COBI Panavia Tornado IDS Set 5853

COBI's Panavia Tornado IDS is a 1:48 model built from 493 blocks in German Luftwaffe markings, which are what distinguish it from the other Tornados in the range. The wings sweep, the ailerons move, the cockpit opens for two full-size figures, and the landing gear detaches for the included display stand with its nameplate. All markings are printed; no stickers.

The aircraft Germany could not simply retire

IDS stands for Interdictor/Strike. Germany took 247 of them from 1979, and they have outlasted every plan to replace them — for a reason that is political rather than technical.

Under NATO's nuclear sharing arrangements, American B61 bombs are stored in Germany and would be delivered, in a war, by German aircraft with German crews. The Tornado is the only German aircraft certified to do it, and certifying a new type is a years-long process requiring American agreement.

That single requirement shaped the whole replacement debate. Germany could not choose a purely European successor without giving up the nuclear role, and it could not give up the nuclear role without a political decision nobody wanted to take. The answer, settled in 2022, was to buy F-35s specifically for that mission while other Tornado tasks go to Eurofighters.

The Tornado also carried Germany's electronic warfare and reconnaissance capability, and those aircraft flew over Kosovo, Afghanistan and Syria.

In the COBI range

Set 5852 is the RAF's Tornado GR.1 at the same scale.

Specifications

Pieces: 493 · Figures: 2 · Scale: 1:48 · Swing wings · Display stand and nameplate · No stickers