Emergency services are racing to the scene of a reported crash of a RAF Tornado fighter near the Rest of Be Thankful pass in Argyll, Scotland, about two miles to the west of Loch Lomond.

Ambulance, police and rescue helicopter crews were scrambled shortly after 11.45am following a report of the aircraft slamming into a hillside near the A83 Arrochar to Inveraray Road, north west of Loch Lomond.

The plane is believed to be from RAF Leuchars but as yet there are no details on the condition of the pilot and navigator.

A Strathclyde police spokeswoman said, “police are on route to an incident after a plane crashed at 11.45 today. We do not know how many people were on board.”

The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine combat aircraft, which was jointly developed by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy.

There are three primary versions of the Tornado; the Tornado IDS (Interdictor/Strike) fighter-bomber, the suppression of enemy air defences Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat/ Reconnaissance) and the Tornado ADV (Air Defence Variant) interceptor.

It is one of the world’s most sophisticated and capable interdiction and attack aircraft, with a large payload, long range and high survivability. The aircraft has been labelled as “for more than a quarter of a century… the most important military aircraft in Western Europe.”

The Tornado first flew on August 14, 197 and 992 aircraft of all variants were built in total before production ended in 1998.

RAF Tornado GR1s were used during the Gulf War, Operation Desert Fox and the Kosovo War.