Tim Ripley looks at how 2019 is turning into a major watershed for the Royal Air Force with new aircraft and weapons coming online as some veteran types are retired.
Last year was momentous for the RAF as it celebrated its centenary and 2019 is also set to be significant. After the retirement of the Tornado GR4 the service has a frontline fast-jet force consisting of the Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning. The RAF is the only European air arm to field a mix of solely fourth- and fifth-generation combat aircraft.
The Tornado GR4 had been due to retire in 2025 but it was brought forward to this year. A progressive retirement plan was put in place that would have seen the Tornado Force downsized to two frontline squadrons in 2015, but the need to sustain a continuous presence in the Middle East to fight the war against the so-called Islamic State (IS) prompted a reprieve of one unit, 12(B) Sqn. The three remaining squadrons – IX(B), 12(B) and 31 – took turns deploying to RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus. The force was reduced to two units when 12(B) Sqn flew its last GR4 sortie on December 14, 2017.
On January 31 this year the last GR4 sortie of Operation Shader was flown. The type was formall…
