title: Airbus A320 family

text: In 1988, the value of a new A320 was $30 million, reaching $40 million by the end of the 1990s, a 30% increase lower than the inflation, it dipped to $37 million after 2001, then peaked to $47 million in 2008, and stabilised at $40–42 million until the transition to the A320neo.


title: Airbus A320 family

text: As the A320 was beginning operations in 1988, the A321 was launched as its first derivative the same year. The A321 fuselage is stretched by , with a front plug immediately forward of wing and a rear plug. The A321-100 maximum takeoff weight is increased by to . To maintain performance, double-slotted flaps were included, in addition to increasing the wing area by , to . The maiden flight of the first of two prototypes came on 11 March 1993. The A321-100 entered service in January 1994 with Lufthansa.


title: Airbus A320 family

text: As the A321-100 range was less than the A320, development of the heavier and longer range A321-200 began in 1995. The higher range was achieved through higher thrust engines (V2533-A5 or CFM56-5B3), minor structural strengthening, and an increase in fuel capacity with the installation of one or two optional tanks in the rear underfloor hold. Its fuel capacity was increased to and its maximum takeoff weight to . It first flew in December 1996 and entered service with Monarch Airlines in April 1997.


title: Airbus A320 family

text: The A321's closest Boeing competitors are the 737-900/900ER, and the 757-200. A total 1,562 of the A321ceo model have been delivered, with 231 remaining on order as of 30 September 2017. In 2018, the A321 list price was US$118.3 million.


title: Airbus A320 family

text: A programme to convert A320 and A321 aircraft into freighters was set up by Airbus Freighter Conversion GmbH. Airframes would be converted by Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH (EFW) in Dresden, Germany, and Zhukovsky, Russia. The launch customer AerCap signed a firm contract on 16 July 2008 to convert 30 of AerCap's passenger A320/A321s into A320/A321P2F (passenger to freighter). However, on 3 June 2011, Airbus announced all partners would end the passenger to freighter programme, citing high demand for used airframes for passenger service.


title: Airbus A320 family

text: After EFW began the first A320 conversion in March 2021, the A320P2F made its maiden three-hour flight on 8 December from Singapore.


title: Airbus A320 family

text: The A320P2F is the best option for express domestic and regional operations. The freighter can accommodate up to 27 metric tonnes over 1,900 nautical miles and offers space for 14 large containers/pallets on the main deck and 10 LD3-type containers on the lower deck.


title: Airbus A320 family

text: The Indian Defence Ministry greenlit the modification by the Defence Research and Development Organisation of six Air India A320s into Airborne early warning and control planes for Rs 10,500 crore (US$ million). They are to complement the two Indian-built Netra and three Israeli-and-Russian-made Phalcons of the Indian Air Force.


title: Airbus A320 family

text: , there were 9,824 A320 family aircraft in commercial service with over 330 operators. The five largest operators were American Airlines, operating 459, China Eastern Airlines with 358, EasyJet 327, China Southern Airlines 309 and IndiGo 260. Aircraft in operation include 58 A318, 1,361 A319 (1,352 ceo + 9 neo), 5,850 A320 (4,303 ceo + 1,547 neo) and 2,555 A321 (1,737 ceo + 818 neo) aircraft. All 2,374 delivered A320neo family aircraft were in service, while 650 A320ceo family aircraft consisting of 22 A318s, 132 A319s, 449 A320s and 47 A321s were out of service through retirement or write-off.


title: Airbus A320 family

text: Air France, British Airways, and Frontier Airlines are the only operators to have operated all four variants of the A320ceo family. Middle East Airlines received two milestone aircraft. The first was an A320ceo with manufacturer serial number (MSN) 5,000 on 20 January 2012. Eight years later, on 9 October 2020, the airline received MSN 10,000, an A321neo, at the celebration of its 75th anniversary.


title: Airbus A320 family

text: The A320ceo family was the fastest-selling airliner from 2005 to 2007. Its successor, the A320neo family, improved on this with 1,420 orders and commitments in less than a year in 2011.


title: Airbus A320 family

text: In October 2019, the A320 family became the highest-selling airliner family with 15,193 orders, surpassing the Boeing 737's total of 15,136.


title: Airbus A320 family

text: In August 2021, the A320 family passed the 10,000 delivery mark, 33 years after its introduction, versus 50 years for the Boeing 737, which passed the 10,000 delivery mark in March 2018.


title: Airbus A320 family

text: On 16 December 2021, the last member of the A320ceo family, an A321ceo (MSN 10315), was delivered from the assembly line Airbus Mobile in Alabama.


title: Airbus A320 family

text: In July 2022, total orders for the A320neo family reached 8,502, exceeding the total orders for the A320ceo family of 8,120.


title: Airbus A320 family

text: , a total of 10,616 A320 family aircraft had been delivered, with 20 A320ceos (2 A319s, 11 A320s and 7 A321s) remaining in the backlog. In the first ten months of 2022, Airbus delivered 440 A320 family aircraft, comprising A320neo variants only. The A320 family backlog was over the 6,000 mark again, with A321s accounting for 60% and total orders reached 16,785, whereas cancellations incurred during the Boeing 737 MAX groundings brought total orders for the 737 slightly up to 15,454 aircraft, of which 11,177 had been delivered.


title: Airbus A320 family

text: Across the entire A320 family, 160 major aviation accidents and incidents have occurred, including 48 hull loss accidents (the latest being LATAM Perú Flight 2213 on 18 November 2022), for a total of 1393 fatalities. The A320 family has experienced 50 incidents in which several flight displays were lost.


title: Airbus A320 family

text: As of 2015, the Airbus A320 family had experienced 0.12 fatal hull loss accidents for every million takeoffs and 0.26 total hull loss accidents for every million takeoffs.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS (interdictor/strike) fighter-bomber, the suppression of enemy air defences Tornado ECR (electronic combat/reconnaissance) and the Tornado ADV (air defence variant) interceptor aircraft.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The Tornado was developed and built by Panavia Aircraft GmbH, a tri-national consortium consisting of British Aerospace (previously British Aircraft Corporation), MBB of West Germany, and Aeritalia of Italy. It first flew on 14 August 1974 and was introduced into service in 1979–1980. Due to its multirole design, it was able to replace several different fleets of aircraft in the adopting air forces. The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) became the only export operator of the Tornado in addition to the three original partner nations. A tri-nation training and evaluation unit operating from RAF Cottesmore, the Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment, maintained a level of international co-operation beyond the production stage.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The Tornado was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), Italian Air Force, and RSAF during the Gulf War of 1991, in which the Tornado conducted many low-altitude penetrating strike missions. The Tornados of various services were also used in the Bosnian War, Kosovo War, Iraq War, in Libya during the 2011 Libyan civil war, as well as smaller roles in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Syria. Including all variants, 990 aircraft were built.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: During the 1960s, aeronautical designers looked to variable-geometry wing designs to gain the manoeuvrability and efficient cruise of straight wings with the speed of swept wing designs. The United Kingdom had cancelled the procurement of the TSR-2 and subsequent F-111K aircraft, and was still looking for a replacement for its Avro Vulcan and Blackburn Buccaneer strike aircraft. Britain and France had initiated the BAC/Dassault AFVG (Anglo French Variable Geometry) project in 1965, but this had ended with French withdrawal in 1967. Britain continued to develop a variable-geometry aircraft similar to the proposed AFVG, and sought new partners to achieve this. West German EWR with Boeing then with Fairchild-Hiller and Republic Aviation had been developing design studies of the swing-wing EWR-Fairchild-Hiller A400 AVS Advanced Vertical Strike (which has a similar configuration to the Tornado) from 1964 to 1968


title: Panavia Tornado

text: In 1968, West Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Canada formed a working group to examine replacements for the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, initially called the "Multi Role Aircraft (MRA)", later renamed as the "Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA)". As the partner nations' requirements were so diverse, it was decided to develop a single aircraft that could perform a variety of missions that were previously undertaken by a fleet of different aircraft. Britain joined the MRCA group in 1968, represented by Air Vice-Marshal Michael Giddings, and a memorandum of agreement was drafted between Britain, West Germany, and Italy in May 1969.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: By the end of 1968, the prospective purchases from the six countries amounted to 1,500 aircraft. Canada and Belgium had departed before any long-term commitments had been made to the programme; Canada had found the project politically unpalatable; there was a perception in political circles that much of the manufacturing and specifications were focused on Western Europe. France had made a favourable offer to Belgium on the Dassault Mirage 5.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: On 26 March 1969, four partner nations – United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, agreed to form a multinational company, Panavia Aircraft GmbH, to develop and manufacture the MRCA. The project's aim was to produce an aircraft capable of undertaking missions in the tactical strike, reconnaissance, air defence, and maritime roles. Various concepts, including alternative fixed-wing and single-engine designs, were studied while defining the aircraft. The Netherlands pulled out of the project in 1970, citing that the aircraft was too complicated and technical for the RNLAF's preferences, which had sought a simpler aircraft with outstanding manoeuvrability. An additional blow was struck when the German requirement reduced from an initial 600 aircraft to 324 in 1972. It has been suggested that Germany deliberately placed an unrealistically high initial order to secure the company headquarters and initial test flight in Germany rather than the UK, so as to have a bigger design influence.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: When the agreement was finalised, the United Kingdom and West Germany each had a 42.5% stake of the workload, with the remaining 15% going to Italy; this division of the production work was heavily influenced by international political bargaining. The front fuselage and tail assembly was assigned to BAC (now BAE Systems) in the United Kingdom; the centre fuselage to MBB (now part of Airbus) in West Germany; and the wings to Aeritalia (now Leonardo) in Italy. Similarly, tri-national worksharing was used for engines and equipment. A separate multinational company, Turbo-Union, was formed in June 1970 to develop and build the RB199 engines for the aircraft, with ownership split 40% Rolls-Royce, 40% MTU, and 20% FIAT.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: At the conclusion of the project definition phase in May 1970, the concepts were reduced to two designs; a single seat Panavia 100 which West Germany initially preferred, and the twin-seat Panavia 200 which the RAF preferred. The aircraft was briefly called the "Panavia Panther", and the project soon coalesced towards the two-seat option. In September 1971, the three governments signed an Intention to Proceed (ITP) document, at which point the aircraft was intended solely for the low-level strike mission, where it was viewed as a viable threat to Soviet defences in that role. It was at this point that Britain's Chief of the Defence Staff announced "two-thirds of the fighting front line will be composed of this single, basic aircraft type".


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The first of fifteen development aircraft (nine prototypes, P01 to P09, and six pre-series, PS11 to PS 16) flew on 14 August 1974 at Manching, Germany; the pilot, Paul Millett described his experience: "Aircraft handling was delightful... the actual flight went so smoothly that I did begin to wonder whether this was not yet another simulation". Flight testing led to the need for minor modifications. Airflow disturbances were responded to by re-profiling the engine intakes and the fuselage to minimise surging and buffeting at supersonic speeds.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: According to Jim Quinn, programmer of the Tornado development simulation software and engineer on the Tornado engine and engine controls, the prototype was safely capable of reaching supercruise, but the engines had severe safety issues at high altitude while trying to decelerate. At high altitude and low turbine speed the compressor did not provide enough pressure to hold back the combustion pressure and would result in a violent vibration as the combustion pressure backfired into the intake. To avoid this effect the engine controls would automatically increase the minimum idle setting as altitude increased, until at very high altitudes the idle setting was so high, however, that it was close to maximum dry thrust. This resulted in one of the test aircraft being stuck in a mach 1.2 supercruise at high altitude and having to reduce speed by turning the aircraft, because the idle setting at that altitude was so high that the aircraft could not decelerate.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The British Ministry of Supply assigned Chief Engineer Ted Talbot from the Concorde development team to provide intake design assistance to the Tornado development team in order to overcome these issues, which they hesitantly agreed to after noting that the Concorde intake data had apparently already been leaked to the Soviet Union. The German engineers working on the Tornado intake were unable to produce a functional Concorde style intake despite having data from the Concorde team. To make the problem worse, their management team incorrectly filed a patent on the Concorde design, and then tried to sue the British engineers who had provided the design to them. The German lawyers realised that the British had provided the designs to the German team, and requested further information to help their engineers overcome the problems with the Tornado intake, but Chief Engineer Talbot refused. According to Talbot, the Concorde engineers had determined the issue with the Tornado intake was that the engine did not respond to unexpected changes in the intake position, and therefore the engine was running at the wrong setting for a given position of the intake ramps. This was because the Concorde had similar issues due to control pressure not being high enough to maintain proper angles of the intake ramps. Aerodynamic forces could force the intakes into the improper position, and so they should have the ability to control the engines if this occurs. The Tornado intake system did not allow for this. Due to the behaviour of the German management team, the British engineers declined to share this information, and so the Tornado was not equipped with the more advanced intake design of the Concorde.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Testing revealed that a nose-wheel steering augmentation system, connecting with the yaw damper, was necessary to counteract the destabilising effect produced by deploying the thrust reverser during the landing roll.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: From 1967 until 1984 Soviet KGB agents were provided details on the Tornado by the head of the West German Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Planning department, Manfred Rotsch.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Two prototypes were lost in accidents, both of which had been primarily caused by poor piloting decisions and errors leading to two ground collision incidents; a third Tornado prototype was seriously damaged by an incident involving pilot-induced pitch oscillation. During the type's development, aircraft designers of the era were beginning to incorporate features such as more sophisticated stability augmentation systems and autopilots. Aircraft such as the Tornado and the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon made use of these new technologies. Failure testing of the Tornado's triplex analogue command and stability augmentation system (CSAS) was conducted on a series of realistic flight control rigs; the variable-sweep wings in combination with varying, and frequently very heavy, payloads complicated the clearance process.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The contract for the Batch 1 aircraft was signed on 29 July 1976. The first flight of a production aircraft was on 10 July 1979 by ZA319 at BAe Warton. The first aircraft were delivered to the RAF and German Air Force on 5 and 6 June 1979 respectively. The first Italian Tornado was delivered on 25 September 1981. On 29 January 1981, the Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment (TTTE) officially opened at RAF Cottesmore, remaining active in training pilots from all operating nations until 31 March 1999. The 500th Tornado to be produced was delivered to West Germany on 19 December 1987.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Export customers were sought after West Germany withdrew its objections to exporting the aircraft; Saudi Arabia was the only export customer of the Tornado. The agreement to purchase the Tornado was part of the Al-Yamamah arms deal between British Aerospace and the Saudi government. Oman had committed to purchasing Tornados and the equipment to operate them for a total value of £250 million in the late 1980s, but cancelled the order in 1990 due to financial difficulties.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: During the 1970s, Australia considered joining the MRCA programme to find a replacement for their ageing Dassault Mirage IIIs; ultimately the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet was selected to meet the requirement. Canada similarly opted for the F/A-18 after considering the Tornado. Japan considered the Tornado in the 1980s, along with the F-16 and F/A-18, before selecting the Mitsubishi F-2. In the 1990s, both Taiwan and South Korea expressed interest in acquiring a small number of Tornado ECR aircraft. In 2001, EADS proposed a Tornado ECR variant with a greater electronic warfare capability for Australia.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Production came to an end in 1998; the last batch of aircraft produced going to the Royal Saudi Air Force, who had ordered a total of 96 IDS Tornados. In June 2011, it was announced that the Tornado fleet had flown collectively over one million flying hours. Aviation author Jon Lake noted that "The Trinational Panavia Consortium produced just short of 1,000 Tornados, making it one of the most successful postwar bomber programs". In 2008, "AirForces Monthly" said of the Tornado: "For more than a quarter of a century ... the most important military aircraft in Western Europe."


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The Panavia Tornado is a multirole, twin-engined aircraft designed to excel at low-level penetration of enemy defences. The mission envisaged during the Cold War was the delivery of conventional and nuclear ordnance on the invading forces of the Warsaw Pact countries of Eastern Europe; this dictated several significant features of the design. Variable wing geometry allowed for minimal drag during the low-level dash towards a well-prepared enemy. Advanced navigation and flight computers, including the then-innovative fly-by-wire system, greatly reduced the workload of the pilot during low-level flight and eased control of the aircraft. For long range missions, the Tornado has a retractable refuelling probe.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: As a multirole aircraft, the Tornado is capable of undertaking more mission profiles than the anticipated strike mission; various operators replaced multiple aircraft types with the Tornado as a common type – the use of dedicated single role aircraft for specialist purposes such as battlefield reconnaissance, maritime patrol duties, or dedicated electronic countermeasures (ECM) were phased out – either by standard Tornados or modified variants, such as the Tornado ECR. The most extensive modification from the base Tornado design was the Tornado ADV, which was stretched and armed with long range anti-aircraft missiles to serve in the interceptor role.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Tornado operators have undertaken various life extension and upgrade programmes to keep their Tornado fleets as viable frontline aircraft. With these upgrades it is projected that the Tornado shall be in service until 2025, more than 50 years after the first prototype took flight.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: In order for the Tornado to perform well as a low-level supersonic strike aircraft, it was considered necessary for it to possess good high-speed and low-speed flight characteristics. To achieve high-speed performance, a swept or delta wing is typically adopted, but these wing designs are inefficient at low speeds. To operate at both high and low speeds with great effectiveness, the Tornado uses a variable-sweep wing. This approach had been adopted by earlier aircraft, such as the American General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark strike fighter, and the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 fighter. The smaller Tornado has many similarities with the F-111, however the Tornado differs in being a multi-role aircraft with more advanced onboard systems and avionics.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The level of wing sweep (i.e. the angle of the wings in relation to the fuselage) can be altered in flight at the pilot's control. The variable wing can adopt any sweep angle between 25 degrees and 67 degrees, with a corresponding speed range for each angle. Some Tornado ADVs were outfitted with an automatic wing-sweep system to reduce pilot workload. When the wings are swept back, the exposed wing area is lowered and drag is significantly decreased, which is conducive to performing high-speed low-level flight. The weapons pylons pivot with the angle of the variable-sweep wings so that the stores point in the direction of flight and do not hinder any wing positions.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: In development, significant attention was given to the Tornado's short-field take-off and landing (STOL) performance. Germany, in particular, encouraged this design aspect. For shorter take-off and landing distances, the Tornado can sweep its wings forwards to the 25-degree position, and deploy its full-span flaps and leading edge slats to allow the aircraft to fly at slower speeds. These features, in combination with the thrust reverser-equipped engines, give the Tornado excellent low-speed handling and landing characteristics.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The Tornado features a tandem-seat cockpit, crewed by a pilot and a navigator/weapons officer; both electromechanical and electro-optical controls are used to fly the aircraft and manage its systems. An array of dials and switches are mounted on either side of a centrally placed CRT monitor, controlling the navigational, communications, and weapons-control computers. BAE Systems developed the Tornado Advanced Radar Display Information System (TARDIS), a multi-function display, to replace the rear cockpit's Combined Radar and Projected Map Display; the RAF began installing TARDIS on the GR4 fleet in 2004.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The primary flight controls of the Tornado are a fly-by-wire hybrid, consisting of an analogue quadruplex Command and Stability Augmentation System (CSAS) connected to a digital Autopilot & Flight Director System (AFDS). In addition a level of mechanical reversion capacity was retained to safeguard against potential failure. To enhance pilot awareness, artificial feel was built into the flight controls, such as the centrally located stick. Because the Tornado's variable wings enable the aircraft to drastically alter its flight envelope, the artificial responses adjust automatically to wing profile changes and other changes to flight attitude. As a large variety of munitions and stores can be outfitted, the resulting changes to the aircraft's flight dynamics are routinely compensated for by the flight stability system.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The Tornado incorporates a combined navigation/attack Doppler radar that simultaneously scans for targets and conducts fully automated terrain-following for low-level flight operations. Being able to conduct all-weather hands-off low-level flight was considered one of the core advantages of the Tornado. The Tornado ADV had a different radar system to other variants, designated AI.24 Foxhunter, as it is designed for air defence operations. It was capable of tracking up to 20 targets at ranges of up to . The Tornado was one of the earliest aircraft to be fitted with a digital data bus for data transmission. A Link 16 JTIDS integration on the F3 variant enabled the exchange of radar and other sensory information with nearby friendly aircraft.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Some Tornado variants carry different avionics and equipment, depending on their mission. The Tornado ECR operated by Germany and Italy is devoted to Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) missions. The Tornado ECR is equipped with an emitter-locator system (ELS) to detect radar use. German ECRs have a Honeywell infrared imaging system for reconnaissance flights. RAF and RSAF Tornados have the Laser Range Finder and Marked Target Seekers (LRMTS) for targeting laser-guided munitions. In 1991, the RAF introduced TIALD, allowing Tornado GR1s to laser-designate their own targets.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The GR1A and GR4A reconnaissance variants were equipped with TIRRS (Tornado Infrared Reconnaissance System), consisting of one SLIR (Sideways Looking Infra Red) sensor on each side of the fuselage forward of the engine intakes to capture oblique images, and a single IRLS (InfrarRed LineScan) sensor mounted on the fuselage's underside to provide vertical images. TIRRS recorded images on six S-VHS video tapes. The newer RAPTOR reconnaissance pod replaced the built-in TIRRS system.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The Tornado is cleared to carry the majority of air-launched weapons in the NATO inventory, including various unguided and laser-guided bombs, anti-ship and anti-radiation missiles, as well as specialised weapons such as anti-personnel mines and anti-runway munitions. To improve survivability in combat, the Tornado is equipped with onboard countermeasures, ranging from flare and chaff dispensers to electronic countermeasure pods that can be mounted under the wings. Underwing fuel tanks and a buddy store aerial refuelling system that allows one Tornado to refuel another are available to extend the aircraft's range.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: In the decades since the Tornado's introduction, all of the Tornado operators have undertaken various upgrade and modification programmes to allow new weapons to be used by their squadrons. Amongst the armaments that the Tornado has been adapted to deploy are the Enhanced Paveway and Joint Direct Attack Munition bombs, and modern cruise missiles such as the Taurus and Storm Shadow missiles. These upgrades have increased the Tornado's capabilities and combat accuracy. Precision weapons such as cruise missiles have replaced older munitions such as cluster bombs.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Strike variants have a limited air-to-air capability with AIM-9 Sidewinder or AIM-132 ASRAAM air-to-air missiles (AAMs). The Tornado ADV was outfitted with beyond visual range AAMs such as the Skyflash and AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles. The Tornado is armed with two Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon internally mounted underneath the fuselage; the Tornado ADV was only armed with one cannon. When the RAF GR1 aircraft were converted to GR4, the FLIR sensor replaced the left hand cannon, leaving only one; the GR1A reconnaissance variant gave up both its guns to make space for the sideways looking infra-red sensors. The Mauser BK-27 was developed specifically for the Tornado, but has since been used on several other European fighters, such as the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, Saab JAS 39 Gripen, and Eurofighter Typhoon.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The Tornado is capable of delivering air-launched nuclear weapons. In 1979, Britain considered replacing its Polaris submarines with either the Trident submarines or the Tornado as the main bearer of its nuclear deterrent. Although the UK proceeded with Trident, several Tornado squadrons based in Germany were assigned to SACEUR to deter a major Soviet offensive with both conventional and nuclear weapons, namely the WE.177 nuclear bomb, which was retired in 1998. German and Italian Tornados are capable of delivering US B61 nuclear bombs, which are made available through NATO.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Britain considered the selection of Rolls-Royce to develop the advanced engine for the MRCA to be essential, and was strongly opposed to adopting an engine from an American manufacturer, to the point where the UK might have withdrawn over the issue. In September 1969, Rolls-Royce's RB199 engine was selected to power the MRCA. One advantage over the US competition was that a technology transfer between the partner nations had been agreed; the engine was to be developed and manufactured by a joint company, Turbo-Union. The programme was delayed by Rolls-Royce's entry into receivership in 1971. however the nature of the multinational collaboration process helped avoid major disruption of the Tornado programme. Research from the supersonic airliner Concorde contributed to the development and final design of the RB199 and of the engine control units.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: To operate efficiently across a wide range of conditions and speeds up to Mach 2, the RB199 and several other engines make use of variable intake ramps to control the air flow. The hydraulic system is pressurised by syphoning power from both or either operational engine; the hydraulics are completely contained within the airframe rather than integrating with the engine to improve safety and maintainability. In case of double-engine, or double-generator, failure, the Tornado has a single-use battery capable of operating the fuel pump and hydraulics for up to 13 minutes.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Relatively rarely among fighter aircraft, the RB199 is fitted with thrust reversers to decrease the distance required to land safely. To fully deploy the thrust reverser during landings, the yaw damper is connected to the steering of the nosewheel to provide greater stability.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: In August 1974, the first RB199 powered flight of a prototype Tornado occurred and the engine completed its qualification tests in late 1978. The final production standard engine met both reliability and performance standards, though the development cost had been higher than predicted, in part due to the ambitious performance requirements. At the time of the Tornado's introduction to service, the turbine blades of the engine suffered from a shorter life span than desired, which was rectified by the implementation of design revisions upon early-production engines. Several uprated engines were developed and used on both the majority of Tornado ADVs and Germany's Tornado ECRs. The DECU ("Digital Engine Control Unit") is the current engine control unit for RB199 engines superseding the analogue MECU ("Main Engine Control Unit") also known as CUE.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Being designed for low-level operations, the Tornado required modification to perform in medium level operations that the RAF adopted in the 1990s. The RAF's GR1 fleet was extensively re-manufactured as Tornado GR4s. Upgrades on Tornado GR4s included a Forward looking infrared, a wide-angle HUD (Head-up display), improved cockpit displays, NVG (Night vision devices) 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. The first flight of a Tornado GR4 was on 4 April 1997. The RAF accepted its first delivery on 31 October 1997 and deliveries were completed in 2003. In 2005, the RSAF opted to have their Tornado IDSs undergo a series of upgrades to become equivalent to the RAF's GR4 configuration. On 21 December 2007 BAE signed a £210m contract for CUSP, the Capability Upgrade Strategy (Pilot). This project would see RAF GR4/4A improved in two phases, starting with the integration of the Paveway IV bomb and a communications upgrade, followed by a new tactical datalink in Phase B.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: 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 and a new ECM suite; these upgrades are to be only applied to 85 Tornados (20 ECRs and 65 IDSs), as the Tornado is being replaced in part 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.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: In January 2016, "Bild" newspaper stated that the newest upgrade of the ASSTA suite to version 3.1, which includes colour multifunctional LCD screens in place of monochrome CRT displays, is interfering with helmet-mounted night-vision optical displays worn by pilots, rendering German Tornado bombers deployed to Syria useless for night missions. The defence ministry admitted that bright cockpit lights could be a distraction for pilots, and said that the solution will be implemented in a few weeks, but denied the need to fly night missions in Syria.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The (iconic) TV TAB displays are used for route planning, the forward-looking infra-red (FLIR) sensors, targeting pods such as TIALD (Thermal Imaging and Laser Designator) and CLDP (Convertible Laser Designator Pod). The original MRCA TV TAB DU navigation display (part number V22.498.90) has green CRT as picture source. The original price for one CRT display version was €33.852,64. Due to the light environment, the picture tube was pushed to the limit due to the high brightness levels causing wear of the picture tube. An "Active Matrix Liquid Crystal Displays (AMLCD)" drop fit replacement with a digital screen TV TAB (NSN 5895-99-597-1323) was developed to replace the 'old' wear sensitive CRT versions. The CRT versions are mainly recognisable by the two white domes at the top of the display containing the light sensors for automatic brightness regulation and the white buttons. The newer digital version is mainly recognisable by the black buttons with big white dots on them. The replacement AMLCD version has a color displays instead of the original green monochrome displays. A new feature is that the AMLCD has a bezel that reduces the angle of view. The main goal for the AMLCD upgrade was de intended significant reduction in life cycle costs. But it's said that the newer AMLCD version fail rather quick due to the more sensitive and complex digital electronics compared to the much more simpler design of the original CRT display. The old and newer version are a masterpiece of state of the art engineering and both are very well build. For example there's a diagnose connector at the back panel for quick troubleshooting. The display unit is eventually a rather 'dumb' device. The original display unit is 'just' a display and a keypad. To show a picture, the separated video signal, vertical and horizontal synchronisation signals have to be fed into the display unit since there's no internal electronics for synchronisation separation of the video signal. The additional waveform generator (WFG) is needed to 'create' the desired images for use in the airplane. To power the display unit, a three phase 115VAC 400Hz including neutral and a 28VDC signal have to be supplied to the display unit. The CRT version has a Low Voltage Power Supply (LVPS) for creating the needed low voltage signals. There's also a High Voltage Power Supply (HVPS) for creating the desired high voltage for the CRT picture tube. Since the newer AMLCD has no CRT picture tube, the high voltages are not needed an the mechanical and electrical design is completely different except for the connections, mounting points and functionality. The newer AMLCD version 'only' needs 28VDC for functionality. But since a drop fit replacement is mandatory, the AMLCD version has a built in three phase 115VAC 400Hz conversion to 28VDC. By removing the rear three phase conversion power supply plug-in board and applying 28VDC (<4,1A) to the power supply board, the device can be powered for avionics enthusiast use. The AMLCD has a built in menu for selecting the airplane type: GR1, GR4 or F3, a self test and a display test like a grid pattern and color bars shown in the picture.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: BAE Systems announced that, in December 2013, it had test-flown a Tornado equipped with parts made with 3D printing equipment. The parts included a protective cover for the radio, a landing-gear guard and air-intake door support struts. The test demonstrated the feasibility of making replacement parts quickly and cheaply at the air base hosting the Tornado. The company claimed that, with some of the parts costing less than £100 to manufacture, 3D printing already resulted in savings of more than £300,000 and would offer further potential cost savings of more than £1.2 million through 2017.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The first Tornado prototype made its first flight on 14 August 1974 from Ingolstadt Manching Airport, in West Germany. Deliveries of production Tornados began on 27 July 1979. The total number of Tornados delivered to the German Air Force was 247, including 35 ECR variants. Originally Tornados equipped five fighter-bomber wings ("Geschwader"), with one tactical conversion unit and four front-line wings, replacing the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. When one of the two Tornado wings of the German Navy was disbanded in 1994, its aircraft were used to re-equip a Luftwaffe's reconnaissance wing formerly equipped with McDonnell Douglas RF-4E Phantoms.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: 14 German Tornados undertook combat operations as a part of NATO's campaign during the Bosnian War. The Tornados, operating from Piacenza, Italy, flew reconnaissance missions to survey damage inflicted by previous strikes and to scout new targets. These reconnaissance missions were reportedly responsible for a significant improvement in target selection throughout the campaign.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: In 1999, German Tornados participated in Operation Allied Force, NATO airstrikes against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. This was Germany's first offensive air mission since World War II. The ECR aircraft escorted various allies' aircraft while carrying several AGM-88 HARM missiles to counter attempted use of radar against the allied aircraft. During the Kosovo hostilities, Germany's IDS Tornados routinely conducted reconnaissance flights to identify both enemy ground forces and civilian refugees within Yugoslavia. The German Tornados flew 2108 hours and 446 sorties, firing 236 HARM missiles at hostile targets.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: In June 2007, a pair of Luftwaffe Tornados flew reconnaissance missions over an anti-globalisation demonstration during the 33rd G8 summit in Heiligendamm. Following the mission, the German Defence Ministry admitted one aircraft had broken the minimum flying altitude and that mistakes were made in the handling of security of the summit.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: In 2007, a detachment of six Tornados of the Aufklärungsgeschwader 51 "Immelmann" (51st reconnaissance wing) were deployed to Mazar-i-Sharif, Northern Afghanistan, to support NATO forces. The decision to send Tornados to Afghanistan was controversial: one political party launched an unsuccessful legal bid to block the deployment as unconstitutional. In support of the Afghanistan mission, improvements in the Tornado's reconnaissance equipment were accelerated; enhancing the Tornado's ability to detect hidden improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The German Tornados were withdrawn from Afghanistan in November 2010.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Defence cuts announced in March 2003 resulted in the decision to retire 90 Tornados from service with the Luftwaffe. This led to a reduction in its Tornado strength 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 was the plan to cut the German fighter fleet from 426 in early 2004 to 265 by 2015. The German Tornado force was to be reduced to 85, with the type expected to remain in service with the Luftwaffe until 2025. The aircraft being retained have been undergoing a service life extension programme. Currently, the Luftwaffe operates Tornados with Tactical Wings Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 33 in Cochem/Büchel Air Base, Rhineland-Palatinate and with Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 51 "Immelmann" in Jagel, Schleswig-Holstein.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: German Tornado aircrew training took place at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, US from January 1996 at the Taktische Ausbildungskommando der Luftwaffe USA ("TaktAusbKdoLw USA" Tactical Training Command of the Luftwaffe USA) which was responsible for training both German F-4 Phantom and Tornado crews. In 1999 the training command was renamed as Fliegerisches Ausbildungszentrum der Luftwaffe ("FlgAusbZLw" Luftwaffe Training Center). In March 2015, Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen decided to continue this training in Germany. In September 2017, flight training in Holloman for the Tornado was discontinued and transferred to Taktischen Luftwaffengeschwader 51 in Jagel with the US location command dissolved in 2019.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: In April 2020, it was reported that the German defence ministry planned to replace its Tornado aircraft with a purchase of 30 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, 15 EA-18G Growlers, and 55 Eurofighter Typhoons. The Super Hornet was selected due to its compatibility with nuclear weapons and availability of an electronic attack version. As of March 2020, the Super Hornet is not certified for the B61 nuclear bombs, but Dan Gillian, head of Boeing's Super Hornet program, has previously stated: "We certainly think that we, working with the U.S. government, can meet the German requirements there on the [required] timeline."


title: Panavia Tornado

text: In 2022, the German defence ministry announced that 35 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning IIs will replace the Tornado fleet for nuclear sharing instead of the discussed 30 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Airbus offered to replace Luftwaffe's 90 ageing Tornado Interdiction and Strike (IDS) and Electronic Combat Reconnaissance (ECR) aircraft with 85 new Eurofighter Tranche 5 standard from 2030.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: 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 Tornados 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 munitions, and later by AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles. Pods fitted with panoramic optical cameras and an infrared line scan were carried for the reconnaissance mission.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The end of the Cold War and the signing of the CFE Treaty led Germany to reduce the size of its armed forces, including the number of combat aircraft. To meet this need, one of the "Marineflieger"'s Tornado wings was disbanded on 1 January 1994; its aircraft replaced the Phantoms of a Luftwaffe reconnaissance wing. The second wing was enlarged and continued in the anti-shipping, reconnaissance and anti-radar roles until it was disbanded in 2005 with its aircraft and duties passed on to the Luftwaffe.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The first Italian prototype made its maiden flight on 5 December 1975 from Turin. The Aeronautica Militare received 100 Tornado IDSs (known as the A-200 in Italian service). 16 A-200s were subsequently converted to the ECR configuration; the first Italian Tornado ECR (known as the EA-200) was delivered on 27 February 1998. As a stop-gap measure for 10 years the Aeronautica Militare additionally operated 24 Tornado ADVs in the air defence role, which were leased from the RAF to cover the service gap between the retirement of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter and the introduction of the Eurofighter Typhoon.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Italian Tornados, along with RAF Tornados, took part in the first Gulf War in 1991. Operation Locusta saw eight Tornado IDS interdictors deployed from Gioia del Colle, Italy, to Al Dhafra, Abu Dhabi, as part of Italy's contribution to the coalition. During the conflict, one aircraft was lost to Iraqi anti-aircraft fire; the pilots ejected safely and were captured by Iraqi forces. A total of 22 Italian Tornados were deployed in the NATO-organised Operation Allied Force over Kosovo in 1999; the A-200s served in the bombing role while the EA-200s patrolled the combat region, acting to suppress enemy anti-aircraft radars, firing 115 AGM-88 HARM missiles.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: In 2000, with delays to the Eurofighter, the Aeronautica Militare began a search for another interim fighter. While the Tornado was considered, any long term extension to the lease would have involved upgrade to RAF CSP standard and thus was not considered cost effective. In February 2001, Italy announced its arrangement to lease 35 F-16s from the United States under the PEACE CAESAR programme. The Aeronautica Militare returned its Tornado ADVs to the RAF, with the final aircraft arriving at RAF St Athan on 7 December 2004. One aircraft was retained for static display purposes at the Italian Air Force Museum.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: In July 2002, Italy signed a contract with the Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) and Panavia for the upgrading of 18 A-200s, the first of which was received in 2003. The upgrade introduced improved navigation systems (integrated GPS and laser INS) and the ability to carry new weapons, including the Storm Shadow cruise missile, Joint Direct Attack Munition and Paveway III laser-guided bombs.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: In response to anticipated violence during the 2010 Afghanistan elections, Italy, along with several other nations, increased its military commitment in Afghanistan, dispatching four A-200 Tornados to the region. Italy has opted to extend the Tornado's service life at the expense of alternative ground-attack aircraft such as the AMX International AMX; in 2010 a major upgrade and life extension programme was initiated, to provide new digital displays, Link 16 communications capability, night-vision goggles compatibility, and several other upgrades. In the long term, it is planned to replace the Tornado IDS/ECR fleet in Italian service with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, with the final Italian Tornado scheduled to be phased out in 2025. The Aeronautica Militare received its first of an eventual 15 upgraded Tornado EA-200s on 15 June 2013.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Italian Tornado A-200 and EA-200 aircraft participated in the enforcement of a UN no-fly zone during the 2011 military intervention in Libya. Various coalition aircraft operated from bases in Italy, including RAF Tornados. Italian military aircraft delivered a combined 710 guided bombs and missiles during the strikes against Libyan targets. Of these Aeronautica Militare Tornados and AMX fighter-bombers released 550 guided bombs and missiles, and Italian Navy AV-8Bs delivered 160 guided bombs. Italian Tornados launched 20 to 30 Storm Shadow cruise missiles with the rest consisting of Paveway and JDAM guided bombs.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: On 19 August 2014, two Aeronautica Militare Tornados collided in mid-air during a training mission near Ascoli. On 14 November 2014, Italy announced it was sending four Tornado aircraft with 135 support staff to Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base and to 2 other bases in Kuwait in participation of coalition operations against the Islamic State. The four aircraft will be used for reconnaissance missions only.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: In October 2018, it was announced that the EA-200 Tornado had successfully completed operational testing of the AGM-88E AARGM, providing capabilities of an "expanded target set, counter-shutdown capability, advanced signals processing for improved detection and locating, geographic specificity, and a weapon impact-assessment broadcast capability."


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Nicknamed the "Tonka" by the British, their first prototype ("XX946") made its maiden flight on 30 October 1974 from BAC Warton. The first full production Tornado GR1 ("ZA319") flew on 10 July 1979 from Warton. The first RAF Tornados ("ZA320" and "ZA322") were delivered to the TTTE at RAF Cottesmore on 1 July 1980. Crew that qualified from the TTTE went onto the Tornado Weapons Conversion Unit (TWCU), which formed on 1 August 1981 at RAF Honington, before being posted to a front-line squadron. No. IX (B) Squadron became the first front-line squadron in the world to operate the Tornado when it reformed on 1 June 1982, having received its first Tornado GR1 "ZA586" on 6 January 1982. No. IX (B) Squadron was declared strike combat ready to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) in January 1983. Two more squadrons were formed at RAF Marham in 1983 – No. 617 Squadron on 1 January and No. 27 Squadron on 12 August. The first RAF Tornado GR1 loss was on 27 September 1983 when "ZA586" suffered complete electrical failure and crashed. Navigator Flt. Lt. Nigel Nickles ejected but the pilot Sqn. Ldr. Michael Stephens died in the crash after ordering ejection. In January 1984, the TWCU became No. 45 (Reserve) Squadron.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: RAF Germany (RAFG) began receiving Tornados after the formation of No. XV (Designate) Squadron on 1 September 1983 at RAF Laarbruch followed by No. 16 (Designate) Squadron in January 1984 (who were both Blackburn Buccaneer squadrons). They were then joined by No. 20 (Designate) Squadron in May 1984 (who were operating the SEPECAT Jaguar GR1 from RAF Brüggen). Unlike the Tornado squadrons based in the UK which were under control of the British military, those stationed in RAFG were under the control of SACEUR, with the aircraft on Quick Reaction Alert (Nuclear), "QRA (N)", being equipped with the WE.177 nuclear bomb. In the event of the Cold War going 'hot', the majority of RAFG Tornado squadrons were tasked with destroying Warsaw Pact airfields and surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites in East Germany. While No. 20 Squadron was given a separate responsibility of destroying bridges over the rivers Elbe and Weser to prevent Warsaw Pact forces from advancing. By early 1985, Nos. XV, 16 and 20 Squadrons at RAF Laarbruch had been declared strike combat ready to SACEUR.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Tornados began to arrive at RAF Brüggen in September 1984 with the formation of No. 31 (Designate) Squadron. No. 17 (Designate) Squadron was formed in December 1984, with the two Brüggen squadrons joined by No. 14 (Designate) Squadron in mid-1985. No. IX (B) Squadron relocated from RAF Honington to RAF Brüggen on 1 October 1986, arriving in a diamond nine formation. The outcome of the Reykjavík Summit in October 1986 between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev led the end of QRA (Nuclear) for the Tornado force. By the end of 1986, the Tornado GR1 fleet had been equipped with a Laser Ranger and Marked Target Seeker (LRMTS) under the nose, and had begun to be equipped with the BOZ-107 chaff and flare dispenser.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The Tornado made its combat debut as part of Operation Granby, the British contribution to the Gulf War in 1991. This saw 49 RAF Tornado GR1s deploy to Muharraq Airfield in Bahrain and to Tabuk Air Base and Dhahran Airfield in Saudi Arabia. 18 Tornado F3s were deployed to provide air cover, the threat of their long range missiles being a deterrent to Iraqi pilots, who would avoid combat when approached. Early on in the conflict, the GR1s targeted military airfields across Iraq, deploying a mixture of unguided bombs in loft-bombing attacks and specialised JP233 runway denial weapons. On 17 January 1991, the first Tornado to be lost was shot down by an Iraqi SA-16 missile following a failed low-level bombing run. On 19 January, another RAF Tornado was shot down during an intensive raid on Tallil Air Base. The impact of the Tornado strikes upon Iraqi airfields is difficult to determine. A total of six RAF Tornados were lost in the conflict, four while delivering unguided bombs, one after delivering JP233, and one trying to deliver laser-guided bombs.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The UK sent a detachment of Blackburn Buccaneer aircraft equipped with Westinghouse Electric Corporation Pave Spike laser designators, allowing Tornado GR1s to drop precision guided weapons guided by the Buccaneers. A planned programme to fit GR1s with the GEC-Marconi TIALD laser designation system was rapidly accelerated to give the Tornado force the ability to self-designate targets. Author Claus-Christian Szejnmann declared that the TIALD pod enabled the GR1 to "achieve probably the most accurate bombing in the RAF's history". Although laser designation proved effective in the Gulf War, only 23 TIALD pods had been purchased by 2000; shortages hindered combat operations over Kosovo.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: After the war's opening phase, the GR1s switched to medium-level strike missions; typical targets included munition depots and oil refineries. Only the reconnaissance Tornado GR1As continued flying the low-altitude high-speed profile, emerging unscathed despite the inherent danger in conducting pre-attack reconnaissance. After the conflict, Britain maintained a military presence in the Gulf. Around six GR1s were based at Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait, contributing the southern no-fly zone as part of Operation Southern Watch. Six additional GR1s participated in Operation Provide Comfort over Northern Iraq.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The upgraded 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, and no aircraft were lost during the incident. It was reported that during Desert Fox RAF Tornados had successfully destroyed 75% of their targets, and out of the 36 missions planned, 28 had been successfully completed.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The GR1 participated in the Kosovo War in 1999. Tornados initially operated from RAF Brüggen, Germany and later from Solenzara Air Base, Corsica. Experiences from Kosovo led to the RAF procuring AGM-65 Maverick missiles and Enhanced Paveway smart bombs for the Tornado. Following the Kosovo War, the GR1 was phased out as aircraft were upgraded to GR4 standard; the final upgrade was returned to the RAF on 10 June 2003.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The GR4 was used in Operation Telic, Britain's contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. RAF Tornados flew alongside American aircraft in the opening phase of the war, striking Iraqi targets. Aiming to minimise civilian casualties, Tornados deployed the Storm Shadow cruise missile for the first time. Whilst 25% of the UK's air-launched weapons in Kosovo were precision-guided, four years later in Iraq this ratio increased to 85%.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: On 23 March 2003, a Tornado GR4 was shot down over Iraq by friendly fire from a US 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 were also suggested as a factor, multiple incidents of mis-identification of friendly aircraft have occurred, including the fatal shootdown of a US Navy F/A-18 a few weeks after the Tornado's loss. Britain withdrew the last of its Tornados from Iraq in June 2009.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: In early 2009, several GR4s arrived at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan to replace the British Aerospace Harrier GR7/9 aircraft which had been deployed there since November 2004. In 2009, Paveway IV guided bombs were brought into service on the RAF's Tornados, having been previously used in Afghanistan by the Harrier II. In Summer 2010, extra Tornados were dispatched to Kandahar for the duration of the 2010 Afghan election. British Tornados ended operations in Afghanistan in November 2014, having flown over 5,000 pairs sorties over 33,500 hours, including 600 "shows of force" to deter Taliban attacks. During more than 70 engagements, 140 Brimstone missiles and Paveway IV bombs were deployed, and over 3,000 27 mm cannon shells fired.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Prior to the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR)'s publication, the Tornado's retirement was under consideration with savings of £7.5 billion anticipated. The SDSR announced the Tornado would be retained at the expense of the Harrier II, although numbers would decline in the transition to the Eurofighter Typhoon and the F-35 Lightning II. By July 2013, 59 RAF GR4s were receiving the CUSP avionics upgrade, which achieved Initial Service Date (ISD) in March 2013.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: On 18 March 2011, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced that Tornados and Typhoons would enforce a no-fly zone in Libya. In March 2011, several Tornados flew strike missions against targets inside Libya in what were, according to Defence Secretary Liam Fox, "the longest range bombing mission conducted by the RAF since the Falklands conflict". A variety of munitions were used during Tornado operations over Libya, including laser-guided bombs and Brimstone missiles.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: In August 2014, Tornado GR4s were deployed to RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus to support refugees sheltering from Islamic State militants in the Mount Sinjar region of Iraq. The decision came three days after the United States began conducting air attacks against the Islamic State. Tornados were pre-positioned to gather situational awareness in the region. On 29 September 2014, three days after Parliament approved airstrikes against Islamic State forces inside Iraq, two Tornados conducted their first armed reconnaissance mission in conjunction with coalition aircraft. The next day, two Tornados made the first airstrike on a heavy weapons post and an armoured vehicle, supporting Kurdish forces in northwest Iraq.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: By 1 March 2015, eight RAF Tornados had been deployed to Akrotiri and conducted 159 airstrikes against IS targets in Iraq. On 2 December 2015, Parliament approved air strikes in Syria as well as Iraq to combat the growing threat of ISIL; Tornados began bombing that evening. On 14 April 2018, four Tornado GR4s from RAF Akrotiri struck a Syrian military facility with Storm Shadow cruise missiles in response to a suspected chemical attack on Douma by the Syrian regime the previous week.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: On 10 July 2018, nine Tornado GR4s from RAF Marham flew over London to celebrate 100 years of the RAF. During late 2018, the RAF commemorated the Tornado's service with three special schemes: "ZG752" paid homage to its early years with a green/grey wraparound camouflage; "ZG775" and "ZD716" both wore schemes commemorating the final units to operate the type – No. IX (B) Squadron and No. 31 Squadron respectively. On 31 January 2019, the Tornado GR4 flew its last operational sorties in Operation Shader. The eight Tornados formerly stationed at RAF Akrotiri returned to RAF Marham in early February 2019, their duties assumed by six Typhoons. Between September 2014 and January 2019, RAF Tornados accounted for 31% of the estimated 4,315 casualties inflicted upon ISIL by the RAF during the operation.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: To celebrate 40 years of service and to mark the type's retirement, several flypasts were carried out on 19, 20 and 21 February 2019 over locations such as BAE Warton, RAF Honington and RAF Lossiemouth. On 28 February, nine Tornados flew out of RAF Marham for a diamond nine formation flypast over a graduation parade at RAF Cranwell before returning and carrying out a series of passes over RAF Marham. On 14 March 2019 the final flight of an RAF Tornado was carried out by Tornado GR4 "ZA463", the oldest remaining Tornado, over RAF Marham during the disbandment parade of No. IX (B) Squadron and No. 31 Squadron. The Tornado GR4 was officially retired from RAF service on 1 April 2019, the 101st anniversary of the force. Post-retirement, five Tornados returned to RAF Honington via road for the Complex Air Ground Environment (CAGE), which simulates a Tornado flight line for training purposes.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: On 25 September 1985, the UK and Saudi Arabia signed the Al Yamamah I contract including the sale of 48 IDS and 24 ADV model Tornados. The first flight of a Royal Saudi Air Force Tornado IDS was on 26 March 1986, and the first Saudi ADV was delivered on 9 February 1989. Saudi Tornados took part in the Gulf War. In June 1993 the Al Yamamah II contract was signed, the main element of which was 48 additional IDSs.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Following experience with both the Tornado and the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle, the RSAF discontinued low-level mission training in the F-15E in light of the Tornado's superior low-altitude flight performance. Ten of the Saudi Tornados were fitted with equipment for performing reconnaissance missions. The 22 Tornado ADVs were replaced by the Eurofighter Typhoon; the retired aircraft were purchased back by the UK.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: By 2007, both the Sea Eagle anti-ship missile and the ALARM anti-radiation missile that previously equipped the RSAF's Tornados had been withdrawn from service. As of 2010, Saudi Arabia has signed several contracts for new weapon systems to be fitted to their Tornado and Typhoon fleets, such as the short range air-to-air IRIS-T missile, and the Brimstone and Storm Shadow missiles.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: In September 2006, the Saudi government signed a contract worth £2.5 billion (US$4.7 billion) with BAE Systems to upgrade up to 80 RSAF Tornado IDS aircraft to keep them in service until 2020. The first RSAF Tornado was returned to BAE Systems Warton in December 2006 for upgrade under the "Tornado Sustainment Programme" (TSP) to "equip the IDS fleet with a range of new precision-guided weapons and enhanced targeting equipment, in many cases common with those systems already fielded by the UK's Tornado GR4s." In December 2007, the first RSAF aircraft to complete modernisation was returned to Saudi Arabia.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Starting from the first week of November 2009, RSAF Tornados, along with Saudi F-15s performed air raids during the Shia insurgency in north Yemen. It was the first time since Operation Desert Storm in 1991 that the RSAF had participated in a military operation over hostile territory. RSAF Tornados are playing a central role in Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: On 7 January 2018, Houthi fighters claimed to have shot down a Saudi warplane which was conducting air-raids over northern Yemen. According to Saudi reports, the downed aircraft was an RSAF Tornado which was on a combat mission over Saada province in northern Yemen, it was lost for 'technical reasons' and both crew were rescued.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: On 12 July 2018, another RSAF Tornado crashed in Asir region after returning from Saada, Yemen due to a technical malfunction. On 14 February 2020, a Saudi Tornado was shot down during close air support mission in support of Saudi allied Yemeni forces in the Yemeni Al Jouf governorate by Houthis. On the day after, the Saudi command confirmed the loss of a Tornado, while a video was released showing the downing using a two-stage surface to air missile. Both pilots ejected and were captured by Houthis.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: RAF IDS (interdictor/strike) variants were initially designated the Tornado GR1 with later modified aircraft designated Tornado GR1A, Tornado GR1B, Tornado GR4 and Tornado GR4A. The first of 228 GR1s was delivered on 5 June 1979, and the type entered service in the early 1980s.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The Tornado GR1B was a specialised anti-shipping variant of the GR1, replacing the Blackburn Buccaneer. 26 aircraft were converted and were based at RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland. Each aircraft was equipped to carry up to four Sea Eagle anti-ship missiles. At first the GR1B lacked the radar capability to track shipping, instead relying on the missile's seeker for target acquisition; later updates allowed target data to be passed from aircraft to missile.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: A single Tornado GR1 (ZA326, the eighth production aircraft) was re-designated GR1P after being partially rebuilt using parts from different production batches following a fire during engine testing. This aircraft served with the Royal Aircraft Establishment and the Empire Test Pilot's School until 2005, when it was retired, being the last GR1 in service anywhere in the world.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The UK Ministry of Defence began studies for a GR1 Mid-Life Update (MLU) in 1984. The update to GR4 standard, approved in 1994, would improve capability in the medium-altitude role based on lessons learned from the GR1's performance in the 1991 Gulf War. British Aerospace (later BAE Systems) upgraded 142 Tornado GR1s to GR4 standard, beginning in 1996 and finished in 2003. 59 RAF aircraft later received the CUSP avionics package which integrated the Paveway IV bomb and installed a new secure communications module from Cassidian in Phase A, followed by the Tactical Information Exchange (TIE) datalink from General Dynamics in Phase B.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The GR1A is the reconnaissance variant operated by the RAF and RSAF, fitted with the TIRRS (Tornado Infra-Red Reconnaissance System), replacing the cannon. The RAF ordered 30 GR1As, 14 as GR1 rebuilds and 16 new aircraft. When the Tornado GR1s were upgraded to become GR4s, GR1A aircraft were upgraded to GR4A standard. The switch from low-level operations to medium/high-level operations means that the internal TIRRS was no longer used. As the GR4A's internal sensors are no longer essential, the RAF's Tactical Reconnaissance Wing operated both GR4A and GR4 aircraft.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: Operated by Germany and Italy, the ECR (Electronic Combat / Reconnaissance) is a Tornado variant devoted to Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) missions. It was first delivered on 21 May 1990. The ECR has sensors to detect radar usage and is equipped with anti-radiation AGM-88 HARM missiles. The Luftwaffe's 35 ECRs were delivered new, while Italy received 16 converted IDSs. Italian Tornado ECRs differ from the Luftwaffe aircraft as they lack built-in reconnaissance capability and use RecceLite reconnaissance pods. Only Luftwaffe ECRs are equipped with the RB199 Mk.105 engine, which has a higher thrust rating. The German ECRs do not carry a cannon. The RAF used the IDS version in the SEAD role instead of the ECR and also modified several of its Tornado F.3s to undertake the mission.


title: Panavia Tornado

text: The Tornado ADV (air defence variant) was an interceptor variant of the Tornado, developed for the RAF (designated Tornado F2 or F3) and also operated by Saudi Arabia and Italy. The ADV had inferior agility to fighters like the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, but was not intended as a dogfighter, rather as a long-endurance interceptor to counter the threat from Cold War bombers. Although the ADV had 80% parts commonality with the Tornado IDS, the ADV had greater acceleration, improved RB199 Mk.104 engines, a stretched body, greater fuel capacity, the AI.24 Foxhunter radar, and software changes. It had only one cannon to accommodate a retractable inflight refuelling probe.


title: Chumlee

text: Austin Lee Russell (born September 8, 1982), better known by his stage name Chumlee, is an American businessman and reality television personality, best known for his appearances on the History Channel television show "Pawn Stars", which depicts day-to-day business at the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas where he works. Chumlee went to work at the pawn shop five years before filming the first season, having been a childhood friend of Corey Harrison whose father and grandfather founded the shop.


title: Chumlee

text: Chumlee is often portrayed on the show as the comic foil, but he often appraises items in his areas of expertise, including pinball machines, sneakers, and video games.


title: Chumlee

text: Russell was born on September 8, 1982, in Henderson, Nevada. When he was about 12 years old, he was given the nickname "Chumlee" due to his large face and chin, which prompted the father of one of his friends to remark that he looked like Chumley, the walrus from the animated TV series "Tennessee Tuxedo". As a child, he became good friends with Corey Harrison, whose father, Rick Harrison, and grandfather, Richard Harrison, opened the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in 1989.


title: Chumlee

text: Chumlee began working for the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop at age 21. He worked there for five years before filming the first season of the reality television series "Pawn Stars" in July 2009. His duties include behind-the-counter work at the shop, such as testing items, loading items, and writing tickets for items purchased by customers.


title: Chumlee

text: In the series, he is depicted as the comic foil, often made the butt of the others' jokes for his perceived lack of intelligence and his incompetence, for which he has been referred to as a "village idiot". Chumlee has responded by explaining that he is underestimated and points to his expertise in pinball machines, which he utilizes in the second-season episode "Pinball Wizards", much to Corey's surprise, as an example of an area in which he is knowledgeable.


title: Chumlee

text: Chumlee emerged as the breakout cast member, and a fan favorite of the series. As a result of the show's success, he formed his own company selling novelty items of his own design and arranged his personal appearances. He sold half of his stake in the company in 2010 to Rick Harrison for $155,000, so that the shop could handle orders of his merchandise more efficiently. Chumlee's sales of merchandise have surpassed other stars of the show due to his popularity.


title: Chumlee

text: Chumlee appeared as himself, alongside Rick and Corey Harrison, in the episode "iLost My Head in Vegas", on the American TV series "iCarly."


title: Chumlee

text: In May 2017, Chumlee opened a candy shop, "Chumlee's Candy on the Boulevard", across the street from the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas.


title: Chumlee

text: Chumlee enjoys collecting shoes, owning more than 200 pairs. He also enjoys sports, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, video games, and skateboarding. He is a fan of both punk rock and rap music. He is a fan of the TV series "Boardwalk Empire", "Sons of Anarchy," and "Breaking Bad". He enjoys driving his 1986 Buick Regal, which he has customized with hydraulic lifts on the front and back. , he owned a collection of cars which included a Rolls-Royce Phantom, Maserati GranTurismo, Cadillac Escalade, Range Rover, and a 1964 Impala SS.


title: Chumlee

text: By September 2013, Chumlee had altered his lifestyle habits and lost in a year by exercising at a gym six days a week and improving his diet, including drinking more juice, eating more vegetables and abstaining from red meat, a change that was inspired by his father's death at age 54 from pancreatic cancer, two weeks before "Pawn Stars" debuted. Chumlee's diet has enabled him to be able to ride a hovercraft he had purchased earlier in the series, which had a maximum weight restriction of . He later regained the weight, weighing as much as in January 2019. He had gastric sleeve surgery, leading to him losing by October 2021.


title: Chumlee

text: On March 9, 2016, Chumlee's home was raided during the course of an investigation into sexual assault allegations. During searches of his residence, police found crystal meth, marijuana, Xanax, and multiple firearms. Evidence of possible cocaine use was also found. Chumlee was arrested but released on bond the following day, with his first appearance in court being set for March 11, 2016.


title: Chumlee

text: On May 23, 2016, Chumlee was charged with 20 felony counts, including drug and weapons charges. David Chesnoff, Russell's lawyer, confirmed that Russell had pleaded guilty to a felony weapons charge (unlawful possession of a firearm) and a gross misdemeanor of attempted drug possession in a deal that calls for three years of probation and counseling.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: Moonlight is a 2016 American coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Barry Jenkins, based on Tarell Alvin McCraney's unpublished semi-autobiographical play "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue". The film stars Trevante Rhodes, André Holland, Janelle Monáe, Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome, Naomie Harris, and Mahershala Ali.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: The film presents three stages in the life of the main character: his childhood, adolescence, and early adult life. It explores the difficulties he faces with his sexuality and identity, including the physical and emotional abuse he endures growing up. Filmed in Miami, Florida, beginning in 2015, "Moonlight" premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2016. It was released in the United States on October 21, 2016, by A24, receiving universal acclaim and grossing over $65 million worldwide.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: "Moonlight" has been cited as one of the best films of the 21st century. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, along with Best Supporting Actor for Ali and Best Adapted Screenplay for Jenkins and McCraney from a total of eight nominations, at the 89th Academy Awards. It became the first LGBTQ film with an all-black cast and the second-lowest-grossing film domestically (behind "The Hurt Locker") to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Joi McMillon became the first black woman to be nominated for an editing Oscar, and Mahershala Ali became the first Muslim to win an acting Oscar.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: In Liberty City, Miami at the height of the crack epidemic, Afro-Cuban drug dealer Juan finds Chiron, a withdrawn child who goes by the nickname "Little," hiding from a group of bullies in a crackhouse. He lets Chiron spend the night with him and his girlfriend Teresa before returning Chiron to his mother Paula, who revokes his TV privileges as punishment for worrying her. Chiron continues to spend time with Juan, who teaches him how to swim and mentors him, telling him he can choose his own path in life.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: One night, Juan encounters Paula smoking crack with one of his customers. Juan berates her for being addicted and for neglecting her son, but she rebukes him for selling crack to her in the first place; all the while, they argue over Chiron's upbringing. She implies that she knows why Chiron gets tormented by his peers, alluding to "the way he walks" before going home and taking out her frustration on Chiron.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: The next day, Chiron admits to Juan and Teresa that he hates his mother and asks what a "faggot" is. Juan tells him it is "a word used to make gay people feel bad." He tells Chiron there is nothing wrong with being gay and that he should not allow others to mock him. Chiron then asks Juan whether he sells drugs and whether his mother does drugs. After Juan remorsefully answers yes to both questions, Chiron leaves.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: Now a teenager, Chiron juggles avoiding school bully Terrel and spending time with Teresa, who has lived alone since Juan's death. Paula, who has turned to prostitution due to her worsening addiction, forces Chiron to give her the money he receives from Teresa. Chiron's childhood friend Kevin tells him about a detention he received for being caught having sex with a girl in a school stairwell. Chiron later dreams about Kevin and the girl having sex in Teresa's backyard, waking with a start. One night, Kevin visits Chiron at the beach near his house. While smoking a blunt together, the two discuss their ambitions and the nickname Kevin gave Chiron when they were children. They kiss, and Kevin gives Chiron a handjob.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: The next morning, Terrel manipulates Kevin into participating in a hazing ritual. Kevin reluctantly punches Chiron until he cannot stand, watching as Terrel and other boys savagely attack him. When the principal urges him to reveal his attackers' identities, Chiron refuses, saying that reporting them will not solve anything. The next day, an enraged Chiron walks into class and smashes a chair over Terrel's head before being restrained by classmates and a teacher. Chiron is arrested and leaves the school in a police cruiser while Kevin watches.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: A year and decade later, now going by the nickname "Black," an adult Chiron deals drugs in Atlanta. He receives frequent calls from Paula, who asks him to visit her at the drug treatment center where she is living. One morning, Kevin calls and invites him to see him should he ever come to Miami. While visiting Paula, Chiron breaks his silence. His mother apologizes for not loving him when he needed it most and tells him she loves him even if he does not love her back. The two tearfully reconcile before Paula lets Chiron go.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: Following a phone call from Kevin, Chiron travels to Miami and visits him at his workplace, a diner. When his attempts to probe Chiron about his life result in silence, Kevin tells him he has had a child with an ex-girlfriend and, although the relationship ended, he is fulfilled by his role as a father. Chiron reciprocates by talking about his unexpected drug dealing and asks Kevin why he called. Kevin plays a song on the jukebox that made him think of Chiron.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: After Kevin serves his friend Chiron dinner, the two of them go to his apartment. Kevin tells Chiron that, although his life didn't turn out as he had hoped, he is happy, resulting in Chiron breaking down and admitting that he has not been intimate with anybody since their encounter years ago. As Kevin comforts him, Black remembers himself as Little, standing on a beach in the moonlight.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: In 2003, Tarell Alvin McCraney wrote the semi-autobiographical play "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue" to cope with his mother's death from AIDS. The theater piece was shelved for about a decade before it served as the basis for "Moonlight".


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: After the release of his debut feature film "Medicine for Melancholy" in 2008, Barry Jenkins wrote various screenplays, none of which entered production. In January 2013, producer Adele Romanski urged Jenkins to make a second film. The two brainstormed a few times a month through video-chat, with the goal of producing a low-budget "cinematic and personal" film. Jenkins was introduced to McCraney's play through the Borscht arts collective in Miami. After discussions with McCraney, Jenkins wrote the first draft of the film in a month-long visit to Brussels.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: Although the original play contained three parts, they ran simultaneously so that the audience would experience a day in the life of Little, Chiron and Black concurrently. In fact, it is not made clear that the characters are the same person until halfway through the play. Jenkins instead chose to split the three parts of the original piece into distinct chapters and to focus on Chiron's story from the perspective of an ally.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: The result was a screenplay that reflected the similar upbringings of Jenkins and McCraney. The character Juan was based on the father of McCraney's half-brother, who was also a childhood "defender" of McCraney, as Juan was for Chiron. Likewise, Paula was a depiction of Jenkins' and McCraney's mothers, who both were drug addicts. McCraney and Jenkins also both grew up in Miami's Liberty Square, a primary location of the film.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: Jenkins looked for financing for the film during 2013, finding success after showing the script to the executives of Plan B Entertainment at the year's Telluride Film Festival. Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner of Plan B Entertainment became producers of the film, while A24 undertook to finance it and handle worldwide distribution, which marked the company's first production.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: Different actors portrayed Chiron and Kevin in each chapter of the film. Ashton Sanders was cast in the role of teen Chiron. Alex Hibbert and Jaden Piner were cast for the roles of child Chiron and child Kevin, respectively, in an open casting call in Miami. Trevante Rhodes originally auditioned for the role of Kevin, before he was cast as adult Chiron.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: André Holland had previously acted in McCraney's plays, and had read "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue" a decade before the release of the film. Holland was attracted to the role of adult Kevin when later reading the script of the film, stating, "[The script] was the best thing I've ever read".


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: Naomie Harris was initially reluctant to portray Paula, stating that she did not want to play a stereotypical depiction of a black woman. When addressing her concerns, Jenkins emphasized the character's representation of both his and McCraney's mothers. Harris later commented that although she had previously vowed not to portray a crack addict, the film's script and director's tolerance appealed to her. In preparation for her role, Harris watched interviews of those with addiction to crack cocaine, and met with addicted women. She related her experiences of bullying to the addicts' attempts of escaping trauma.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: Romanski proposed Juan be played by Mahershala Ali, who had a role in one of her previously produced films, "Kicks". Jenkins was hesitant when casting Ali due to his role as Remy Danton in "House of Cards"; however, he was convinced after witnessing Ali's acting range and understanding of his character. Ali considered the role an important opportunity to portray an African-American male mentor, and drew on his experiences of "[growing] up with a Juan". Janelle Monáe was sent the script and immediately connected to her role as Teresa, commenting that she too had family members with similar struggles relating to drugs and sexual identity.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: Filming began on October 14, 2015, in Miami, Florida. After scouting for locations in Miami with Romanski, Jenkins made an effort to film in locations where he previously lived. Liberty Square, a housing project located in the neighborhood of Liberty City, was chosen as one of the primary locations as both McCraney and Jenkins grew up in the area. The film was shot undisturbed since Jenkins had relatives living in the area, though the cast and crew had police escorts. Naomie Harris later reflected:


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: During filming, Jenkins made sure that the three actors for Chiron did not meet each other until after filming to avoid any imitations of one another. Consequently, Rhodes, Sanders, and Hibbert filmed in separate two-week periods. Mahershala Ali frequently flew to Miami on consecutive weekends to film during the production of other projects. Naomie Harris shot all of her scenes in three days without rehearsals, while André Holland filmed the totality of his scenes in five. The film was shot in a period of twenty-five days.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: Jenkins worked with cinematographer and longtime friend James Laxton, who previously shot "Medicine for Melancholy". The two chose to avoid the "documentary look" and thus shot the film using widescreen CinemaScope on an Arri Alexa digital camera, which better rendered skin tone. With colorist Alex Bickel, they further achieved this by creating a color grade that increased the contrast and saturation while preserving the detail and color. As a result, the three chapters of the film were designed to imitate different film stocks. The first chapter emulated the Fuji film stock to intensify the cast's skin tones. The second chapter imitated the Agfa film stock, which added cyan to the images, while the third chapter used a modified Kodak film stock.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: The film was edited in Los Angeles by Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders, former university schoolmates of Jenkins. Sanders was responsible for editing the first and second chapters. McMillon was responsible for the third act which included the "diner scene", a favorite of the cinematographer Laxton.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: The score of "Moonlight" was composed by Nicholas Britell, who applied the chopped and screwed technique from hip hop remixes to orchestral music, producing a "fluid, bass-heavy score". The soundtrack, released on October 21, 2016, consists of eighteen original cues by Britell along with others by Goodie Mob, Boris Gardiner, and Barbara Lewis. A chopped and screwed version was released by OG Ron C and DJ Candlestick of The Chopstars.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian", lists "love, sex, survival, mothers and father figures" among its themes, particularly the lack of a nurturing father. However, A. O. Scott of "The New York Times" cites the character Juan as an example of how the film "evokes clichés of African-American masculinity in order to shatter them." In his review in "Variety," Peter Debruge suggests that the film demonstrates that the African American identity is more complex than has been portrayed in films of the past. For example, while Juan plays the role of Little's defender and protector, he is also part of the root cause of at least some of the hardship the young boy endures.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: A major theme of "Moonlight" is the black male identity and its interactions with sexual identity. The film takes a form similar to a triptych in order to explore the path of a man from a neglected childhood, through an angry adolescence, to self-realization and fulfillment in adulthood.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: This particular story of Chiron's sexuality is also seen as a story of race in a 'post-Obama' era. The film amalgamates art film with hood film in its portrayal of African-American characters on-screen. Many technical film techniques are employed to juxtapose the characters and action on scene, including the use of an orchestral score done in the melody of popular R&B and hip-hop motifs. This specifically deals with the theme of recuperating identity, especially in terms of blackness.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: but are portrayed through art house conventions to create a new space for black characters in cinema.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: This mirrors Chiron's own odyssey to learning who he is, as he constantly struggles with trying to find some essentialism to his identity, yet consistently fails in doing so. The triptych structure helps to reiterate the fragmented personality to the film and Chiron.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: The film's co-writer, Tarell Alvin McCraney, speaks on the topic of black masculinity in the film, explaining why Chiron went to such lengths to alter his persona. He argues that communities without privilege or power seek to gain it in other ways. He says one way in which males in such communities do this is by trying to enhance their masculine identity, knowing that it often provides a means to more social control in a patriarchal society.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: In "Moonlight", masculinity is portrayed as rigid and aggressive, amongst the behavior of young black males in Chiron's teenage peer group. The expression of hyper-masculinity among black men has been associated with peer acceptance and community. Being a homosexual within the black community, on the other hand, has been associated with social alienation and homophobic judgement by peers because black gay men are seen as weak or effeminate. In the film, Chiron is placed in this divide as a black gay man and alters his presentation of masculinity as a strategy to avoid ridicule because homosexuality is viewed as incompatible with black masculine expectations. As young kids, Kevin hides his sexuality in order to avoid being singled out like Chiron is. As Chiron grows older, he recognizes the need to conform to a heteronormative ideal of black masculinity in order to avoid abuse and homophobia. As an adult, Chiron chooses to embrace the stereotypical black male gender performance by becoming muscular and a drug-dealer.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: "Moonlight" explores the effects of this felt powerlessness in black males. As McCraney explains, coping with this feeling often coincides with attempts to overstate one's masculinity, in a way that can easily become toxic. He says one unfortunate side effect of leaning into masculinity too much is that men no longer want to be "caressed, or nurtured, or gentle," which is why a character like Juan may be puzzling to some audiences.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: Blackness, masculinity, and vulnerability are major focuses of this film. In the beach scene with Chiron, Juan, his father figure in the film, emphasizes the importance of black identity. Juan says, "There are black people everywhere. Remember that, okay? No place you can go in the world ain't got no black people. We was the first on this planet." As Juan speaks about the relevance and importance of the black experience, he also thinks about a time in his youth when a stranger told him "in moonlight, black boys look blue." This is an image that the audience gets to see as the director, Barry Jenkins, supplies numerous shots of Chiron in the moonlight. It seems that Juan seems to associate this image with vulnerability, given that he tells Chiron that he eventually shed the nickname "Blue" in order to foster his own identity. The scenes depicting Chiron in the moonlight are almost always the ones in which he's vulnerable, his intimate night on the beach with Kevin included. Throughout the film, this dichotomy between black and blue stands in for that between tough and vulnerable, with the black body often hovering between the two. In Chiron's situation, the black body, which can be seen as inherently vulnerable in American society, must be tough in order to survive, as seen by Chiron's final, very masculine and dominant identity.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: Water is often seen as cleansing and transformative and this is apparent in the film as well. Whether it be him swimming in the ocean or simply splashing water on his face, Chiron is constantly interacting with water. However, it is most notable that water is most often seen in the film in times of immense transition for Chiron. Throughout his life, Chiron resorts to water to bring him comfort e.g. taking baths when his mother is not home or swimming in the ocean with Juan. In the scene where Juan taught Little to swim, he explained to him the duality of water in relation to black existence, a concept addressed in Omise'eke Natasha Tinsley's "Black Atlantic, Queer Atlantic." The ocean is like a crosscurrent as Tinsley says, that can simultaneously be a place of inequality and exploitation as well as beauty and resistance. Tinsley describes how, "black queerness itself becomes a crosscurrent through which to view hybrid, resistant subjectivities and perhaps, black queers really have no ancestry except the black water." The water is either an environment that can destroy Chiron or allow him to triumph, and throughout the movie we see Chiron using the water to cope and find himself.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2016. It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2016, the New York Film Festival on October 2, 2016, the BFI London Film Festival on October 6, 2016 and the Vancouver International Film Festival on October 7, 2016. The film was released to select theaters on October 21, 2016, before beginning a wide release on November 18, 2016. The full UK cinema release was on February 17, 2017.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: The film's poster reflects its triptych structure, combining the three actors portraying Chiron into a single face. The trailer for the film was released on August 11, 2016, in time for festival season. Mark Olsen of the "Los Angeles Times" referred to it "as one of the most anticipated films for fall".


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: On February 27, 2017, the day after the Academy Awards, Calvin Klein released an underwear advertising campaign featuring four of the male actors in the film. On March 7, 2017, Beijing-based streaming video service iQiyi announced that it has acquired the rights to stream the film in China. The film is also available in home media format through iTunes and DVD.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: "Moonlight" grossed $27.9 million in the United States and Canada and $37.5 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $65.3 million, against a production budget of $4 million.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: The film originally played in four theaters in its limited October 21, 2016 release, grossing $402,072 (a per-theater average $100,519). The film's theater count peaked at 650 in its wide opening on November 18, 2016, before expanding to 1,014 theaters in February. After the Oscars ceremony, A24 announced that the film would be played at 1,564 theaters. In the weekend following its Oscar wins the film grossed $2.5 million, up 260% from its previous week and marking the highest-grossing weekend of its entire theatrical release. It was also a higher gross than the previous two Best Picture winners, "Spotlight" ($1.8 million) and "Birdman" ($1.9 million), had in their first weekend following the Academy Awards.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 98% based on 395 reviews, with an average rating of 9.00/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""Moonlight" uses one man's story to offer a remarkable and brilliantly crafted look at lives too rarely seen in cinema." On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 99 out of 100, based on 53 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". On both websites, it was the highest-scoring film released in 2016.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: David Rooney of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote a positive review after "Moonlight" premiered at the 2016 Telluride Film Festival. He praised the actors' performances and described the cinematography of James Laxton as "fluid and seductive, deceptively mellow, and shot through with searing compassion". Rooney concluded that the film "will strike plangent chords for anyone who has ever struggled with identity, or to find connections in a lonely world". In a uniformly positive review for "Time Out New York", Joshua Rothkopf gave "Moonlight" five stars out of five and praised Barry Jenkins's direction.


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: Brian Formo of "Collider" gave "Moonlight" an 'A−' grade rating, applauding the performances and direction but contending that the film "is more personal and important than it is great". Similarly, Jake Cole of "Slant Magazine" praised the acting, but criticized the screenplay, and argued that "so much of the film feels old-hat". In a review for "The Verge", Tasha Robinson lamented the plot details omitted between the film's three acts, but wrote that "what does make it to the screen is unforgettable".


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: While discussing the film after its screening at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, Justin Chang of the "Los Angeles Times" described "Moonlight" as "achingly romantic and uncommonly wise", and an early Oscar contender. Chang further wrote: "[Barry Jenkins] made a film that urges the viewer to look past Chiron's outward appearance and his superficial signifiers of identity, climbing inside familiar stereotypes in order to quietly dismantle them from within ... "[Moonlight]" doesn't say much. It says everything".


title: Moonlight (2016 film)

text: Writing for "The London Review of Books" in February 2017, Michael Wood characterized the film as a study of an inherited intergenerational tragedy: