End of the line for Tornado GR4?
In these difficult economic days, why don't we offer up the Tornado GR4 force as a sacrificial lamb?
We have Typhoon, Harrier and Tornado, all of which can do (or will soon be able to do) the strike role.
We need Harrier, as it alone can go to sea.
We need Typhoon, as it alone can also do AD.
So what do we need a third FJ type for, if it can't do anything unique?
I don't for a minute want to get rid of the Tornado, but we can't afford to keep everything we currently have and still get the new equipment which we so badly need. Of course the GR4 has only just gone to Afghanistan, so we can't ditch it overnight, but Typhoon will be able to assume the role before long...