Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!apple!veritas!amdcad!amdcad!military From: eeyore@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Mark Anthony Brown) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: European fighter designs Message-ID: <1991May18.050815.10515@amd.com> Date: 17 May 91 13:10:12 GMT References: <1991May15.060829.3052@amd.com> Sender: military@amd.com Organization: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Lines: 43 Approved: military@amd.com From: Mark Anthony Brown Andrew.Stevens@prg.oxford.ac.uk (Andrew Stevens) writes: >The Tornado Air Defence variant > This is, *as I understand it*, a very peculiar beast. I.e. the >Tornado was optimised as a strike aircraft the primary concerns being >high subsonic low altitude performance. The fighter variant is thus >handicapped by relatively low acceleration and so-so turning and >supersonic performance. This aircraft in particular looks very >vulnerable given the widespread deployment of the latest soviet models. Depends what you want to use it for. The Tornado ADV is not supposed to be primarily for close-in dogfighting, but for the air defence situation perculiar to the UK. Viz, the russkies come in from long range over the sea. The Tornado ADVs sit on CAP in oval racetrack patterns watching for the incoming baddies on radar. When they spot them, they lock on the radar and do a BVR kill with their Sky Flash (semi-active radar homing -- a BAe variant of the AIM-7). For that sort of mission, what you basically need is a missile platform with a nice radar. You don't need mega-amazing agility or acceleration. Of course, in-flight refuelling capability is a must. There was some talk of a "mixed-fighter force" concept for defence of Tornado ADV and Sidewinder-equipped Hawks. The Tornado sits off on CAP and can use its radar to function like a mini-AWACS and vector the Hawks onto the bogies. If they get in a scrap with the Hawks, they're in trouble because of the Hawk's small size and its manoeuvrability. If you try to run away, the Tornaddo BVRs you. A friend of mine was in the University of Southampton Air Squadron and went to an old Lightning base just before they were phased out. The pilots were less than keen about the ADV because of (a) the backseaters, (b) the performance and (c) smoky exhaust -- going in and out of reheat, you tend to get great gouts of smoke out of the back. However, the Lightnings were interceptors and definitely short-legged as far as fuel went. Again, the aircraft are designed for different roles. -- I felt like a punk who'd gone out for a switchblade and came back with a tactical nuke.