at RAF Saint Athan on 7 December 2004. A single aircraft was retained by the Italian Air Force for static display purposes. Royal Saudi Air Force On 26 September 1985, Saudi Arabia and Britain signed a memorandum of understanding towards what would be widely known as the Al-Yamamah arms deal, for the provision of various military equipment and services. The September 1985 deal involved the purchase of a large number of Tornado aircraft; including the Tornado ADV variant, along with armaments, radar equipment, spare parts and a pilot-training programme for the inbound fleet, in exchange for providing 600,000 barrels of oil per day over the course of several years. The first Al-Yamamah agreement ordered 24 Tornado ADVs and 48 Tornado IDSs. The RSAF received its first ADV on 9 February 1989. U.S. analyst Anthony Cordesman commented that "the Tornado ADV did not prove to be a successful air defence fighter... The RSAF's experience with the first eight Tornado ADVs was negative". In 1990, the RSAF signed several agreements with the US to later receive deliveries of the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle, and thus had a reduced need for the Tornado ADV; Saudi Arabia chose to convert further orders for up to 60 Tornado ADVs to the IDS strike variant instead. During 1991, during Operation Desert Storm over neighbouring Iraq, RSAF Tornado ADVs flew 451 air-defence sorties, operating in conjunction with RSAF F-15s. In 2006, it was announced that, in addition to Saudi Arabia's contract to purchase the Eurofighter Typhoon, both the Tornado IDS and ADV fleets would undergo a £2.5 billion program of upgrades, allowing them to remain in service to at least 2020. Despite this, by 2011, the Eurofighter had taken over from the Tornado ADV in the air-defence role. Variants Tornado F2 Two-seat all-weather interceptor fighter aircraft, powered by two Turbo-Union RB.199-34R Mk 103 turbofan engines. Initial production version, 18 built. Tornado F2A F2 upgrade to F3 standard, but retaining F2 engines, one converted. Tornado F3 Improved version, powered by two Turbo-Union RB.199-34R Mk 104 engines, with automatic wing sweep control, increased AIM-9 carriage and avionics upgrades. 171 built for the Royal Air force (RAF) and Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF). Tornado EF3 Unofficial designation for F3 aircraft modified with ALARM missile capability. Operators Italian Air Force (1995–2004) Gioia del Colle Air Base, Bari 12° Gruppo (1995–2004) 21° Gruppo (1999–2001) Cameri Air Base, Novara 21° Gruppo (1997–1999)