RAF Tornados based in Kuwait have made their first training sorties fully laden with 2,000lb Paveway III "smart bombs" since they arrived in the Gulf.

Although the pilots of 14 Squadron have experience of flying with the bunker-busting weapons over Europe, they must learn how their massive weight affects the planes' handling in desert conditions.

Weight of Paveway bombs, combined with thinner desert air, has great impact on planes' handling

The laser-guided Paveways - accurate to yards from a height of up to 35,000 feet - will give British pilots in any airstrikes an advantage over their comrades in the 1991 Gulf war, who had to brave anti-aircraft fire on low-level missions that cost several lives.

Group Captain Mal Prissick, Commander of the RAF detachment at Ali Al-Salem airbase, explained how the Thermal Imaging Airborne Laser Designator (TIALD) system had revolutionised the way Tornado attacks are launched.

He said: "When the Gulf war started, the TIALD was being developed. It was brought into service in a rush during the war and we flew some laser-guided bomb missions towards the end of the conflict.

Altitude enhances weapons' penetration

"This equipment allowed us to get into the medium level region - 15,000-35,000 feet - with the Americans.

"Until that, all our weapons were optimised for low level delivery in anticipation of war in Europe, where we couldn't fly at medium level."

Two flights of four Tornados each are carried out without bombs over Iraq every 24 hours

Flying higher will not only remove the aeroplanes from the range of Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery, leaving them only surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) to deal with, but also enhance the weapons' penetration of reinforced bunkers.

Precision will be the key to any bombing missions, said the unidentified commanding officer of 14 Squadron.

"Benign environment"

He said: "It is going to be run at our pace, so if it is not right, we can turn back and do it another day, because there is no pressure on us.

"We are working in a reasonably benign environment, apart from the SAMs."

In training, "drops" have been aborted because navigators have not been happy that they have fixed the target to within less than 200 feet.

Each of the eight Tornados based in Kuwait carries two Paveway IIIs or three smaller 1,000lb Paveway IIs, and is also fitted with two Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and two 27mm Mauser cannons for defensive use.

The weight on the Paveway bombs, which cost £22,000 each, has a significant effect on the handling of the Tornado, as does the atmosphere in which the plane is flying, explained Group Captain Prissick.

Weight, heat affect handling

He said: "Today is the first time the pilots have trained with these bombs on board in this operation.

"They are practising flying with them to get a feel of the aircraft with the weight underneath.

"Because of the heat, the air here is thinner than in Europe, which means it burns less richly and you get less thrust, meaning longer take-off distances and slower climb. The weight of the bomb has a similar effect."

Since arriving in Kuwait two weeks ago, the Tornados of 14 Squadron have taken over duties for patrolling the no-fly zone in southern Iraq, formerly carried out from Saudi Arabia.

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