The Panavia Tornado F3 was developed from an operational requirement to defend the UK's air defence region, or UKADR.  A fighter aircraft was required that could fight in all weathers, at high or low altitudes, countering hostile electronic countermeasure threats and deploying new air-to-air missiles.  The aircraft was called the Tornado ADV (Air Defence Variant).  The prototype Tornado F2 (ZA254), was first flown on 27 October 1979 and the first production aircraft on 5 March 1984.  The F2 was, primarily, a stop-gap whilst the F3 was prepared for operational service.

The F3 was introduced with a 14 inch extension to the rear fuselage to accommodate the RB-199 Mk104 Turbofan engines and additional fuel. The F3 also has a larger nose cone to house the Foxhunter radar.  From 1985 until 1993, 144 F3 aircraft were delivered to the RAF.  Following the retirement of the Lightning in 1988 and the F4 Phantom in 1992, the Tornado F3 has become the UK's primary air defence fighter.

Improvements have been made to the F3 to plug-the-gap before the Eurofighter 2000 'Typhoon' arrives. These include the carriage of AMRAAM and ASRAAM replacing Sidewinder and Skyflash and the introduction of the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS).

The Tornado F2 was delivered to No 229 OCU in November 1984 and the first operational squadron was No 29 at RAF Coningsby in April 1987.

During the Gulf War, 18 Tornado F3s were deployed and flew over 2500 missions, 700 of them during intense hostilities.

Recently, F3 Sqns have seen extensive service in patrolling the Former Yugoslavian 'No Fly Zone' and the air defence of the Falkland Islands.

RAF Coningsby houses No 5 Sqn and No 56(R) Sqn.  At RAF Leeming are Nos 11 and 25 Sqns, whilst RAF Leuchars is home to Nos 43 and 111 Sqns.

You can see our F3s in Edmonton and CFB Cold Lake during the summer.