BEIRUT, LEBANON (8:00 P.M.) – The Cold War-era Tornado fighter jets of the German Air Force are now worthless to the operational needs of the NATO alliance according to a German defense ministry report.
The report clarified that the 4th generation swing-wing fighter in Luftwaffe service is no longer able to perform in line with existing and emerging requirements demanded of it by NATO due to old equipment – overall the aircraft is ‘completely outdated.’
Among the operational deficiencies cited were insufficient tap-proofing, no system to encrypt electronic communications and, surprisingly, no IFF (friend-foe detection) system.
Furthermore, the report concluded that in their current state (of obsolescence), Germany’s Tornados should ‘no longer participate in any NATO operation.’
At least 115 Tornado aircraft (both IDS and ECR models) are believed to still be in German Air Force service as of 2018.
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