#SP56CU SAOEU print Harrier, Jaguar, Tornado
Description
Squadron Prints Lithograph No. SP56CU - Harrier GR7, Jaguar GR3, Tornado GR1, Strike Attack Operational Evaluation Unit, RAF Boscombe Down.
The seeds of the Strike Attack Operational Evaluation Unit were sown in 1983 when the Tornado GR1 OEU was formed at RAF Boscombe Down. It stemmed from a need for a Service assessment of the GR1 Terrain Following Radar and weapon system effectiveness under tactical conditions. Although given an initial life span of two years, the Unit soon proved its worth and was subsequently expanded in 1988 to include a Harrier II element. At this stage it was renamed the SAOEU. The role of the Harrier flight was to assess weapon system accuracy and develop tactics and operating procedures for the Night Attack Harrier GR7. Finally in 1996, the avionics upgrade for the Jaguar prompted the final member of the Royal Air Force’s offensive support aircraft to join the SAOEU’s fold. The present role of the Unit has been expanded to include development of operational tactics and the evaluation and exploitation of weapons, avionics and software prior to use by the front-line. The SAOEU is an arm of the Air Warfare Centre whose emblem can be seen on the tail of the aircraft. The motto of the Air Warfare Centre is ‘Arma Judicare Consilium Dare’ which means ‘To test the weaponry and give advice’.