Tornado F3: 25 Years of Air Defence
 

I'm just reading Squadron Prints' excellent new book Tornado F3: 25 Years of Air Defence. Little did I realise how astonishingly capable this weapons system has become, particularly with Link16, AMRAAM, ASRAAM and the skills of the aircrews employing the jet to its best advantage.

Regrettably there will always be spotters who don't understand that the ability to fly 9G turns or ponce around at airshows have little bearing on the capability of a pure air defence weapon system.... Or those who think the jet is still lumbered with Blue Circle radar and SkyFlash.

With uncertainty still ongoing in Bahrain and Libya, surely some government brain cell must realise that retiring the highly effective F3 would be the height of folly at such a turbulent time?

We'd almost retired the Vulcan in 1982 before we realised that we still needed it - don't let the same thing happen with the truly excellent F3!

Incidentally, a £2 contribution from every sale of the book goes to the RAF Association's Wings Appeal :ok::ok: !

.....................................http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/s...aughing021.gif

I'll be getting my copy! Yes, it's not a Combat Airshow jet but it actually became one of the best weapon systems (note systems not ac!) that we had. And am proud to have been a part of some of that.

Beagle,

Bit late now I'm afraid, I think most of them are already bean tins or razor blades..:{

Personally, I always thought it a quite scintillating airshow performer. Highlights though, rather than the solo slots, are the formations at Coningsby and Leuchars. The formation display at Leuchars B.O.B. in 1995, sticks in the mind particularly, largely due to the high speed zoom climb finale. Solo in one direction, main formation of 4, the other way!!:ok:

FB:)

sooms, from Hansard:

Surely even the mononeuronic Fox must realise that the Libyan situation demands a rethink at this late stage?

I've just been reading the part about the QWI course - WTF is the RAF going to do with all the highly trained QWI(AD) WSOs now that Typhoon is going to be the only air defence asset left?

Astonishingly capable compared to what!?

Compared to how it started I suppose....

It is all very well to mention it's AMRAAM etc, but if you can't get above airliners without a zoom climb, then you are a bit ****e!

A well, bye, bye to the flick knife :(

What complete and utter rubbish. But it's the sort of ill-informed drivel which has constantly bedevilled the F3's reputation.

Tourist....... please note....


;)

I do, however, know just how spacky they are when trying to come and embellish..........;)

embellish?

Care to embellish?

Don't suppose you were in 1Gp in early 03 were you? ;)

Having flown or worked with the F3 from its' inception until almost its' demise and experienced the weapons system and performance issues from blue circle through many radar and weapons upgrades I would like to reassure Tourist and any other misinformed readers that I would not have liked to fight against an F3 for real in any other aircraft during the last few years.

That is not to state it is the best AD aircraft but it is now certainly a very capable one.

bit worrying when we offered up 'embellish' and were asked "where are you?" perhaps not the stretched MRCA's fault - thought somebody was keeping an eye on UK airspace?...

Sadly BEagle,

I fear our government has no fuctioning brain cells left. Therefore, they will probably try and deploy the capability just after they've been scrapped.

On their current form and also on the form of the last useless government; I'm not holding my breath! :(

I honestly never thought I'd see the day when people on pprune would actually have departed so far from reality as to try to pretend that the F3 is good. It may have it's good points, but the simple fact is that the airframe does matter otherwise we would just stick weapons on a c130 and be done with it.

In particular, soddim, are you mental?
"I would not have like to fight against the F3 for real in any other aircraft during the last few years"

Are you seriously suggesting that if you had your choice of aircraft, the F3 would be it?
F22? F15? Latest su27 variant? F18? Any of the European toys?

One of us is mental, and I just checked and I appear to have no pencils up my nose.

Tourist - do us all a favour and go play with your teddy bears!

The F3 has provided outstanding service to this nation. It has defended it from the USSR and any terrorist who might have decided to use an airliner as a bomb. It has also done amazing service in the FI - perhaps you have never been there!

It was the FIRST UK aircraft into Saudi Arabia in 1990 and its capability now is much beyond that it was designed for.

Your childish comments reflect your level of intellect and as many of my colleagues died flying the damn thing, I will treat any future comments you make on this forum with contempt.

...and also had to ask the Russian Knights to descend to the F3's service ceiling so they could intercept them when they came to the UK for the first time, if I remember correctly. :rolleyes:

First to the Gulf? More haste less speed :)

Oh so much uninformed comment

In an air defence aircraft you need a capable weapons sytem, a good long range missile and decent snap up capability. More speed means more range. The F3 does speed well.

If you have a radar that now works, AMRAAM, good SA from JTIDS and a back up IR weapon second to none, you have a capable platform. Even F22 doesn't get into a knife fight in a phone box! You can still shadow an aircraft at 60k from 40k if needed.

If we'd had the cash/vision to fit HMS when it was available we'd have had an even more capable platform. The days of blue circle were long gone in 1990!

Maybe anyone posting in this thread shoud admit whether they have ever flown an AD aircraft. At least that way we sort the wheat from the chaff.

Its a shame even now the aircraft is retiring it cant throw off the 1980s myths.

Mind the door on your way out.