Panavia Tornado

Explore the ground-breaking multi-role aircraft that became Europe’s first line of defence and attack.

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A successful example of European co-operation, the Tornado multi-role strike aircraft was designed to meet a 1968 specification for a two-seat Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) and developed by the international Panavia Aircraft consortium owned jointly by British Aerospace, Germany’s MBB and Italy’s Aeritalia.

First flown in August 1974, the twin-turbojet-powered two-seat aircraft with a variable geometry wing entered service with the Royal Air Force, the German Luftwaffe and Marineflieger and the Italian Aeronautica Militare Italiana in the 1980s at the height of the Cold War.

The RAF Tornado GRs achieved thirty-eight years of unbroken service deployed on various conflicts with NATO allies including operations in the Gulf, Afghanistan, the Balkans, Libya and Syria before being withdrawn from service in 2019. German and Italian Tornados continue anti-ISIL operations over Syria and Iraq.

A total of 940 Tornados were produced including 96 for Saudi Arabia and Air Defence Variants, plus 9 prototypes and 6 pre-production aircraft. More than 200 remain in service in 2024.

Written by aviation expert David Oliver, this well-informed and readable book, accompanied by 200 illustrations, covers the Tornado’s development, production, service in the RAF, German, Italian and Saudi Arabian air forces, as well as operations in the Gulf, Afghanistan, the Balkans, Libya, Syria and Yemen.