This Is How RAF Crews With Inferior Jets Were Able To Repeatedly 'Kill' Navy F-14s And F/A-18s In Training

Tyler Rogoway, The Warzone/The Drive: How Sly RAF Tornado Crews Repeatedly Killed U.S. Navy F-14s And F/A-18s In Training

The Tornado ADV couldn't turn and burn with high-performance fighters of the era, but it could still clean their clocks using creative tactics.

When most people think of a the Panavia Tornado today the interdiction/strike (IDS) or electronic countermeasures/reconnaissance (ECR) variants come to mind. But the air defense variant (ADV) of the swing-wing Cold War era combat jet lived an entirely different life than its non air-to-air focused cousins. These jets were interceptors optimized primarily to efficiently hunt down and destroy Soviet bombers over long ranges, and their maneuverability was notoriously lacking when compared to fighters of the same era. But after some major developmental hurdles, the jet's straight line performance, Foxhunter radars, and Skyflash missiles proved to be a deadly combination, especially when paired with a very well trained aircrew.

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WNU Editor: Yup .... sometimes it is the man with the right training and experienced rather than having the most advanced aircraft that comes up on top.