RAF to say farewell to its Tornado jets next year

THE RAF’s fleet of Tornado fighter jets will be withdrawn from service next March.

Tornado GR4s will be replaced by F- 35Bs, supersonic stealth fighters, which will be based at RAF Marham in Norfolk.

The Royal Navy is also introducing its new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, which will be equipped with the F-35B jets. The plans come amid concerns that the military needs more money in order to properly defend itself against future attacks.

Last night a Ministry of Defence spokesman confirmed that the RAF’s Tornados would be decommissioned by March 2019. It is believed plans to withdraw the fighter-bomber were halted after it was needed to serve in Syria.

‘The plan was to keep the Tornado fully in service until the arrival of the F-35B,’ a source told the Daily Express. ‘But budget pressures has meant this has changed, and Tornado withdrawal is being accelerated.’

The Tornado was introduced in 1980 and has been used in conflict zones in Libya, Kosovo and Afghanistan. It launched attacks in Iraq and Syria against Islamic State, but has not seen active combat since last December.

Confirmation of the withdrawal date comes after Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier warned that the RAF needs more money to combat the threat posed by Russia. ‘As others seek rapidly to match or even surpass our current technological edge, we must modernise our capabilities,’ the Chief of the Air Staff wrote in the Daily Telegraph last week.

‘If you don’t give me resources, you’re going to have to make compromises. It will mean that we will not be able to do all of the things that we need to do in order to defend the nation.’