UK marks ‘century of airpower' with platform milestones

The UK showcased ‘100 years of combat airpower’ as it marked two major milestones ahead of the retirement of the Panavia Tornado GR4 strike aircraft.

A century of combat aviation was displayed by the MoD at RAF Marham on 10 January, with the Panavia Tornado; Eurofighter Typhoon; Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning; and BAE Systems Tempest rolled out for the first time together. (Crown Copyright)

The event at Royal Air Force (RAF) Marham on 10 January, which was attended by Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and senior service officials, saw the Ministry of Defence (MoD) declare initial operating capability (IOC) Land (L) for its Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning Force as well as IOC for the multirole Project Centurion weapons configuration for the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4.

With the soon-to-be-retired Tornado lined up alongside its Typhoon and Lightning successors, the event also featured a full-scale mock-up of the Typhoon that is currently being developed by an industry team headed by BAE Systems.

“As we bid farewell to the RAF’s first century, we are setting our sights on the next 100 years. The F-35 jets are ready for operations, a transformed Typhoon has the power to dominate the skies into the 2040s and we continue to look even further into an ambitious future,” Williamson said.

Having entered service in 1979, the Tornado is to be withdrawn from service at the end of March. The aircraft’s air-to-ground role is being taken on by both the F-35B and Typhoon, IOC L for the former and Project Centurion for the latter are key milestones in the smooth transition from the Tornado to its successors.