Tornado F.3

This page is about the British jet fighter Tornado F.3. For other versions, see Tornado (Family).

Tornado F.3

Lightning F.6

Tornado F.3 Late

Tornado F.3

Lightning F.6

Tornado F.3 Late

Britain

VIII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
12.0	12.0	12.0

Class:

Fighter

Jet fighter

Research:400 000

Purchase:1 080 000

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Description

The Tornado F.3 is a rank VIII British jet fighter with a battle rating of 12.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Sky Guardians".

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 11 582 m2 308 km/h

Turn time28 s

Max altitude13 000 m

EngineTurbo-Union RB199-34R Mk.104

Type

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight0 t

Characteristics	Max speed (km/h at 11,582 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	2,280	2,269	13000	28.4	28.6	167.3	163.4	800
Upgraded	2,340	2,308		27.6	28.0	216.7	191.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	X

Limits	Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
			Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
Min sweep	972	0	1,166	552	440	~8	~3
Max sweep	1,555		-	-	-	~9	~3

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 670	< 650	< 700	-

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Basic mass			Wing loading (full internal fuel)
Turbo-Union RB199-34R Mk.104		2	14,659 kg			742 kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with internal fuel (no weapons load)					Max Gross Weight
Weight (each)	Type		16m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	45m fuel	56m fuel
968 kg	Afterburning low-bypass turbofan		16,186 kg	16,463 kg	17,365 kg	18,718 kg	19,749 kg	23,512 kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (WEP)
Condition	100%	WEP	16m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	45m fuel	56m fuel	MGW
Stationary	3,756 kgf	7,309 kgf	0.90	0.89	0.84	0.78	0.74	0.62
Optimal	4,169 kgf (1,400 km/h)	8,173 kgf (1,400 km/h)	1.01	0.99	0.94	0.87	0.83	0.70

Survivability and armour

Flares/Chaff

Aircraft countermeasures to distract IR and radar-guided missiles and also AA radar

Crew2 people

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear0 km/h

The Tornado F.3 does not have any armor plates within the plane, most of the planes central fuselage contains self-sealing fuel tanks. This means the Tornado F.3 is very likely to catch fire if hit by enemy rounds or missiles. An EFS system is available that could potentially save the aircraft in the case of an onboard fire.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB2 712 → 4 097

RB7 974 → 12 048

SB9 323 → 14 087

Total cost of modifications306 000

466 000

Talisman cost3 100

Crew training310 000

Experts1 080 000

Aces3 400

Research Aces1 280 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

100 / 320 / 540 %

250 / 250 / 250 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Compressor Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 320 New boosters Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 450 Engine Research: 25 000 Cost: 38 000 670	Fuselage repair Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 320 Airframe Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 450 Wings repair Research: 26 000 Cost: 40 000 690 Cover Research: 25 000 Cost: 38 000 670	Flares/Chaff Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 320 bk_27_belt_pack Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 320 Flares/Chaff BOL Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 320 G-suit Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 450 AIM-9L Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 450 bk_27_new_gun Research: 26 000 Cost: 40 000 690 Skyflash Research: 26 000 Cost: 40 000 690 EFS Research: 25 000 Cost: 38 000 670 Skyflash SuperTEMP Research: 25 000 Cost: 38 000 670

Armaments

Ballistic Computer
CCIP (Guns)	CCIP (Rockets)	CCIP (Bombs)	CCRP (Bombs)	Lead indicator

Offensive armament

The Tornado F.3 is armed with:

• A choice between two presets:
  • 1 x 27 mm Mauser BK27 cannon, chin-mounted (180 rpg)
  • 1 x 27 mm Mauser BK27 cannon + 32 x large calibre countermeasures

Suspended armament

The Tornado F.3 can be outfitted with the following ordnance presets:

• 2 x 330 gal drop tanks
• 2 x AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles
• 4 x AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles + 320 x countermeasures
• 4 x Skyflash missiles
• 4 x Skyflash SuperTEMP missiles

Custom loadout options

	1	2	3	4	5
AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles	1, 2 *				1, 2 *
Skyflash missiles			4
Skyflash SuperTEMP missiles			4
Countermeasures	160 *				160 *
330 gal drop tanks		1		1
* Countermeasures can be carried with Sidewinder missiles on the same hardpoint

Usage in battles

Like other planes at this BR, the Tornado F.3 is outclassed by higher tier aircraft. This is especially problematic given the Tornado F.3 is heavily dependent on its weaponry and avionics to be competitive.

The Skyflash Super TEMPs are very potent but not on par with the AIM-7F Sparrows. They accelerate faster and will outpace the AIM-7F within 4-6 km but refrain from trying to BVR Duel with the rank VIII Phantoms or the F-4J/S. The Skyflash will hang at around the same speed as the AIM-7F at BVR ranges. Due to how long the AIM-7F/M burns it will eventually outpace the Skyflash at longer ranges It goes without saying but The Skyflash is not an effective weapon against the R-27ER or the Matra Super 530D. Your prime targets are unsuspecting targets 4-9 km away heading generally towards you.

Avoid entering and staying in the furball as the you will likely have many missiles shot at you, combined with the Tornado's poor maneuverability means almost certain death. Instead lock up head on targets using ACM mode then fire off a Skyflash at your enemy, if they also launch a missile at you, start to notch their radar as fast as you can while releasing flares and chaff, or fly closely to the ground. (Lower than 30 meters) If the enemy starts to notch your radar, switch the radar mode from PD HDN to standard search as it'll be immune to notching, though it will not work if the enemy is close to the ground. (Ground clutter) Another tactic is to lock up the enemy with radar but fire off an AIM-9L instead, many times this will confuse the enemy into not releasing flares as they will believe that you fired a Skyflash instead of a AIM-9L.

Don't dogfight. You have no workable advantages against your opponent unless they are already badly crippled with large sections of their wings/tail missing. If you are chased, get a teammate to cover your back or run back to the airfield. Try and fly in a straight line given your speed bleed in any sort of turn manoeuvre.

The tornado F.3 likes to fly predictable, straight paths and makes very predictable manoeuvres. Any enemy with an ounce of situational awareness will easily be able to keep tabs on you with no effort whatsoever. You can't really make unpredictable manoeuvres and sneak up on people given your overall lack of mobility in any direction other than forward. This makes it hard to employ your AIM-9Ls or your guns, given it is very difficult to stick to an opponent's tail for a good rear aspect shot. Although you will still find the AIM-9L to be a very consistent weapon and a good close to mid range missile.

At this BR, you can outrange pretty much anyone at your own BR with BVR missiles. Your biggest challenge will be F-4J/S with their AIM-7Fs and PDV radars. You have a fair chance of spotting and locking them first given your superior radar. However this doesn't mean you have the advantage as the AIM-7F will out range the Skyflash SuperTEMP. If a missile joust must be started, try to delay the launch of the enemy missile until a close distance (Lower than around 8 km) as in those ranges the Skyflash will out speed the AIM-7F. In the event of an uptier you will almost certainly meet enemy Mig-29s with their R27ER missiles, in this scenario there is simply not much you can do due the R27ER outranging and out speeding the Skyflash.

Never pull negative Gs in the Tornado F.3. As with many top tier planes the negative G performance of the tornado is poor. Unlike the British Phantoms your wings are not sturdy enough to sustain negative Gs even for a few seconds, often snapping as soon as you put your nose down. The Tornado is generally an unstable aircraft and prone to flat spinning as soon as the wing falls off, so don't expect to get back to base once you've lost a wing. Rolling can easily make the Tornado snap its wings. When in a turn, refrain from rolling in a -2G+ turn or else there is a good chance you may loose one or both wings. You may not have the controllability to recover and you may go into an uncontrollable spin depending on how violently you were rolling.

List of missile and their carriers

• AIM-7F/M, carried by the following aircrafts. F-4J, F-4S, F-14A Early, F-16 (All variants except the USA block 10 and NETZ version) F-4EJ Kai.
• R-27ER/ER1, carried by the Mig-29. (Both variants)
• Matra Super 530D, carried by the Mirage 2000C-S5.
• Aspide-1A, carried by the F-104S.ASA and J-8B.
• AIM-54A Phoenix, carried by the F-14A Early

How to counter these missiles

• AIM-7F/M. Your Skyflash SuperTEMP will be faster than these missiles when under 6-8 km, above that distance, the AIM-7F/M will be faster.
• R-27ER/ER1. This missile will outperform the Skyflash SuperTEMP in everyway, the only possible way to kill a Mig-29 in the missile joust is to fire first, or notch/evade the incoming R27ER/ER1
• Matra Super 530D. At close range, the Skyflash SuperTEMP has better acceleration and will eventually out range the Matra Super 530D.
• Aspide-1A. The carriers of these missiles either has weak flight performance (F-104S.ASA) or a weak radar (J-8B). The Skyflash SuperTEMP will also outrange the Aspide-1A.
• AIM-54A Phoenix. These missile has a lot of range, however it's very easy to notice the incoming missile and simply notch it.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Has a lot of countermeasures, including large-calibre ones
• Can carry 8 air-to-air missiles at once
  • Skyflash SuperTEMPs are effective SARH missiles in a BVR role
  • Potent all-aspect heat-seeking AIM-9L missiles
• Has radar gunsight
• Advanced radar for its BR
  • Includes TWS that indicates direction of enemy
  • PD has IFF
• Can carry drop tanks to extend range
• Has reverse thrust to reduce landing distance

Cons:

• Poor turning performance
• Lacklustre acceleration
• Other BVR missiles have a longer range in an uptier
• Very difficult to kinetically dodge SARH missiles due to aforementioned poor turn rate
• Short ACM range
• The 27 mm cannon has a low rate of fire, low ammunition count, and mediocre damage
• Absence of drogue chute requires a long distance to land

History

The Tornado ADV had its origins in the Royal Air Force's Air Staff Requirement 395, which called for a long-range interceptor to replace both the English Electric Lightning F6 and McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR2. This was primarily driven by the threat posed by the Soviet Union's sizable strategic bomber fleet, particularly the recently introduced supersonic bomber, the Tupolev Tu-22M. Even before the development of the Tornado IDS (interdictor/strike) in 1968, the possibility of a variant dedicated to air defense had been quietly considered. Although several American aircraft were evaluated for meeting this requirement, they were deemed unsuitable.

Despite Britain's strong interest in the air defense concept, it was unattractive to the other European partners on the Tornado project, resulting in the UK pursuing its development solely. In 1976, the British Aircraft Corporation was contracted to provide three prototype aircraft. On 9 August 1979, the first prototype was rolled out at Warton and performed its maiden flight on 27 October 1979, piloted by David Eagles. The second and third development aircraft made their first flights on 18 July and 18 November 1980 respectively. The third prototype was mainly used for testing the new Marconi/Ferranti AI.24 Foxhunter airborne interception radar. During flight testing, the Tornado ADV showed its significantly superior supersonic acceleration compared to the Tornado IDS, even while carrying a full weapons loadout.

The Tornado ADV differed from the Tornado IDS in several ways, including a greater sweep angle on the wing gloves, deletion of the Krueger flap, deletion of the port cannon, a longer radome for the Foxhunter radar, slightly longer airbrakes, and a fuselage lengthened to 1.36 m, allowing the carriage of four Skyflash semi-active radar homing missiles. This stretch was achieved by adding a plug immediately behind the cockpit, which not only lengthened the fuselage but also reduced drag and made space for an additional fuel tank (Tank '0') carrying 200 imperial gallons (909 L; 240 U.S. gal) of fuel. The artificial feel of the flight controls was lighter on the Tornado ADV than on the IDS. Various other differences were present in the aircraft's avionics, displays, guidance systems, and software packages. The test program was greatly aided by the use of real-time telemetry, which broadcast live data from in-flight aircraft back to technicians on the ground.

Tornado ADV F.3

The Tornado ADV entered quantity production in 1980 and continued until 1993, with the Tornado F3 making its first flight on November 20, 1985. Compared to its predecessor, the Tornado F2, the Tornado F3 had several enhancements, including RB.199 Mk 104 engines optimized for high-altitude use, longer afterburner nozzles, and the ability to carry four Sidewinder missiles instead of two. Another notable improvement was the automatic maneuver device system, which allowed the flight control computer to adjust the level of wing sweep to maintain optimal flight characteristics automatically. This feature was similar to the automatic sweeping wing capability of the American Grumman F-14 Tomcat, which greatly improved maneuverability. The Tornado F3 initially carried short-range Sidewinder and medium-range Skyflash missiles, the latter being a British design derived from the American AIM-7 Sparrow. In 1989, the Tornado F3 was declared operational.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Tornado F.3 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #350 - Metal Beasts section at 00:25 discusses the Tornado F.3.

Tornado F.3: A Basic Review - Tims Variety

See also

Related development

• Tornado (Family)

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.