July Contest Photo

The Panavia consortium, formed in March 1969, was charged with the development of the Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) for Britain, Germany, and Italy. From this program came the variable geometry strike and recon aircraft known as the IDS. Britain also required a long-range all-weather interceptor. This version is known as the Air Defense Variant or ADV. The prototype ADV first flew on 27 October 1979 and 18 pre-production F. Mk. 2 Tornados followed. The definitive F. Mk. 3 flew in November 1985. One-hundred forty-four were produced for the RAF and a further 24 were built for Saudi Arabia. I...