Saudi Arabia celebrates the Tornado’s 50th anniversary
Some 96 Tornado IDS and 24 ADV Tornados were delivered to the RSAF, and although the ADVs were retired in 2006, the type remains in service to this day.
…
December 13, 2024
Some 96 Tornado IDS and 24 ADV Tornados were delivered to the RSAF, and although the ADVs were retired in 2006, the type remains in service to this day.
Royal Saudi Air Force pilots visited RAF Honington to fly and evaluate the Tornado GR.Mk 1 in 1984, and the UK and Saudi Arabia signed the Al Yamamah I contract on 25 September 1985. This included the sale of 48 IDS and 24 ADV Tornados. The first four RSAF crews joined the Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment at RAF Cottesmore in October 1985.
The first Saudi Tornado IDS made its maiden flight on 17 February 1986, and the first four IDS were delivered to King Abdul Aziz Air Base, at Dhahran on 26 March 1986. The first Saudi Tornado unit, No. 7 Squadron, had received 20 aircraft by 8 October 1987.
The Saudi government signed a £2.5 billion contract with BAE Systems in September 2006, to upgrade up to 80 RSAF Tornado IDS aircraft under the so-called ‘Tornado Sustainment Programme’ to keep them in service beyond 2020. The first RSAF Tornado was returned to BAE Systems Warton in December 2006 for modification, and was delivered to the RSAF post-upgrade in December 2007.
The TSP upgrade equipped the IDS fleet with a range of new precision-guided weapons and enhanced targeting systems, in many cases using those systems already fielded by the UK’s Tornado GR.Mk 4s. The type has since seen extensive operational service over the Yemen.
The RSAF still has three Tornado squadrons within 11 Wing, which is based at King Abdullah Aziz Air Base at Dhahran. These are the 7th, 75th and 83rd Squadrons, the 66th Squadron having disbanded before converting to the AS532M Super Puma helicopter. Two more units at Dhahran may ‘borrow’ aircraft from the frontline units, including the new Fighter Weapons School and the 35th Squadron, which undertakes navigator training using the Jetstream 31.
