page_title: Panavia Tornado
section_title: German Air Force (Luftwaffe)
hierarchical_section_title: Panavia Tornado / Operational history / German Air Force (Luftwaffe)
caption_attribution_description: A Luftwaffe (German Air Force), Panavia Tornado IDS aircraft (s/n 43+13) from the "German Air Force Flying Training Center (GAF/FTC)" at Holloman AFB, New Mexico (USA), heads to the fight after refueling during Red Flag 07-3 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada (USA), on 31 August 2007. Red Flag tests aircrew's war-fighting skills in realistic combat situations.
context_page_description: The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom, and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS fighter-bomber, the suppression of enemy air defences Tornado ECR and the Tornado ADV interceptor aircraft.
  The Tornado was developed and built by Panavia Aircraft GmbH, a tri-national consortium consisting of British Aerospace, MBB of West Germany, and Aeritalia of Italy. It first flew on 14 August 1974 and was introduced into service in 1979–1980. Due to its multirole design, it was able to replace several different fleets of aircraft in the adopting air forces. The Royal Saudi Air Force became the only export operator of the Tornado in addition to the three original partner nations. A tri-nation training and evaluation unit operating from RAF Cottesmore, the Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment, maintained a level of international co-operation beyond the production stage.
context_section_description: The first Tornado prototype made its first flight on 14 August 1974 from Ingolstadt Manching Airport, in what was then West Germany. Deliveries of production Tornados began on 27 July 1979. The total number of Tornados delivered to the German Air Force numbered 247, including 35 ECR variants. Originally Tornados equipped five fighter-bomber wings (Geschwader), with one tactical conversion unit and four front line wings, replacing the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. When one of the two Tornado wings of the German Navy was disbanded in 1994, its aircraft were used to re-equip a Luftwaffe's reconnaissance wing formerly equipped with RF-4E Phantoms.
  14 German Tornados undertook combat operations as a part of NATO's campaign during the Bosnian War. The Tornados, operating from Piacenza, Italy, flew reconnaissance missions to survey damage inflicted by previous strikes and to scout targets for other aircraft to strike. These reconnaissance missions were reportedly responsible for a significant improvement in target selection throughout the campaign.
  In 1999, German Tornados participated in Operation Allied Force, NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. This was Germany's first offensive air mission since World War II. The ECR aircraft would escort various allies' aircraft while carrying several AGM-88 HARM missiles to counter attempted use of radar against the allied aircraft. During the Kosovo hostilities, Germany's IDS Tornados would routinely conduct reconnaissance flights to identify both enemy ground forces and civilian refugees within Yugoslavia. The German Tornados flew 2108 hours and 446 sorties, firing 236 HARM missiles at hostile targets.
  In June 2007, a pair of Luftwaffe Tornados flew reconnaissance missions over an anti-globalisation demonstration during the 33rd G8 summit in Heiligendamm. Following the mission, the German Defence Ministry admitted one aircraft had broken the minimum flying altitude and that mistakes were made in the handling of security of the summit.
  In 2007, a detachment of six Tornados of the Aufklärungsgeschwader 51 "Immelmann" (51st reconnaissance wing) were deployed to Mazar-i-Sharif, Northern Afghanistan, to support NATO forces. The decision to send Tornados to Afghanistan was controversial: one political party launched an unsuccessful legal bid to block the deployment as unconstitutional. In support of the Afghanistan mission, improvements in the Tornado's reconnaissance equipment were accelerated; enhancing the Tornado's ability to detect hidden improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The German Tornados were withdrawn from Afghanistan in November 2010.
  Defence cuts announced in March 2003 resulted in the decision to retire 90 Tornados from service with the Luftwaffe. This led to a reduction in its Tornado strength to four wings by September 2005. On 13 January 2004, the then German Defence Minister Peter Struck announced further major changes to the German armed forces. A major part of this announcement is the plan to cut the German fighter fleet from 426 in early 2004 to 265 by 2015. The German Tornado force is to be reduced to 85, with the type expected to remain in service with the Luftwaffe until 2025. The aircraft being retained have been undergoing a service life extension programme. Currently, the Luftwaffe operates Tornados with Tactical Wings Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 33 in Cochem / Büchel Air Base, Rhineland-Palatinate and with Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 51 "Immelmann" in Jagel, Schleswig-Holstein.
  German Tornado aircrew training took place at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, US from January 1996 when the that time named Taktische Ausbildungskommando der Luftwaffe USA (TaktAusbKdoLw USA - Tactical Training Command of the Luftwaffe USA) was responsible for training both German F-4 Phantom and Tornado crews. In 1999 the training command was renamed as Fliegerisches Ausbildungszentrum der Luftwaffe (FlgAusbZLw - Luftwaffe Training Center).  In March 2015, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen decided to continue this tr
caption: A German Air Force Tornado IDS 43+13 flying above Nevada, US, 2007
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