It was primarily intended to intercept Soviet bombers as they were traversing across the North Sea with the aim of preventing a successful air-launched nuclear attack against the United Kingdom.

Featuring optimised RB.199 Mk 104 engines, an expanded missile capacity, and automatic wing sweep control system amongst other improvements, the Tornado F-3 became the definitive variant operated by the RAF.

During its service life, the Tornado ADV received several upgrades which enhanced its aerial capabilities and enabled it to perform Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) missions in addition to its interceptor duties.

Ultimately, both the RAF and RSAF retired their Tornado ADV fleets in the early 2010s; the type has been replaced in both services by the Eurofighter Typhoon.

[4] Despite Britain's strong interest in the air defence concept, it proved to be unattractive to the other European partners on the Tornado project, leading to its development being pursued solely by the United Kingdom.

[9] The test programme was greatly aided by the use of real-time telemetry, which broadcast live data from in-flight aircraft back to technicians on the ground.

[10] The Tornado ADV's differences compared to the Tornado IDS include a greater sweep angle on the wing gloves, and the deletion of their Krueger flap, deletion of the port cannon, a longer radome for the Foxhunter radar, slightly longer airbrakes, and the fuselage being lengthened by 1.36 m; the latter change permitted the carriage of four Skyflash semi-active radar homing missiles.

Making its first flight on 5 March 1984, it was powered by the same RB.199 Mk 103 engines used by the IDS Tornado, capable of four wing sweep settings, and fitted to carry only two underwing Sidewinder missiles.

[6] Enhancements over the Tornado F2 included RB.199 Mk 104 engines, which were optimised for high-altitude use with longer afterburner nozzles, the capacity to carry four underwing Sidewinder missiles rather than two, and automatic wing sweep control.

[16] Upon its entrance into service, the principal armament of the Tornado F3 was the short-range Sidewinder and the medium-range Skyflash missiles, the latter being a British design derived from the American AIM-7 Sparrow.

In order to maintain the Tornado F3 as an effective platform up to its planned phasing out date of 2010, the Ministry of Defence initiated the Capability Sustainment Programme (CSP).

This £125 million project, announced on 5 March 1996, involved many elements, including the integration of the ASRAAM and AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, and radar upgrades to improve multi-target engagement.

AMRAAM typically uses two mid-course updates after launch to refresh target information prior to its own seeker taking over; however, the CSP did not include the necessary datalink to provide this capability.

[22] A further upgrade, disclosed in early 2003, was the integration of the ALARM anti-radiation missile to enable several Tornado ADVs to conduct Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) missions.

[26] Compared with the Phantom, the Tornado had greater acceleration, twice the range and loiter time, and was more capable of operating from short 'austere' air strips.

[30] From July 1986, the F2's short career came to an end as they were replaced as the improved Tornado F3 entered service; the interim aircraft were promptly placed into storage.

[5] The combat debut of the Tornado F3 was made in the 1991 Gulf War; a total of 18 aircraft were deployed to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia in support of coalition forces.

[35] In the aftermath of the Gulf War, the RAF maintained a small squadron of F3s in Saudi Arabia to continue routine patrols of Iraqi no-fly zones.

[36] During these extended overseas deployments, the Tornado F3 reportedly proved troublesome to maintain at operational readiness while based outside the UK.

[37] Following lengthy delays in the Eurofighter programme to develop a successor to the F3 interceptor, the RAF initiated a major upgrade program in the late 1990s to enhance the aircraft's capabilities, primarily by integrating several newer air-to-air missiles.

Delivery of the first batch was completed by the end of year; these aircraft were deployed at Gioia del Colle in Southern Italy.

[45] In early 1997, the AMI announced that it was cancelling a series of scheduled upgrades to its Tornado fleet, stating that it was placing priority for funding on the in-development Eurofighter instead.

While the Tornado ADV was a candidate once again, any long term extension to the lease arrangement would have involved the associated aircraft to be upgraded to RAF CSP standard along with structural modifications to extend the airframes' service life, officials considered such commitments to not be cost effective.

[49] On 26 September 1985, Saudi Arabia and Britain signed a memorandum of understanding towards what would be widely known as the Al-Yamamah arms deal, for the provision of various military equipment and services.

[55] In 2006, it was announced that, in addition to Saudi Arabia's contract to purchase the Eurofighter Typhoon, both the Tornado IDS and ADV fleets would undergo a £2.5 billion program of upgrades, allowing them to remain in service to at least 2020.