Panavia Tornado ECR
The radar-hunting Tornado — Germany's and Italy's air-defence suppression aircraft · First flight 1988 · In service 1990
The Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat/Reconnaissance) is a dedicated SEAD — suppression of enemy air defences — version of the IDS. Its Emitter Locator System detects and pinpoints radar transmitters, and the aircraft attacks them with AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles. Two development aircraft converted from IDS airframes first flew on 18 August 1988.
Germany ordered 35 new-build ECRs in 1986; the first was delivered on 21 May 1990, and the type became the equipment of Jagdbombergeschwader 32 at Lechfeld, Germany's only SEAD-capable wing. Italy took a different route and converted 16 of its IDS aircraft to ECR standard as the EA-200, the first delivered on 27 February 1998.
Over Kosovo in 1999 German ECRs fired 236 HARMs and Italian EA-200s 115. Germany still had 28 ECRs in service at the end of 2018; their role is passing to 15 Eurofighters being converted to the Typhoon EK electronic-combat standard.
