BRITAIN may have to go cap in hand to Italy or Germany to secure spare parts for the RAF’s Tornado bombers.The warning comes just days after Defence Secretary Michael Fallon extended the RAF mission against the Islamic State terror group in Iraq, and potentially Syria, until 2017.That decision, coupled with the last-minute reprieve of a Tornado squadron, has left military planners anxious to secure vital spare parts should their limited stocks run out.
Nato nations that operate Tornado aircraft already have a part-swap arrangement that allows countries to borrow from each other, though this has seldom, if ever, been used.
However, last night senior Whitehall sources confirmed that Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford has recently placed both Italy’s Aeronautica Militare and Germany’s Luftwaffe, which operate the same variants of GR4 Tornado as the UK, on standby.Britain operates eight GR4 Tornados as part of the so-called Coalition of the Willing against Islamic State.Making his announcement on Tuesday, Mr Fallon also reprieved the 100-year-old 12 Squadron, which was technically scrapped last year, until 2017.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/597046/RAF-to-run-out-of-bomber-parts
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