Ready to strike! Secret tests to hone RAF fighter jets’ fearsome weapons before battle are revealed

MAILONLINE ^ | 7 June 2017 | JOSEPH CURTIS

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The process behind combat testing an RAF plane has been revealed in a new book written by former pilots.

Incredible images taken at RAF Waddington, RAF Donna Nook and RAF Coningsby, all in Lincolnshire, show the test flights of various jets and weapons over the past 30 years.

They include the first firing of the laser-guided Brimstone anti-armour missile in 1999 and the evaluation crew of the F3 Tornado fighter in the mid 1980s.

The book, called Operational Test: Honing the Edge, is written by David Gledhill, a former RAF tactics expert, and ex-RAF navigator and weapons tester David Lewis.

Other pictures show a Tornado, Typhoon and Indian Air Force Su-30MKI fighters in formation during an exercise in 2007.

It also reveals secret test programmes such as Operation Constant Peg, a US Air Force-led project designed to mimic the tactics and flight patterns of Soviet MiGs during the later stages of the Cold War.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4580226/Secret-tests-hone-RAF-fighters-revealed-pictures.html#ixzz4jK1hFX90 Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

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RAF Tornado (front) and Typhoon (middle) jets and an Indian Air Force Su-30MKI fighter (rear) are pictured in formation while on an exercise at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire in 2007. The image is included in new book Operational Test: Honing the Edge, which reveals secret details of RAF combat testing operations over the years

The book includes details on the testing of the Brimstone missile by a Tornado GR4 in 2000, a laser-guided anti armour projectile that first entered service in 2005

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4580226/Secret-tests-hone-RAF-fighters-revealed-pictures.html#ixzz4jK1vyOVK Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook