The Panavia Tornado was a joint effort between the UK, West Germany and Italy to produce a two-seat, dual-engine aircraft with variable-sweep wings. The Tornado took its maiden flight on August 14, 1974 with the first aircraft being delivered to the German Air Force on July 27, 1979. There are three main variants of the Tornado, the IDS (interdictor/strike), ECR (electronic combat/reconnaissance) and ADV (air defense variant) interceptor. By the end of production in 1998 there had been 992 aircraft of all versions built of which 745 were IDS variants.

In August 2003 the United Nations mandated an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to help the Afghan government to provide effective security and develop security forces to prevent terrorist groups from forming in the country again. NATO took the lead of the ISAF and in 2007 as part of the operations Germany sent 6 Tornados from Aufklärungsgeschwader 51 "Immelmann" (51st Reconnaissance Wing) to Mazar-i-Sharif. These Tornados reconnaissance equipment were upgraded to improve their ability to detect IEDs. In 2008 Tornado IDS 44+97 was retired and sent to the Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim near Munich.

General specifications for the Panavia Tornado IDS

• Country of origin – Italy, UK, West Germany
• Service entry date – 1979
• Crew – 2

Dimensions

• Length – 17.72 m (58.1 ft)
• Wingspan – 13.92 m (45.7 ft) expanded 8.6m swept (28.2 ft)
• Height – 5.95m (19.5 ft) Weight Empty – 13.8 t (30,423 lb)
• Maximum take off – 27.9 t (61,508.9 lb)

Performance

• Powerplant 2 X Turbo-Union RB.199 Mk. 103 turbofans Producing dry with afterburners 2 X 38.48 / 71.50 kN
• Maximum speed – 2,236 km/h (1,389 mph)
• Service ceiling – 15.2 km (49,868.77 ft)
• Range – 1,390 km (863.7 miles)
• Ferry range with drop tanks – 3,900 (2,423.3) – 4,300 km (2,671.9 miles)

Armament

• Cannon – 2 X 27 mm IWKA-Mauser Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles Brimstone anti-tank guided missiles 454 kg free-fall bombs CPU-123/B Paveway II GBU-28 Paveway III laser-guided bombs

Info: Tornado IDS "Afghanistan Operation" 44+97, AG 51, Mazar-e Sharif, August 2008