History
The Tornado was first shown to the British public on 14 April 1978 at RAF Boscombe Down. The RAF planned to buy 220 of them, and 165 of the ADV variant. 809 for all three countries had been ordered, with 212 for the German Air Force, 112 for the German Navy and 100 for the Italian Air Force. Cost at that time was £7.8m for the GR1 and £9.4m for the ADV. As a historical comparison, a Tornado could carry twice the bomb load of an Avro Lancaster. The plane was chosen above contemporary American aircraft at that time because the F-16 lacked all-weather capability, the F-15 had inferior radar and electronic countermeasures and the F-14 was too expensive. The Tornado was the first RAF plane with Terrain Following Radar (TFR). The German Navy was the first to get the planes. When the TTTE was established, the RAF was concerned it may not have enough trained pilots to fly the planes, due to poor recruitment and perceived low pay.
Read more about this topic: Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment
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