. Apart from a few exceptions it achieved that figure. The RAF maintenance policy was primarily for quick engine change to render the aircraft serviceable. Many engines were removed because it was easier to do that than fully diagnose the reported fault.
More recently the RB199 has been twice as reliable as that requirement. Tornado weight has increased and additional stores have made it less aerodynamic.
It was designed to operate in the European environment not a hot and high desert environment.
For its age it has performed remarkably.