The Panavia Tornado
— -- Designed and built as a collaborative project between the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy for use against Warsaw Pact armored columns, the Tornado is now the main fighter and attack aircraft of three Western European nations. Although the plane has been in service for almost three decades, it only first saw action during the Gulf conflict of 1991.
Primary Function: medium range, low-level supersonic counter-air strike aircraft, with the further capabilities of interdiction and reconnaissance.
Builder: Panavia Aircraft GmbH
Power Plant: 2 x Turbo-Union RB199-34R turbofans
Thrust: 8700 pounds (3.94 Metric Tons) dry and 14480 lbs (6.56 Metric Tons) with afterburner
Length: 54 feet 9.5inches (16.70 meters)
Height: 19.52 feet (5.95 meters)
Wingspan: 45 feet 7.25 inches (13.90 meters); wings fully spread; 28 feet 2.5 inches (8.59 meters)
Speed: 1,452 mph (2,336km/h) at 36,000ft (11,000 meters)
Ceiling: Above 50,000 feet / 16,500 meters
Maximum Weight: (takeoff) approx. 62,000 pounds (28000 kilograms)
Combat Radius: 750 Nautical Miles (1390 kilometers)
Armament: Up to two internal 27-mm Mauser cannon with 180 rounds per gun plus more than 9000 kg of external stores on seven hardpoints, including air-to-air missiles, laser guided bombs and nuclear freefall bombs.
Unit cost: $27 million
Crew: Two (pilot, weapons systems officer)
Date Deployed: (first flight) August 1974
Data courtesy the Federation of American Scientists and The United Kingdom's Royal Air Force.
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