TORNADO is a real-time combat flight simulator based upon the IDS and ADV variants af the Tornado aircraft. Options range from ground-based simulator training to multi-aircraft multi-mission campaigns. Both cockpit stations are implemented eg pilot plus navigator/weapons officer. With design input from actual Tornado aircrew, DI has produced the first comprehensive Tornado flight simulator with unsurpassed ground detail, gameplay and authenticity.
Flight simulators to date have had sparsely populated landscapes, giving poor and unrealistic visual detail. "Tornado" is based upon four combat areas of 10,000 sq miles, each containing over 16000 static objects( eg buildings) plus relief terrain, fields, rivers, roads, railways, lakes, trees. In addition to this we have an impressive variety of aircraft and ground vehicles to give the player the sense of being involved in a real scenario. "Tornado" is the first product to utilise DI's new 3D engine resulting in the highest and most realistic visual density and a truly "target rich environment".
Options:
Quickstart
Demo mode
Training
Simulator
Flying training
Vehicle & aircraft recognition
Combat
single missions
air campaign
air commander
2 player option
Head to head dogfight
TRAINING
Excercises to familiarise player with aircraft handling, weapons operation and navigation techniques.
COMBAT
Single missions:
10 to 20 pre-planned missions per flying area. Flight plan & weapon load already configured for user. Some of these missions will involve several aircraft making a coordinated attack. Player simply familiarises himself with the mission objectives and then takes off.
User selects own targets, plans mission and selects
weapons.
Air Campaign:
This a sequence of missions where the military situation evolves continuously. Success in each mission will determine the difficulty of the next and the progress of the campaign. Targets are specified for the player but the player must create his own flight plans. The sequence of missions will vary from game to game and a variety of starting scenarios will be available.
Air Commander:
A multi-aircraft multi-mission wargame in which the user has full command authority to select targets, assign aircraft and request air support to achieve victory. The initial situation and the subsequent difficulty will vary. Includes interaction with ground vehicles and strategic infrastructure (supplies etc).
Two player option:
A head-to-head game where the players fly against each other.
FLYING AREAS
Four flying areas are provided of 10,000 sq. miles each. One is specifically for training, the others for combat. All areas are richly detailed and representative of European terrain though we do not claim to model actual geographical locations.
Other features
Daytime, plus four level of night, plus 2 levels of fog, plus overcast, plus 2 cloud layers.
The most sophisticated mission planning system ever implemented on a home computer, including:
A plain and simple unguided bomb, effective against a wide variety of targets. Quite effective against a hardened target provided you can hit it, and the blast and fragments will affect softer targets (most vehicles, aircraft etc.) over a fair radius. GP bombs are the cheapest of all major ground-attack munitions, so large stocks are available. They also allow a wide variety of delivery methods, so a good deal of flexibility is available in trading off accuracy against risk. Usually delivered four at a time.
1000 lb. Retarded Bomb (RET)
These are 1000 lb. GP bombs fitted with an alternative tail section incorporating a braking parachute. This means that they can be dropped safely from much lower altitudes than GP bombs, since the aircraft is much further ahead of the bomb by the time it hits the ground. Minimum dropping height for Retarded Bombs is 100 feet (just enough time for the fuse to arm), as against 1000 feet for unretarded GP bombs. Because the retarder kit is a cheap and simple fitting for a cheap and simple bomb, they are usually in good supply.
1000 lb. Laser Guided Bombs (LGB)
The original 'smart' bomb. This is actually another special kit fitting for a standard bomb, providing a nose assembly containing the laser seeker and control surfaces, and a tail with flip-out cruciform wings giving it the ability to glide further than a standard bomb. LGB are used in conjunction with the launching aircraft's TIALD system. The navigator slews and zooms his camera view to place the aiming crosshairs on the precise point he wants to hit, which is illuminated by the laser designator in the TIALD system. The seeker in the nose of the LGB 'sees' the spot of reflected laser light and tilts the bomb's nose control surfaces to steer towards it. Phenomenal accuracy is possible - missing the target spot by as much as five feet would be a very poor performance.
This degree of accuracy makes laser-guided bombs the ideal weapon against hardened installations or major bridges, which must be hit with extreme precision to cause more than superficial damage. The downside is that the designating aircraft must fly quite slowly at medium-to-high altitude in a fairly straight line for twenty to thirty seconds in order to keep its designator on the target till the bomb hits, and if there is cloud in the way the laser couldn't illuminate the target even if the TIALD operator could see it. Laser-guidance kits are not cheap, and therefore not all that plentiful, but on the other hand, few weapons are as efficient and cost-effective; use it properly and every bomb scores a direct hit.
BL755 Cluster Bomb
Looks like a plain bomb, though less well streamlined. Is actually a casing for many smaller bombs (submunitions). After dropping, the case splits open at a preset height (150 feet) and ejects the submunitions in a dense cloud. If properly delivered, a salvo of four will devastate all but the hardest targets in a 'footprint' perhaps 100 feet across by 300 feet long. This is the weapon of choice against groups of vehicles or parked aircraft. Its main drawback is that it must be delivered from 200 feet for maximum effect (see {diagram}).
JP.233 Dispensers
This is the mother and father of all runway-attack systems, the Tornado version comprising two giant pods weighing a total of nearly five tons! The pods contain two types of submunition: 60 large (56 lb.) SG.357 runway penetrators and 430 small HB.876 'area-denial' mines, both types parachute-retarded. As the aircraft overflies the runway, the submunitions are continuously ejected in a stream. When the runway-penetrators reach the surface, a shaped charge punches a small hole right through the concrete and a second charge is then fired into the hole, exploding beneath to crack and 'heave' the surface over as wide an area as possible. This type of damage is far more difficult and time-consuming to repair than a simple crater. Meanwhile the smaller mines land softly, discard their parachutes and spring upright, deterring and delaying repair through the deadly danger they present to men and vehicles.
JP.233 will make a really impressive mess of any runway if used properly. Its main disadvantage is the fact that the delivering aircraft has to overfly the target at low level holding a straight course for the four seconds needed to dispense the whole load - manoeuvering strews the things all over the place! It is also a heavy, draggy load for the aircraft, though the pods jettison automatically when empty.
ALARM (Air Launched Anti-Radiation Missile)
ALARM is probably the most capable and sophisticated missile of its type currently in service. Like any other anti-radiation missile ALARM homes on the transmissions of enemy ground radars in order to destroy them, but it is far more resourceful than most. When a radar installation is under attack by anti-radiation missiles, the standard counter-move is to turn off the radar so that the missile has no transmissions to home in on. Faced with this situation, most existing missiles will do their best to steer in the direction of the last transmission, but if the radar went off the air early in the attack the missile's accuracy can suffer badly.
If ALARM is launched against a radar which is switched off too early for an accurate strike, instead of making a blind stab the missile will zoom-climb to a point high above the estimated target position, shut down its rocket motor and deploy a parachute. It then loiters nose-down, descending slowly and scanning the ground beneath. If the radar is switched back on, ALARM jettisons the parachute and falls on the target like a guided bomb.
Air-to-Air
AIM9L Sidewinder - the classic short-range heat-seeker.
Active Sky Flash - (Air Defence Variant only) medium range/BVR radar-guided missile roughly equivalent to AIM-120 AMRAAM.
Cannon
One (Air Defence variant) or two (Interdictor/Strike variant) integral Mauser BK27 27mm cannon with 180 rpg., for use against air or ground targets.
AVIONICS:
Map Displays:
Moving, scrollable, zoomable; in three sizes. Can be used to designate targets
RADAR:
Air-to-Ground, Air-to-Air. Can be used to designate targets.
TIALD:
Thermal Imaging And Laser Designation display. Steerable infra-red and TV cameras with coaxial Laser Designator.
FLIR:
Forward-Looking Infra-red camera.
Radar Search and Warning Receiver
Flightplan display
Triplicated ILS display.
Autopilot:
The most comprehensive yet seen in a PC simulator. Includes terrain following, altitude hold, auto approach and the ability to follow a complete flightplan automatically. Very flexible.
Autothrottle:
Automatically opens and closes the throttles to hold the commanded airspeed.
Time Early/Late Indicator (HUD and Autopilot displays):
Used with the autothrottle, this makes it far simpler to arrive dead on time for a coordinated attack.
Head Up Display
Highly authentic HUD including modes for air combat, ground attack and airfield approach. Selectable contrast.
