Panavia Tornado Combat Aircraft

• Upgrades
In the 1990s, the RAF's GR1 fleet was extensively re-manufactured as Tornado GR4s. Upgrades on Tornado GR4s included a FLIR (Forward-Looking InfraRed), a wide-angle HUD (Heads-Up Display), improved cockpit displays, NVG (Night Vision Goggles) capabilities, new avionics, and a Global Positioning System receiver. The upgrade eased the integration of new weapons and sensors which were purchased in parallel, including the Storm Shadow cruise missile, the Brimstone anti-tank missile, Paveway III laser-guided bombs and the RAPTOR reconnaissance pod was integrated. The first flight of a Tornado GR4 was on 4 April 1997, on 31 October 1997 the RAF accepted the first delivery. In 2005, the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) opted to have their Tornado IDSs undergo a series of upgrades to become equivalent to the RAF's GR4 configuration.
Beginning in 2000, German IDS and ECR Tornados received the ASSTA 1 (Avionics System Software Tornado in Ada) upgrade. ASSTA 1 involved a replacement weapons computer, new GPS and Laser Inertial navigation systems. The new computer allowed the integration of the HARM III, HARM 0 Block IV/V and TAURUS KEPD 350 missiles, the Rafael Litening II Laser Designator Pod and GBU-24 Paveway III laser-guided bombs. The ASSTA 2 upgrade began in 2005, primarily consisting of several new digital avionics systems, a new ECM suite and provision for the Taurus cruise missile; these upgrades are to be only applied to 85 Tornados (20 ECRs and 65 IDSs), as the Tornado is in the process of being replaced by the Eurofighter Typhoon. The ASSTA 3 upgrade programme, started in 2008, will introduce support for the laser-targeted Joint Direct Attack Munition along with further software changes.