Woff1965
14th Feb 2003, 22:38
There are stories on another board that the RAF's F3 has just undergone a refit to turn it into a Wild Weasel aircraft.
I know this was suggested in the mid 90's and (I think) offered to the Saudi's but it went no further.
It would also expalin why the F3 was depoyed to Iraq when there is a surplus of US fighters in the region and the F3 fighter would realistically have no role.
If anyone has any non classified details or info then I think we should be told! (Especially as it is such a sensible thing to do that the person who thought it up deserves a medal).
Jackonicko
14th Feb 2003, 22:59
The Jane's Defence Upgrades non-subscriber digest at
http://www.janes.com/aerospace/military/news/jdu/jdu030210_1_n.shtml
says:
"RAF modifies Tornado F.3 for SEAD role
By Jack C Nicholas
The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) is understood to be modifying a number of its Panavia Tornado F.3 air-defence fighters to allow them to carry the MBDA ALARM (Air-Launched Anti-Radar Missile) and assume the Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) or 'Wild Weasel' role.
One lesson from the air war over Kosovo in 1999 was that Europe lacked sufficient SEAD capability. Germany and Italy had a handful of Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat and Reconnaissance) aircraft equipped with AGM-88 HARMs (High-speed Anti-Radar Missiles), while the RAF had two Tornado GR.1 'Pathfinder' squadrons armed with ALARM missiles but with no real autonomous ability to detect and locate enemy emitters. The ALARM missile proved extremely effective in combat in the Persian Gulf 1990-91 and in the Balkans, but the Tornado GR.1/4 was unable to exploit its full potential, especially as a direct-fire weapon.
The key to the SEAD role is an Emitter Locator System (ELS). With its well-distributed tail- and wing-glove-mounted Radar Homing And Warning System antennas, it was clear that the Tornado F.3 could be given an extremely accurate ELS capability relatively simply.
Development of such a system is understood to have reached an advanced stage under an Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) issued in 1999 (see JDU Vol IV No.6 pp7-8), before the programme was cancelled as a cost-saving measure.
JDU has now learned that the Tornado F.3 SEAD programme has been resurrected, triggered by the continuing crisis in the Middle East. Under a new UOR, an unspecified number of Tornado F.3s are being upgraded as dual-role air-defence fighter/defence suppression aircraft, ready for deployment to the Persian Gulf if required.
The programme will transform the Tornado F.3 - long sidelined by its narrow usefulness in the shrinking air-defence role - into what may arguably be the RAF's most important 'fast jet' combat aircraft."