STEWART PENNEY / WARTON
New systems and weapons such as Storm Shadow passed an early baptism of fire in Iraq
Initial Royal Air Force assessments of the upgraded Panavia Tornado GR4 indicate the recently improved strike fighter and its new weapons provide a solid foundation for the UK's future strike capability.
Air Vice Marshal Glenn Torpy, air officer commanding 1 Group, and RAF and UK air component commander in the Gulf, says the upgraded aircraft's "greatest testament is its performance in the Gulf, particularly during the last three months".
GR4 capabilities used in the Gulf include the Raytheon Enhanced Paveway GPS satellite/laser-guided bomb (LGB), MBDA Storm Shadow stand-off missile, and Goodrich Raptor long-range reconnaissance pod. Neither Storm Shadow nor Raptor have full operational status. Torpy says Storm Shadow "provides the RAF with its greatest elevation in strike capability that we will see for the foreseeable future".
Gp Capt Greg Bagwell, group captain offensive strike RAF 1 Group, says the RAF flew 1,736 fighter sorties, or 9% of the war's total, expending 27 Storm Shadows, 360 Enhanced Paveways, 255 Paveway II/III LGBs and 160 other weapons, including the MBDA Alarm 2 anti-radiation missile.
Bagwell says Storm Shadow missions were planned in the UK with the data sent to the Gulf. RAF teams are still in Iraq assessing the weapon's success, he adds.
There were a "small number" of Storm Shadow no-launches. "We won't drop if the missile isn't 100% fully functioning...we can't say where the missile is going to go," says Bagwell.
By returning with the missiles it is possible to determine the problem. "It's a new system, not fully cleared and we were learning on the hoof," he says. Some misfires were launched on later missions.
Bagwell acknowledges the Raptor's status caused problems, "however, the risks were worth it as [Raptor's] capability is very good". The RAF needs to bring the pods to the UK before it can restart the development programme, he adds.
Bagwell says the BAE TIALD targeting pod used in the Gulf "is not quite good enough for the operating altitudes". He says the upgraded TIALD 500 "is coming", but admits that a new pod such as the Rafael Litening is an option.
The RAF used a "small number" of concrete bombs, GPS or laser- guided weapons with no explosive, reducing collateral damage. He says, however, they have "a lot of inertia and they will skip around", which will affect how low collateral/non lethal weapons are considered in future.
Source: Flight International
