Before the Weapons School: The Making of a Tornado Pilot

Mattes Kries | 10 Percent True | EP81 – Part 1In this episode, Mattes Kries—a former Luftwaffe Tornado IDS pilot and weapons instructor—traces his career from a hard-won start in NATO jet training through frontline Tornado operations, weapons school, and senior tactics leadership. He explains how Germany’s Tornado force evolved from Cold War low-level nuclear strike toward conventional, medium-altitude employment; how lessons from U.S. and NATO exercises reshaped German tactics; and why culture, risk tolerance, and bureaucracy matter as much as hardware.Along the way, Mattes offers rare, candid insight into weapons school innovation, COMAO command without Link 16, live weapons integration, and the realities of training for combat in a force defined by safety-first constraints—grounded in vivid anecdotes and hard-earned lessons.Timestamps00:00 – The Greek instructor teaser01:58 – Welcome Mattes & Phil’s subscriber questions: inspiration and most exhilarating mission12:05 – Matthew’s subscriber question: history and pride in the modern Luftwaffe23:40 – Attachment to the past among today’s Luftwaffe personnel29:10 – Starting out in the Luftwaffe34:02 – F-4 ambitions—and why fate had other (good) ideas41:28 – T-37 challenges (and the Greek instructor)49:00 – Turning early struggles into long-term success51:15 – Arrival on the Tornado at Büchel56:40 – Tornado IDS: roles, weapons, and mission sets1:05:35 – SIOP and nuclear strike planning1:10:40 – The MW-1 weapon system1:20:19 – Why the MW-1 was never fitted for training—and the power of German accountants1:29:30 – Staying on the boom: tanker planning as a weapons school student1:35:08 – Avoiding the KC-135 by design?1:36:35 – Responding to Starbaby’s criticism of ECR capabilities vs decision-maker mindset1:54:25 – Part 2 incoming