Of the three air forces involved with the Panavia consortium, the Royal Air Force alone had a requirement for a long-range all-weather interceptor to patrol the vast airspace from Iceland to the Baltic for which the UK (as a member of NATO) is responsible. Thus, the Tornado ADV was born from its predecessor, the multirole Tornado IDS. In service since 1984, the ADV replaces the obsolete Lightning and F-4M Phantom in this role. Its high-power Marconi/Ferranti Foxhunter radar has performance comparable to that of the US Navy F-14's excellent AWG-9. Its fuselage is longer than that of the IDS, which allows for a greater internal fuel capacity along with recessed hardpoints for radar-homing missiles. It is a very modern and fuel-efficient aircraft making it one of the best interceptors in the world, second only to the F-14 Tomcat. [See also Tornado IDS (Brit/Germ)]
