Panavia Tornado Combat Aircraft

In March 1993, a Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) project of the Tornado was launched to upgrade the GR1/GR1A to GR4/GR4A standard. The Tornado GR4 made its operational debut in Operation Southern Watch; patrolling Iraq's southern airspace from bases in Kuwait. Both Tornado GR1s and GR4s based at Ali Al Salem, Kuwait, took part in coalition strikes at Iraq's military infrastructure during Operation Desert Fox in 1998. In December 1998, an Iraqi anti-aircraft battery fired six to eight missiles at a patrolling Tornado, the battery was later attacked in retaliation, no aircraft were lost during the incident. It was reported that during Desert Fox RAF Tornados had successfully destroyed 75% of allotted targets, and out of the 36 missions planned, 28 had been successfully completed.
The GR1 participated in the Kosovo War in 1999. The Tornados initially operated from RAF Bruggen, Germany; they later moved to Solenzara Air Base, Corsica. Experience from fighting in Kosovo led to the RAF procuring AGM-65 Maverick missiles and Enhanced Paveway smart bombs for the Tornado fleet. Following the Kosovo War, the GR1 was phased out as more aircraft were upgraded to GR4 standard. The final GR1 was upgraded and returned to the RAF on 10 June 2003.
The GR4 was heavily used in Operation Telic, the British contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. RAF Tornados flew in the opening phase of the war, flying alongside American strike aircraft to rapidly attack key installations. Following an emphasis on minimising casualties, Tornados of No. 617 Squadron deployed the new Storm Shadow precision cruise missile for the first time in the Iraq conflict; while 25% of the UK's air-launched weapons in Kosovo were precision-guided, four years later in Iraq this ratio increased to 85%.
On 23 March 2003, a Tornado GR4 was shot down over Iraq by friendly fire from a U.S. Patriot missile battery, killing both crew members. In July 2003, a US board of inquiry exonerated the battery's operators, observing the Tornado's "lack of functioning IFF (Identification Friend or Foe)" as a factor in the incident. Problems with Patriot has also been suggested as a factor, multiple incidents of mis-identification of friendly aircraft have occurred, including the fatal shootdown of a US Navy McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet a few weeks after the loss of the Tornado. Britain withdrew the last of its Tornados from Iraq in June 2009.