With the days of the RAF’s Tornado Force numbered, the jet’s Operational Conversion Unit, No XV(R) Squadron, is set to disband on March 31. Alan Warnes visited the unit’s RAF Lossiemouth base as the final training courses came to an end.
RAF TORNADO TRAINING
WITHDRAWAL OF the Royal Air Force’s Tornado Force might still be two years away, but the first significant step towards the jet’s demise is now under way. On March 31, the Tornado Operational Conversion Unit (OCU), No XV (Reserve) Squadron based at RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland, is to disband and the type’s formal training process will end.
The unit, which flew more than 2,200 hours last year, becomes the first casualty of the drawdown but leaves the Tornado Force in a good position. Wg Cdr Paul Froome, the Officer Commanding (OC) since May 2015 told AFM: “We are cliff-edging – we are pushing students right to the end, so the force is set up for the full two years.”
The final two RAF aircrew embarked on the last nine-month long course in May 2016. The course includes the last ab initio pilot to qualify on RAF Tornados, Flt Lt Nathan Shawyer, and a former weapon systems officer (WSO) who returned to the RAF after a period outside the service. In mid-Jan…
