Panavia Tornado Combat Aircraft

Defence cuts announced in March 2003 resulted in the decision to retire 90 Tornados from Luftwaffe service. This led in its Tornado strength reducing to four wings by September 2005. On 13 January 2004, the then German Defence Minister Peter Struck announced further major changes to the German armed forces. A major part of this announcement is the plan to cut the German fighter fleet from 426 in early 2004 to 265 by 2015.
Assuming the full German order for 180 Eurofighter Typhoons is delivered, the planned reduction of aircraft numbers would see the Tornado force reduced to 85, with the type expected to remain in service with the Luftwaffe until 2020. By 2010, a significant number of the Tornados were reaching the end of their service life, thus the aircraft being retained for continued service have been undergoing a service life extension programme.
• German Navy (Marineflieger)
In addition to the order made by the Luftwaffe, the German Navy's Marineflieger also received 112 of the IDS variant in the anti-shipping and marine reconnaissance roles, again replacing the Starfighter. These equipped two wings, each with a nominal strength of 48 aircraft. The principal anti-ship weapon was the AS.34 Kormoran anti-ship missile, which were initially supplemented by unguided bombs and BL755 cluster bombs, and later by AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles. Pods fitted with panoramic optical cameras and an infra-red line scan were carried for the reconnaissance mission.