Tornado replacement
Why does it need more wing area ?. I can agree on more thrust and more reliability. However, when the GR4 programme was configured, additional thrust was not a requirement, which now does seem very short sighted taking the current operational stores requirements. Not that long ago, an engine upgrade programme was proposed to either give additional thrust or life cycle enhancements. The engine reliability is now surprisingly good, especially with the GAF who have the improved Fan. EJ200 was looked at for the F3, but all the funding went to Typhoon. if the GAF are now only starting to look at a replacement, it looks like they will keep operating Tornado well beyond the 2025 timeframe and beyond. How very sensible of them.