Panavia Tornado ADV

The Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant (ADV) was a long-range, twin-engine interceptor version of the swing-wing Panavia Tornado. The aircraft's first flight was on 27 October 1979, and it entered service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1986. It was also operated by the Italian Air Force (AMI) and the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF).

Tornado ADV
RAF Tornado F3 of No. 111 (Fighter) Squadron
Role	Interceptor
Manufacturer	Panavia Aircraft GmbH
First flight	27 October 1979
Introduction	1 May 1985
Status	Retired
Primary users	Royal Air Force (historical) Royal Saudi Air Force (historical) Italian Air Force (historical)
Number built	194[1]
Developed from	Panavia Tornado IDS

The Tornado ADV was originally designed to intercept Soviet bombers as they were traversing across the North Sea with the aim of preventing a successful air-launched nuclear attack against the United Kingdom. In this capacity, it was equipped with a powerful radar and beyond-visual-range missiles; however, initial aircraft produced to the F2 standard lacked radars due to development issues. The F3 standard was the definitive variant used by the RAF, the RSAF and the AMI (which leased RAF aircraft).

During its service life, the Tornado ADV received several upgrade programmes which enhanced its aerial capabilities and enabled it to perform the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) mission in addition to its interceptor duties. Ultimately, both the RAF and RSAF retired their Tornado ADV fleets; the type has been replaced in both services by the Eurofighter Typhoon.