The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
's
air
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...
and
space force
A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military service. ...
. It was formed towards the end of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the
Royal Flying Corps
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colors =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, decorations ...
(RFC) and the
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...
(RNAS). Following the
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
victory over the
Central Powers
The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has taken
a significant role in
British military history
The military history of the United Kingdom covers the period from the creation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain, with the political union of England and Scotland in 1707, to the present day.
From the 18th century onwards, with the expansio ...
. In particular, it played a large part in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
where it fought its most famous campaign, the
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
.
The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
(MOD), which are to "provide the capabilities needed to ensure the security and defence of the United Kingdom and overseas territories, including against terrorism; to support the Government's foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security".
The RAF describes its mission statement as "...
o provide
O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...
an ''agile, adaptable and capable'' Air Force that, person for person, is second to none, and that makes a decisive air power contribution in support of the UK Defence Mission". The mission statement is supported by the RAF's definition of
air power
Airpower or air power consists of the application of military aviation, military strategy and strategic theory to the realm of aerial warfare and close air support. Airpower began in the advent of powered flight early in the 20th century. Airpo ...
, which guides its strategy. Air power is defined as "the ability to
project power
''Project Power'' is a 2020 American science fiction action film directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, produced by Eric Newman and Bryan Unkeless, and written by Mattson Tomlin. It stars Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Dominique Fis ...
from the air and space to influence the behaviour of people or the course of events".
Today, the Royal Air Force maintains an operational fleet of
various types of aircraft, described by the RAF as being "leading-edge" in terms of technology. This largely consists of fixed-wing aircraft, including those in the following roles:
fighter and
strike
Strike may refer to:
People
* Strike (surname)
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
*Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
,
airborne early warning and control
Airborne or Airborn may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis
* ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film
* ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...
,
(ISTAR),
signals intelligence
Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...
(SIGINT), maritime patrol,
air-to-air refuelling
Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft ...
(AAR) and
strategic
Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...
&
tactical transport
An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft.
Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material long distanc ...
. The majority of the RAF's rotary-wing aircraft form part of the tri-service
Joint Helicopter Command
Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) is a tri-service organisation uniting battlefield military helicopters of the British Armed Forces for command and coordination purposes.
History Background
Over the years, the grouping of all battlefield suppor ...
in support of ground forces. Most of the RAF's aircraft and personnel are based in the UK, with many others serving on
global operations (principally
over Iraq and Syria) or at long-established overseas bases (
Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory o ...
,
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
,
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
, and the
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
). Although the RAF is the principal British air power arm, the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
's
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
and the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
's
Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
also operate armed aircraft.
History
Origins
While the British were not the first to make use of heavier-than-air military aircraft, the RAF is the world's oldest independent air force: that is, the first air force to become independent of army or navy control.
The RAF was founded on 1 April 1918 (during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
) by the amalgamation of the
Royal Flying Corps
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colors =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, decorations ...
(RFC) and the
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...
(RNAS), as recommended in a report prepared by
Jan Smuts
Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...
.
At that time it was the largest air force in the world.
Its headquarters was located in the former
Hotel Cecil.
After the war, the RAF was drastically cut and its inter-war years were relatively quiet. The RAF was put in charge of
British military activity in Iraq, and carried out minor activities in other parts of the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
, including establishing bases to protect
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
and Malaya. The RAF's naval aviation branch, the
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
, was founded in 1924 but handed over to
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
control on 24 May 1939.
The RAF adopted the doctrine of
strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematica ...
, which led to the construction of long-range bombers and became its main bombing strategy in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Second World War
![Ray Flying Legends 2005-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Ray_Flying_Legends_2005-1.jpg)
The Royal Air Force underwent rapid expansion prior to and during the Second World War. Under the
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zea ...
of December 1939, the air forces of
British Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
countries trained and formed "
Article XV squadrons
Article XV squadrons were Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand air force squadrons formed from graduates of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (1939) during World War II.
These units complemented another feature of the BCATP, under whi ...
" for service with RAF formations. Many individual personnel from these countries, and exiles from
occupied Europe
German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...
, also served with RAF squadrons. By the end of the war the
Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
had contributed more than 30 squadrons to serve in RAF formations, similarly, approximately a quarter of
Bomber Command's personnel were Canadian. Additionally, the
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
represented around nine percent of all RAF personnel who served in the European and Mediterranean theatres.
During the
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
in 1940, the RAF defended the skies over Britain against the numerically superior German . In what is perhaps the most prolonged and complicated air campaign in history, the Battle of Britain contributed significantly to the delay and subsequent indefinite postponement of
Operation Sea Lion
Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (german: Unternehmen Seelöwe), was Nazi Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Following the Battle o ...
,
Hitler's
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
plans for an invasion of the UK. In the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
on 20 August, prompted by the ongoing efforts of the RAF, Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
made a speech to the nation, where he said "
Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few".
![Avro 683 Lancaster B1, UK - Air Force AN1207411](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Avro_683_Lancaster_B1%2C_UK_-_Air_Force_AN1207411.jpg)
The largest RAF effort during the war was the
strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematica ...
campaign against Germany by Bomber Command. While RAF bombing of Germany began almost immediately upon the outbreak of war at first it was ineffectual; it was only later, particularly under the leadership of
Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admir ...
Harris
Harris may refer to:
Places Canada
* Harris, Ontario
* Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine)
* Harris, Saskatchewan
* Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan
Scotland
* Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle o ...
, that these attacks became increasingly devastating, from early 1943 onward, as new technology and greater numbers of superior aircraft became available. The RAF adopted night-time
area bombing
In military aviation, area bombardment (or area bombing) is a type of aerial bombardment in which bombs are dropped over the general area of a target. The term "area bombing" came into prominence during World War II.
Area bombing is a form of str ...
on German cities such as
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
and
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
. Night time area bombing constituted the great bulk of the RAF's bombing campaign, mainly due to Harris, but it also developed precision bombing techniques for specific operations, such as the
"Dambusters" raid by
No. 617 Squadron, or the Amiens prison raid known as
Operation Jericho
Operation Jericho (Ramrod 564) took place on 18 February 1944 during the Second World War. Allied aircraft bombed Amiens Prison in German-occupied France at very low altitude to blow holes in the prison walls, kill German guards and use shock ...
.
Cold War era
Following victory in the Second World War, the RAF underwent significant re-organisation, as technological advances in air warfare saw the arrival of jet fighters and bombers. During the early stages of the Cold War, one of the first major operations undertaken by the RAF was the
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road ...
, codenamed Operation Plainfire. Between 26 June 1948 and the lifting of the Russian blockade of the city on 12 May 1949, the RAF provided 17% of the total supplies delivered, using
Avro York
The Avro York was a British transport aircraft developed by Avro during the Second World War. The design was derived from the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber, several sections of the York and Lancaster being identical. Due to the importance of L ...
s,
Douglas Dakota
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...
s flying to
Gatow Airport
Royal Air Force Gatow, or more commonly RAF Gatow, was a British Royal Air Force station (military airbase) in the district of Gatow in south-western Berlin, west of the Havel river, in the borough of Spandau. It was the home for the only kn ...
and
Short Sunderland
The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of Sunderland in North East ...
s flying to Lake Havel.
![Raf victor in 1961 arp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Raf_victor_in_1961_arp.jpg)
Before Britain developed its own
nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
s, the RAF was provided with American nuclear weapons under
Project E
Project E was a joint project between the United States and the United Kingdom during the Cold War to provide nuclear weapons to the Royal Air Force (RAF) until sufficient British nuclear weapons became available. It was subsequently expanded ...
. However, following the development of its own arsenal, the British Government elected on 16 February 1960 to share the country's
nuclear deterrent
Nuclear strategy involves the development of doctrines and strategies for the production and use of nuclear weapons.
As a sub-branch of military strategy, nuclear strategy attempts to match nuclear weapons as means to political ends. In additi ...
between the RAF and submarines of the Royal Navy, first deciding to concentrate solely on the air force's
V bomber
The "V bombers" were the Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft during the 1950s and 1960s that comprised the United Kingdom's strategic nuclear strike force known officially as the V force or Bomber Command Main Force. The three models of strategic ...
fleet. These were initially armed with nuclear
gravity bomb
An unguided bomb, also known as a free-fall bomb, gravity bomb, dumb bomb, or iron bomb, is a conventional or nuclear aircraft-delivered bomb that does not contain a guidance system and hence simply follows a ballistic trajectory. This described ...
s, later being equipped with the
Blue Steel missile
The Avro Blue Steel was a British air-launched, rocket-propelled nuclear armed standoff missile, built to arm the V bomber force. It allowed the bomber to launch the missile against its target while still outside the range of surface-to-air ...
. Following the development of the Royal Navy's
Polaris submarines, the strategic nuclear deterrent passed to the navy's submarines on 30 June 1969.
With the introduction of Polaris, the RAF's strategic nuclear role was reduced to a tactical one, using
WE.177
The WE.177, originally styled as WE 177, and sometimes simply as WE177, was a series of tactical and strategic nuclear weapons with which the Royal Navy (RN) and the Royal Air Force (RAF) were equipped. It was the primary air-dropped nuclear we ...
gravity bombs. This tactical role was continued by the V bombers into the 1980s and until 1998 by the
Panavia Tornado GR1.
["Strategic Defence Review 1998: Full Report."](_blank)
''Ministry of Defence,'' 1998, p. 24.
![Avro Vulcan Bomber RAF](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Avro_Vulcan_Bomber_RAF.JPEG)
For much of the Cold War the primary role of the RAF was the defence of
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
against potential attack by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, with many
squadrons based in West Germany. The main RAF bases in RAF(G) were
RAF Brüggen
Royal Air Force Brüggen, more commonly known as RAF Brüggen, in Germany was a major station of the Royal Air Force until 15 June 2001. It was situated next to the village of Elmpt, approximately west of Düsseldorf on the Dutch-German bo ...
,
RAF Gutersloh
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
,
RAF Laarbruch
Royal Air Force , more commonly known as RAF ICAO EDUL (from 1 January 1995 ETUL) was a Royal Air Force station, a military airfield, located in Germany on its border with the Netherlands. The Station's motto was ().
The site now operates a ...
and
RAF Wildenrath
Royal Air Force Wildenrath, commonly known as RAF Wildenrath, was a Royal Air Force (RAF) military airbase near Wildenrath in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, that operated from 1952 to 1992. Wildenrath was the first of four 'clutch' stations ...
– the only air defence base in RAF(G). With the decline of the British Empire, global operations were scaled back, and
RAF Far East Air Force
The former Royal Air Force Far East Air Force, more simply known as RAF Far East Air Force, was the Command organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force assets in the east of Asia (Far East). It was originally formed as Air Command, South Ea ...
was disbanded on 31 October 1971. Despite this, the RAF fought in many battles in the Cold War period. In June 1948 the RAF commenced
Operation Firedog
The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and th ...
against Malayan pro-independence fighters during the
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...
. Operations continued for the next 12 years until 1960 with aircraft flying out of
RAF Tengah ''Tengah'' is an Indonesian and Malay word meaning "Central". It can be found in topography, e.g.
*Kalimantan Tengah
*Tengah Islands or Central Archipelago.
*Tengah, Singapore
*Tengah Air Base
The Tengah Air Base is a military airbase of th ...
and
RAF Butterworth Butterworth may refer to:
Places
* Butterworth (ancient township), a former township centred on Milnrow, in the then Parish of Rochdale, England, United Kingdom
* Butterworth, Eastern Cape, now also known as Gcuwa, a town located in South Africa
...
. The RAF played a minor role in the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, with
flying boat
A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
s taking part. From 1953 to 1956 the RAF Avro Lincoln squadrons carried out anti-
Mau Mau operations in
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
using its base at
RAF Eastleigh
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...
. The
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...
in 1956 saw a large RAF role, with aircraft operating from
RAF Akrotiri
RAF Akrotiri ( el, Βασιλική Πολεμική Αεροπορία Ακρωτηρίου) is a large Royal Air Force base on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which compr ...
and
RAF Nicosia
Royal Air Force Station Nicosia or RAF Nicosia was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station on the island of Cyprus, built in the 1930s. The station served as Headquarters Royal Air Force Cyprus from 8 June to 29 July 1941.
The original principal airpo ...
on
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
and
RAF Luqa
Royal Air Force Luqa was a Royal Air Force station located on the island of Malta, now developed into the Malta International Airport.
It hosted aircraft of Air Headquarters Malta (AHQ Malta) during the Second World War. Particularly during ...
and
RAF Hal Far
The RAF Hal Far airfield was the first permanent airfield to be built on Malta. It was opened on 1 April 1929 as HMS ''Falcon'', a Royal Navy stone frigate, and was used by Fleet Air Arm crews. It was transferred to the Maltese Government and r ...
on
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
as part of
Operation Musketeer. The RAF suffered its most recent loss to an enemy aircraft during the Suez Crisis, when an
English Electric Canberra PR7 was shot down over
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
.
![Shackleton flying in formation near Masirah](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Shackleton_flying_in_formation_near_Masirah.png)
In 1957, the RAF participated heavily during the
Jebel Akhdar War
The Jebel Akhdar War ( ar, حرب الجبل الأخضر , Ḥarb al-Jebel el-ʾAkhḍar, lit=the Green Mountain War) in Oman, operating both
de Havilland Venom
The de Havilland DH 112 Venom is a British post-war single-engined jet aircraft developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Much of its design was derived from the de Havilland Vampire, the firm's first jet-powered combat ...
and
Avro Shackleton
The Avro Shackleton is a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) which was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the South African Air Force (SAAF). It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber, which itself had been a devel ...
aircraft. The RAF made 1,635 raids, dropping 1,094 tons and firing 900 rockets at the interior of Oman between July and December 1958, targeting insurgents, mountain top villages and water channels in a war that remained under low profile.
The
Konfrontasi against Indonesia in the early 1960s did see use of RAF aircraft, but due to a combination of deft diplomacy and selective ignoring of certain events by both sides, it never developed into a full-scale war.
One of the largest actions undertaken by the RAF during the Cold War was the air campaign during the 1982
Falklands War
The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
, in which the RAF operated alongside the
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
. During the war, RAF aircraft were deployed in the mid-Atlantic at
RAF Ascension Island
RAF Ascension Island , also known as Wideawake Airfield or Ascension Island Auxiliary Field, is a military airfield and facility located on Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean. The airfield is jointly operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and ...
and a detachment from
No. 1 Squadron was deployed with the Royal Navy, operating from the aircraft carrier
HMS ''Hermes''.
[Ashworth 1989, p.26.][Evans 1998, pp. 74–75.] RAF pilots also flew missions using the Royal Navy's
Sea Harrier
The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval short take-off and vertical landing/vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft. It is the second member of the Harrier family developed. It first entered servic ...
s in the air-to-air combat role, in particular
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...
Dave Morgan the highest scoring pilot of the war. Following a British victory, the RAF remained in the
South Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
to provide air defence to the Falkland Islands, with the
McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR2 based at
RAF Mount Pleasant
RAF Mount Pleasant (also known as Mount Pleasant Airport, Mount Pleasant Complex or MPA) is a Royal Air Force station in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The airfield goes by the motto of "Defend the right" (while the m ...
which was built in 1984.
Post-Cold War
![Tornado pilot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Tornado_pilot.jpg)
With the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the RAF's focus returned to
expeditionary air power. Since 1990, the RAF has been involved in several large-scale operations, including the 1991
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
, the 1999
Kosovo War
The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...
, the 2001
War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC)
*Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...
, the
2003 invasion and
war in Iraq
This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states.
Other armed conflicts involving Iraq
* Wars during Mandatory Iraq
** Ikhwan raid on South Iraq 1921
* Smaller conflicts, revolutions, coups and periphery confli ...
and the 2011
intervention in Libya.
![Red Arrows and Typhoons flypast for 90th Anniversary of the RAF MOD 45147908](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Red_Arrows_and_Typhoons_flypast_for_90th_Anniversary_of_the_RAF_MOD_45147908.jpg)
The RAF's 90th anniversary was commemorated on 1 April 2008 by a flypast of the RAF's Aerobatic Display Team the
Red Arrows
The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Waddington. The team was formed in late 1964 as an all-RAF team, replacing a number of unofficial teams ...
and four
Eurofighter Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...
s along the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
, in a straight line from just south of
London City Airport
London City Airport is a regional airport in London, England. It is located in the Royal Docks in the Borough of Newham, approximately east of the City of London and east of Canary Wharf. These are the twin centres of London's financial ...
Tower Bridge, the
London Eye
The London Eye, or the Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is Europe's tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United ...
, the
RAF Memorial
The Royal Air Force Memorial is a military memorial on the Victoria Embankment in central London, dedicated to the memory of the casualties of the Royal Air Force in World War I (and, by extension, all subsequent conflicts). Unveiled in 1923, it ...
and (at 13.00) the
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
building.
Four major defence reviews have been conducted since the end of the Cold War: the 1990
Options for Change
Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War.
Until this point, UK military strategy had been almost entirely focused on defending Western Europe against the Soviet Armed Forces, ...
, the 1998
Strategic Defence Review
The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was a British policy document produced in July 1998 by the Labour Government that had gained power a year previously. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of t ...
, the 2003
Delivering Security in a Changing World
The 2003 Defence White Paper, titled ''Delivering Security in a Changing World'', set out the future structure of the British military, and was preceded by the 1998 Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and the 2002 SDR New Chapter, which responded to ...
and the 2010
Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). All four defence reviews have resulted in steady reductions in manpower and numbers of aircraft, especially combat aircraft such as fast-jets. As part of the latest 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, the
BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4
The BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 was a planned maritime patrol and attack aircraft intended to replace the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR2. The rebuilt aircraft would have extended the operating life of the Nimrod fleet by several decades and signific ...
maritime patrol aircraft was cancelled due to over spending and missing deadlines.
Other reductions saw total manpower reduced by 5,000 personnel to a trained strength of 33,000 and the early retirement of the
Joint Force Harrier
Joint Force Harrier, initially known as Joint Force 2000 and towards the end of its life as Joint Strike Wing, was the British military formation which controlled the British Aerospace Harrier II and British Aerospace Sea Harrier aircraft of t ...
aircraft, the
BAE Harrier GR7/GR9.
In recent years, fighter aircraft on
Quick Reaction Alert
Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) is state of readiness and '' modus operandi'' of air defence maintained at all hours of the day by NATO air forces. The United States usually refers to Quick Reaction Alert as 'Airspace Control Alert'.
Some non-NATO c ...
(QRA) have been increasingly required to
scramble
Scramble, Scrambled, or Scrambling may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* ''Scramble'' (video game), a 1981 arcade game
Music Albums
* ''Scramble'' (album), an album by Atlanta-based band the Coathangers
* ''Scrambles'' (album)
...
in response to
Russian Air Force
" Air March"
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 12 August
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles =
, decorations =
, bat ...
aircraft approaching British airspace. On 24 January 2014, in the Houses of Parliament,
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
MP and
Minister of State for the Armed Forces
The minister of state for the armed forces is a mid-level ministerial position at the Ministry of Defence in the Government of the United Kingdom.
When of Minister of State rank (until the appointment of James Heappey as a Parliamentary Under-S ...
,
Andrew Robathan
Andrew Robert George Robathan, Baron Robathan, (born 17 July 1951) is a British Conservative politician, who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for South Leicestershire (previously Blaby) in Leicestershire as well as a government minister.
...
, announced that the RAF's QRA force had been scrambled almost thirty times in the last three years: eleven times during 2010, ten times during 2011 and eight times during 2012.
![RAF QRA Typhoon Intercepting Russian Bear Aircraft MOD 45158137](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/RAF_QRA_Typhoon_Intercepting_Russian_Bear_Aircraft_MOD_45158137.jpg)
RAF Coningsby
Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and hom ...
in Lincolnshire and
RAF Lossiemouth
Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or more commonly RAF Lossiemouth is a military airfield located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland.
Lossiemouth is one of the largest and busiest fast-jet stations in the ...
in Moray both provide QRA aircraft, and scramble their Typhoons within minutes to meet or intercept aircraft which give cause for concern. Lossiemouth generally covers the northern sector of UK airspace, while Coningsby covers the southern sector. Typhoon pilot Flight Lieutenant Noel Rees describes how QRA duty works. "At the start of the scaled QRA response, civilian air traffic controllers might see on their screens an aircraft behaving erratically, not responding to their radio calls, or note that it's transmitting a distress signal through its transponder. Rather than scramble Typhoons at the first hint of something abnormal, a controller has the option to put them on a higher level of alert, 'a call to cockpit'. In this scenario the pilot races to the hardened aircraft shelter and does everything short of starting his engines".
On 4 October 2015, a final stand-down saw the end of more than 70 years of
RAF Search and Rescue
The Royal Air Force Search and Rescue Force (SARF or SAR Force) was the Royal Air Force organisation which provided around-the-clock aeronautical search and rescue cover in the United Kingdom, Cyprus and the Falkland Islands, from 1986 until ...
provision in the UK. The RAF and Royal Navy's
Westland Sea King
The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engin ...
fleets, after over 30 years of service, were retired. A civilian contractor,
Bristow Helicopters
Bristow Helicopters Limited is a British civil helicopter operator originally based at Aberdeen Airport, Scotland, which is currently a part of the U.S.-based Bristow Group (, S&P 600 component) which in turn has its corporate headquarters in ...
, took over responsibility for UK Search and Rescue, under a
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 199 ...
with newly purchased
Sikorsky S-92
The Sikorsky S-92 is an American twin-engine medium-lift helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft
Sikorsky Aircraft is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. It was established by aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky in 1 ...
and
AgustaWestland AW189
The AgustaWestland AW189 is a twin-engined, super-medium-lift helicopter manufactured by Leonardo S.p.A. It is derived from the AW149, and shares similarities with the AW139 and AW169.
Development
On 20 June 2011, development of the eight-tonn ...
aircraft. The new contract means that all UK SAR coverage is now provided by Bristow aircraft.
In 2018, the RAF's vision of a future constellation of imagery satellites was initiated through the launch of the
Carbonite-2
The Defence Intelligence Fusion Centre (DIFC) is based at RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire. Largely created from the staff of the National Imagery Exploitation Centre (formerly known as the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre (JARIC)) and th ...
technology demonstrator. The 100 kg Carbonite-2 uses
commercial off-the-shelf
Commercial off-the-shelf or commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) products are packaged or canned (ready-made) hardware or software, which are adapted aftermarket to the needs of the purchasing organization, rather than the commissioning of ...
(COTS) components to deliver high-quality imagery and 3D video footage from space.
From March 2020, as part of
Operation Rescript
Operation Rescript is the code name for the British military operation to help tackle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom and its Crown Dependencies. It has been described as the UK's "biggest ever homeland military operation i ...
, the RAF has been assisting with the response efforts to the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confir ...
. This has seen the service provide repatriation flights and aeromedical evacuations of COVID-19 patients, drivers and call-handlers to support ambulance services and medics to assist with the staffing of hospitals, testing units and vaccination centres. Under
Operation Broadshare
Operation Broadshare is the code name for the British military operation to address the COVID-19 pandemic overseas, primarily in the British Overseas Territories (BOTs) and British overseas military bases. The operation runs in parallel to a ...
, the RAF has also been involved with COVID-19 relief operations overseas, repatriating stranded nationals and delivering medical supplies and vaccines to British Overseas Territories and military installations.
Structure
Senior management
![Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston CBE](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Air_Chief_Marshal_Mike_Wigston_CBE.jpg)
The professional head and highest-ranking officer of the Royal Air Force is the
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). He reports to the
Chief of the Defence Staff, who is the professional head of the
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...
. The incumbent Chief of the Air Staff is
Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admir ...
Sir Mike Wigston, who was appointed in July 2019.
The management of the RAF is the responsibility of the
Air Force Board
The Air Force Board of the Defence Council is responsible for the management of the Royal Air Force.
Prior to the creation of the current UK Ministry of Defence in 1964, the administration of the RAF and its personnel was undertaken by the A ...
, a sub-committee of the
Defence Council which is part of the
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
and body legally responsible for the defence of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and its
overseas territories
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...
. The Chief of the Air Staff chairs the Air Force Board Standing Committee (AFBSC) which decides on the policy and actions required for the RAF to meet the requirements of the Defence Council and
His Majesty's Government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_es ...
.
The
Chief of the Air Staff is supported by several other senior commanders; the main positions are shown in the following table.
Air Command
Administrative and operational command of the RAF is delegated by the Air Force Board to
Headquarters Air Command, based at
RAF High Wycombe
RAF High Wycombe is a Royal Air Force station, situated in the village of Walters Ash, near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England. It houses Headquarters Air Command, and was originally designed to house RAF Bomber Command in the late 1930s ...
in
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
. Air Command was formed on 1 April 2007 by combining
RAF Strike Command
The Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007 when it merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air C ...
and
RAF Personnel and Training Command
Personnel and Training Command (PTC) was one of two commands of the Royal Air Force (the other being Strike Command) that were merged to form Air Command on 1 April 2007.
History
Formation
PTC was formed in 1994 bringing together the r ...
, resulting in a single command covering the whole RAF, led by the Chief of the Air Staff. Through its subordinate
groups
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...
, Air Command oversees the whole spectrum of RAF aircraft and operations.
United Kingdom Space Command
United Kingdom Space Command (UKSC) is a joint command of the British Armed Forces organised under the Royal Air Force, and staffed by personnel from the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force and the British Civil Service. The UKSC has three ...
(UKSC), established 1 April 2021 under the command of Air Vice-Marshal
Paul Godfrey
Paul Victor Godfrey, CM, OOnt (born January 1939) is a businessman and former Canadian politician. During his career, Godfrey was a North York alderman, Chairman of Metro Toronto, President of the ''Toronto Sun'' and head of the Toronto Blue ...
is a
joint
A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw ...
command, but sits "under the Royal Air Force."
Godfrey is of equal rank to the commanders of 1, 2, 11, and 22 Groups. The new command has "responsibility for not just operations, but also generating, training and growing the force, and also owning the money and putting all the programmatic rigour into delivering new ..capabilities."
UKSC headquarters is at
RAF High Wycombe
RAF High Wycombe is a Royal Air Force station, situated in the village of Walters Ash, near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England. It houses Headquarters Air Command, and was originally designed to house RAF Bomber Command in the late 1930s ...
co-located with Air Command.
Groups
Groups
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...
are the subdivisions of operational commands and are responsible for certain types of capabilities or for operations in limited geographical areas. There are five groups subordinate to Air Command, of which four are functional and one is geographically focused:
No. 1 Group (Air Combat)
No. 1 Group is responsible for combat aircraft (comprising the
Lightning Force
''Lightning Force'' is an American action television series starring Matthew Walker, Wings Hauser and Guylaine St-Onge that aired in syndication. The series premiered in 1991 and went off in 1992, in all 22 episodes were produced.
Synopsis
Lig ...
and
Typhoon Force) and the RAF's
(ISTAR) capabilities. It oversees stations at
RAF Coningsby
Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and hom ...
and
RAF Waddington
Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England.
The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target A ...
in Lincolnshire,
RAF Lossiemouth
Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or more commonly RAF Lossiemouth is a military airfield located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland.
Lossiemouth is one of the largest and busiest fast-jet stations in the ...
in Moray and
RAF Marham
RAF Marham is a Royal Air Force station and military airbase near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia.
It is home to No. 138 Expeditionary Air Wing (138 EAW) and, as such, is one of the RAF's "Main Operating ...
in Norfolk. The group's
Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4
The Eurofighter Typhoon is in service with seven nations: United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Austria. It has been ordered by Kuwait and Qatar, with orders for all eight customers still pending as of September 2017. Th ...
aircraft protect UK and NATO airspace by providing a continuous
Quick Reaction Alert
Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) is state of readiness and '' modus operandi'' of air defence maintained at all hours of the day by NATO air forces. The United States usually refers to Quick Reaction Alert as 'Airspace Control Alert'.
Some non-NATO c ...
capability.
No. 2 Group (Air Combat Support)
No. 2 Group
No. 2 Group is a Group (military aviation unit)#United Kingdom, group of the Royal Air Force which was first activated in 1918, served from 1918–20, from 1936 through the Second World War to 1947, from 1948 to 1958, from 1993 to 1996, was react ...
controls the Air Mobility Force which provides
strategic and tactical airlift,
air-to-air refuelling
Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft ...
and Command Support Air Transport. The group is also responsible for the RAF's
Force Protection
Force protection (FP) refers to the concept of protecting military personnel, family members, civilians, facilities, equipment and operations from threats or hazards in order to preserve operational effectiveness and contribute to mission succes ...
assets comprising the
RAF Regiment
The Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regiment) is part of the Royal Air Force and functions as a specialist corps. Founded by royal warrant in 1942, the Corps carries out soldiering tasks relating to the delivery of air power. Examples of such ta ...
and
RAF Police
The Royal Air Force Police (RAFP) is the service police branch of the Royal Air Force, headed by the provost marshal of the Royal Air Force. Its headquarters are at RAF Honington and it deploys throughout the world to support RAF and UK defence ...
. It oversees stations at
RAF Benson
Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located at Benson, near Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line station and home to the RAF's fleet of Westland Puma HC2 support helicopters, use ...
and
RAF Brize Norton
Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the village of Brize Norton, and the towns of Carterton and Witney.
The station ...
in Oxfordshire,
RAF Henlow
RAF Henlow is a Royal Air Force station in Bedfordshire, England, equidistant from Bedford, Luton and Stevenage. It houses the RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine, the Joint Arms Control Implementation Group (JACIG), elements of Defence Equipment an ...
in Bedfordshire,
RAF Honington
Royal Air Force Honington or more simply RAF Honington is a Royal Air Force station located south of Thetford near Ixworth in Suffolk, England. Although used as a bomber station during the Second World War, RAF Honington is now the RAF Regim ...
in Suffolk,
RAF Odiham
RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force station situated a little to the south of the village of Odiham in Hampshire, England. It is the home of the Royal Air Force's heavy lift helicopter, the Chinook, and of the King’s Helicopter Flight (TKHF) . I ...
in Hampshire and
RAF Northolt
("Ready to carry or to fight")
, pushpin_map = Greater London
, pushpin_label = RAF Northolt
, pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London
, coordinates =
, type = Royal Air Force station
, code =
, site_area =
, height =
, owners ...
in West London.
No. 11 Group (Multi-domain operations)
No. 11 Group is responsible for integrating operations across the
air
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...
,
cyber
Cyber may refer to:
Computing and the Internet
* ''Cyber-'', from cybernetics, a transdisciplinary approach for exploring regulatory and purposive systems
Crime and security
* Cyber crime, crime that involves computers and networks
** Conventi ...
and
space
Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...
domains whilst responding to new and evolving threats. It includes the RAF's Battlespace Management Force which controls the UK Air Surveillance and Control System (ASACS). The group oversees stations at
RAF Boulmer
Royal Air Force Boulmer or RAF Boulmer is a Royal Air Force station near Alnwick in Northumberland, England, and is home to Aerospace Surveillance and Control System (ASACS) Force Command, Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) Boulmer.
The Scho ...
in Northumberland,
RAF Fylingdales
Royal Air Force Fylingdales or more simply RAF Fylingdales is a Royal Air Force station on Snod Hill in the North York Moors, England. Its motto is "Vigilamus" (translates to "We are watching"). It is a radar base and is also part of the Ball ...
in North Yorkshire,
RAF Scampton
Royal Air Force Scampton or RAF Scampton is a Royal Air Force station located adjacent to the A15 road near to the village of Scampton, Lincolnshire, and north-west of the city of Lincoln, England.
RAF Scampton stands on the site of a First ...
in Lincolnshire and
RAF Spadeadam
RAF Spadeadam (pronounced "Spade Adam") is a Royal Air Force station in Cumbria, England, close to the border with Northumberland. It is the home of the 9,000 acre (36 km2) Electronic Warfare Tactics Range, making it the largest (by area) R ...
in Cumbria.
No. 22 Group (Training)
No. 22 Group
No. 22 Group is one of five groups currently active in the Royal Air Force, falling under the responsibility of Deputy Commander-in-Chief (Personnel) in Air Command. Its previous title up until 2018 was No. 22 (Training) Group. It is responsible ...
is responsible for the supply of qualified and skilled personnel to the RAF and provides flying and non-flying training to all three British armed services. It is the end-user of the
UK Military Flying Training System
The UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) takes UK armed forces aircrew from initial training through elementary, basic, and advanced flying training phases, preparing them for their arrival at their designated operational aircraft units. I ...
which is provided by civilian contractor
Ascent Flight Training
Ascent Flight Training is a flight training company set up as a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Babcock International to deliver flying training to pilots and aircrew from the three services of the UK Armed Forces as part of a Private F ...
. The group oversees stations at
RAF College Cranwell
The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and ...
in Lincolnshire,
RAF Cosford
Royal Air Force Cosford or RAF Cosford (formerly DCAE Cosford) is a Royal Air Force station in Cosford, Shropshire, Cosford, Shropshire, just to the northwest of Wolverhampton and next to Albrighton, Bridgnorth, Albrighton.
History
Origins
RA ...
and
RAF Shawbury
Royal Air Force Shawbury, otherwise known as RAF Shawbury, is a Royal Air Force station near the village of Shawbury in Shropshire in the West Midlands of England.
History The First World War
The station at Shawbury was first used for military ...
in Shropshire,
RAF Halton
Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It is located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World W ...
in Buckinghamshire,
MOD St Athan
Ministry of Defence St Athan or MOD St Athan (Welsh: Maes awyr Sain Tathan), formerly known as RAF St Athan, is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, southern Wales. It was the designated site fo ...
in the Vale of Glamorgan,
RAF St Mawgan
Royal Air Force St Mawgan or more simply RAF St Mawgan is a Royal Air Force station near St Mawgan and Newquay in Cornwall, England. In 2008 the runway part of the site was handed over to Newquay Airport. The remainder of the station continues to ...
in Cornwall and
RAF Valley
Royal Air Force Valley or more simply RAF Valley ( cy, Llu Awyr Brenhinol Y Fali) is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides both basic and advanced fast-jet training ...
on Angelsey. The
No. 22 Group
No. 22 Group is one of five groups currently active in the Royal Air Force, falling under the responsibility of Deputy Commander-in-Chief (Personnel) in Air Command. Its previous title up until 2018 was No. 22 (Training) Group. It is responsible ...
also manages the
Royal Air Force Air Cadets
The Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAFAC) is a volunteer-military youth organisation sponsored by the Royal Air Force that manages both the Air Training Corps and RAF Sections of the Combined Cadet Force. The organisation is headed by a former ser ...
.
No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group
No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group (No. 83 EAG) is the RAF's operational headquarters in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, based at
Al Udeid Air Base
Al Udeid Air Base ( ar, قاعدة العديد الجوية) is one of two military bases southwest of Doha, Qatar, also known as Abu Nakhlah Airport ().
It houses the Qatar Emiri Air Force, United States Air Force, Royal Air Force, and othe ...
in
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
. It is responsible for UK air operations in the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
and
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
(
Operation Kipion
Operation Kipion is a long-standing maritime presence by the United Kingdom in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean to promote enduring peace and stability in the region, and ensure the safe flow of oil and trade. A permanent presence of 4 minesw ...
), the
(
Operation Shader
Operation Shader is the operational code name given to the contribution of the United Kingdom in the ongoing military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The operation involves the British Army providing ground s ...
) and wider UK defence objectives in the Middle East. Operations are delivered through four
Expeditionary Air Wing
On 1 April 2006 Expeditionary Air Wings (EAWs) were formed at nine of the RAF's Main Operating Bases. Each EAW has its own identity and is led by the Station Commander, supported by his Station management team. The deployable elements of the st ...
s (No. 901 EAW, No. 902 EAW,
No. 903 EAW and No. 904 EAW).
Stations
An RAF station is ordinarily subordinate to a group and is commanded by a
group captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...
. Each station typically hosts several flying and non-flying
squadrons or
units
Unit may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''
* Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation
Music
* ''Unit'' (alb ...
which are supported by administrative and support wings.
United Kingdom
Front-line flying operations are focussed at eight stations:
*
RAF Coningsby
Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and hom ...
,
RAF Marham
RAF Marham is a Royal Air Force station and military airbase near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia.
It is home to No. 138 Expeditionary Air Wing (138 EAW) and, as such, is one of the RAF's "Main Operating ...
and
RAF Lossiemouth
Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or more commonly RAF Lossiemouth is a military airfield located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland.
Lossiemouth is one of the largest and busiest fast-jet stations in the ...
(Air Combat)
*
RAF Waddington
Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England.
The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target A ...
(Intelligence, Surveillance Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR))
*
RAF Brize Norton
Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the village of Brize Norton, and the towns of Carterton and Witney.
The station ...
and
RAF Northolt
("Ready to carry or to fight")
, pushpin_map = Greater London
, pushpin_label = RAF Northolt
, pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London
, coordinates =
, type = Royal Air Force station
, code =
, site_area =
, height =
, owners ...
(Air Transport)
*
RAF Benson
Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located at Benson, near Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line station and home to the RAF's fleet of Westland Puma HC2 support helicopters, use ...
and
RAF Odiham
RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force station situated a little to the south of the village of Odiham in Hampshire, England. It is the home of the Royal Air Force's heavy lift helicopter, the Chinook, and of the King’s Helicopter Flight (TKHF) . I ...
(Support Helicopter Force operating under
Joint Helicopter Command
Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) is a tri-service organisation uniting battlefield military helicopters of the British Armed Forces for command and coordination purposes.
History Background
Over the years, the grouping of all battlefield suppor ...
)
Flying training takes places at
RAF Barkston Heath
Royal Air Force Barkston Heath or RAF Barkston Heath is a Royal Air Force station near Grantham, Lincolnshire, England.
RAF Barkston Heath has the Naval Element of No. 3 Flying Training School RAF (No. 3 FTS) which, for a period between approx ...
,
RAF College Cranwell
The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and ...
,
RAF Shawbury
Royal Air Force Shawbury, otherwise known as RAF Shawbury, is a Royal Air Force station near the village of Shawbury in Shropshire in the West Midlands of England.
History The First World War
The station at Shawbury was first used for military ...
and
RAF Valley
Royal Air Force Valley or more simply RAF Valley ( cy, Llu Awyr Brenhinol Y Fali) is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides both basic and advanced fast-jet training ...
, each forming part of the
UK Military Flying Training System
The UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) takes UK armed forces aircrew from initial training through elementary, basic, and advanced flying training phases, preparing them for their arrival at their designated operational aircraft units. I ...
which is dedicated to training aircrew for all three UK armed services. Specialist ground crew training is focused at
RAF Cosford
Royal Air Force Cosford or RAF Cosford (formerly DCAE Cosford) is a Royal Air Force station in Cosford, Shropshire, Cosford, Shropshire, just to the northwest of Wolverhampton and next to Albrighton, Bridgnorth, Albrighton.
History
Origins
RA ...
,
RAF St Mawgan
Royal Air Force St Mawgan or more simply RAF St Mawgan is a Royal Air Force station near St Mawgan and Newquay in Cornwall, England. In 2008 the runway part of the site was handed over to Newquay Airport. The remainder of the station continues to ...
and
MOD St. Athan.
Operations are supported by numerous other flying and non-flying stations, with activity focussed at
RAF Honington
Royal Air Force Honington or more simply RAF Honington is a Royal Air Force station located south of Thetford near Ixworth in Suffolk, England. Although used as a bomber station during the Second World War, RAF Honington is now the RAF Regim ...
which coordinates
Force Protection
Force protection (FP) refers to the concept of protecting military personnel, family members, civilians, facilities, equipment and operations from threats or hazards in order to preserve operational effectiveness and contribute to mission succes ...
and
RAF Leeming
Royal Air Force Leeming or RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 1991, it ...
&
RAF Wittering
Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford, Lincolnshire, Sta ...
which have a support enabler role.
A
Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) at
RAF Boulmer
Royal Air Force Boulmer or RAF Boulmer is a Royal Air Force station near Alnwick in Northumberland, England, and is home to Aerospace Surveillance and Control System (ASACS) Force Command, Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) Boulmer.
The Scho ...
is tasked with compiling a
Recognised Air Picture of UK air space and providing tactical control of the
Quick Reaction Alert Force. In order to achieve this Boulmer is supported by a network of eight
Remote Radar Heads (RRHs) spread the length of the UK.
Overseas
The UK operates permanent military airfields (known as Permanent Joint Operating Bases) in four
British Overseas Territories
The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...
. These bases contribute to the physical defence and maintenance of sovereignty of the British Overseas Territories and enable the UK to conduct
expeditionary military operations. Although command and oversight of the bases is provided by
Strategic Command, the airfield elements are known as RAF stations.
*
RAF Akrotiri
RAF Akrotiri ( el, Βασιλική Πολεμική Αεροπορία Ακρωτηρίου) is a large Royal Air Force base on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which compr ...
(
Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Akrotiri and Dhekelia, officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA),, ''Periochés Kyríarchon Váseon Akrotiríou ke Dekélias''; tr, Ağrotur ve Dikelya İngiliz Egemen Üs Bölgeleri is a British Overseas Territory o ...
,
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
)
*
RAF Ascension Island
RAF Ascension Island , also known as Wideawake Airfield or Ascension Island Auxiliary Field, is a military airfield and facility located on Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean. The airfield is jointly operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and ...
(
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cuhna)
*
RAF Mount Pleasant
RAF Mount Pleasant (also known as Mount Pleasant Airport, Mount Pleasant Complex or MPA) is a Royal Air Force station in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The airfield goes by the motto of "Defend the right" (while the m ...
(
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
)
*
RAF Gibraltar
RAF Gibraltar (also formerly known as North Front) is a Royal Air Force station on Gibraltar. No military aircraft are currently stationed there, but RAF, Commonwealth and aircraft of other NATO nations will periodically arrive for transient stop ...
(
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
)
Three RAF squadrons are based overseas.
No. 84 Squadron is located at RAF Akrotiri, operating the
Griffin HAR.2 for search and rescue.
No. 17 Test and Evaluation Squadron and
No. 39 Squadron are located within the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to support close cooperation with the
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
in the development of the
F-35B Lightning (
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...
, California) and the operation of the
MQ-9A Reaper (
Creech Air Force Base
Creech Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) command and control facility in Clark County, Nevada used "to engage in daily Overseas Contingency Operations …of remotely piloted aircraft systems which fly missions across the globe." ...
, Nevada) respectively.
Squadrons
A flying squadron is an aircraft unit which carries out the primary tasks of the RAF. RAF squadrons are somewhat analogous to the regiments of the British Army in that they have histories and traditions going back to their formation, regardless of where they are based or which aircraft they are operating. They can be awarded
standards Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object th ...
and
battle honours
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible.
In European military t ...
for meritorious service. Most flying squadrons are commanded by a
wing commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...
and, for a fast-jet squadron, have an establishment of around twelve aircraft.
Flights
![Mount Pleasant Airport - Donald Morrison](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Mount_Pleasant_Airport_-_Donald_Morrison.jpg)
Independent flights are so designated because they are explicitly smaller in size than a squadron. Many independent flights are, or have been, front-line flying units. For example,
No. 1435 Flight carries out air defence duties for the
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
, with four Eurofighter Typhoon fighters based at
RAF Mount Pleasant
RAF Mount Pleasant (also known as Mount Pleasant Airport, Mount Pleasant Complex or MPA) is a Royal Air Force station in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The airfield goes by the motto of "Defend the right" (while the m ...
.
Support wings and units
Support capabilities are provided by several specialist wings and other units.
*
Air Warfare Centre
The Air and Space Warfare Centre (ASWC) is a Royal Air Force research and testing organisation based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire. It has a training branch nearby as a lodger unit of RAF Cranwell and other branches elsewhere, including ...
(
RAF Waddington
Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England.
The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target A ...
)
*
Airborne Delivery Wing
The Airborne Delivery Wing is a Royal Air Force training unit that provides parachute training to all three British Armed Forces. It is based at RAF Brize Norton. in Oxfordshire.
It was formed at RAF Ringway, now Manchester Airport, on 21 June ...
(
RAF Brize Norton
Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the village of Brize Norton, and the towns of Carterton and Witney.
The station ...
)
*
Mobile Meteorological Unit
The Mobile Meteorological Unit (MMU) provides meteorological and environmental support to deployed elements of the UK’s joint forces, in order to enhance the effectiveness of national or combined contingency operations. Principally but not exc ...
(
RAF Scampton
Royal Air Force Scampton or RAF Scampton is a Royal Air Force station located adjacent to the A15 road near to the village of Scampton, Lincolnshire, and north-west of the city of Lincoln, England.
RAF Scampton stands on the site of a First ...
)
*
Tactical Communications Wing (
RAF Leeming
Royal Air Force Leeming or RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 1991, it ...
)
* Tactical Medical Wing (RAF Brize Norton)
*
Tactical Supply Wing
The Tactical Supply Wing (TSW) is a helicopter support unit of the Royal Air Force, based at MOD Stafford (also known as Beacon Barracks) in Staffordshire. The wing specialises in the refuelling of helicopters in the field.
History
The Tact ...
(
MOD Stafford
Ministry of Defence Stafford otherwise known as MOD Stafford or Beacon Barracks is a Ministry of Defence site in Stafford, in England.
History
Beacon Barracks was renamed from RAF Stafford in 2006, after the Royal Air Force moved out. In 201 ...
)
*
No. 1 Air Control Centre (RAF Scampton)
* No. 1 Air Mobility Wing (RAF Brize Norton)
* No. 1 Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing (RAF Waddington)
*
No. 42 (Expeditionary Support) Wing (
RAF Wittering
Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford, Lincolnshire, Sta ...
)
*
No. 85 (Expeditionary Logistics) Wing (RAF Wittering)
*
No. 90 Signals Unit (RAF Leeming)
Expeditionary Air Wings
Command, control, and support for overseas operations is typically provided through
Expeditionary Air Wing
On 1 April 2006 Expeditionary Air Wings (EAWs) were formed at nine of the RAF's Main Operating Bases. Each EAW has its own identity and is led by the Station Commander, supported by his Station management team. The deployable elements of the st ...
s (EAWs). Each wing is brought together as and when required and comprises the deployable elements of its home station as well as other support elements from throughout the RAF.
* No. 34 Expeditionary Air Wing (
RAF Waddington
Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England.
The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target A ...
) –
ISTAR
ISTAR stands for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing t ...
operations
* No. 38 Expeditionary Air Wing (
RAF Brize Norton
Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the village of Brize Norton, and the towns of Carterton and Witney.
The station ...
) – air transport operations
* No. 121 Expeditionary Air Wing (
RAF Coningsby
Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and hom ...
) – multi-role operations
* No. 135 Expeditionary Air Wing (
RAF Leeming
Royal Air Force Leeming or RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 1991, it ...
) – fighter operations
* No. 138 Expeditionary Air Wing (
RAF Marham
RAF Marham is a Royal Air Force station and military airbase near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia.
It is home to No. 138 Expeditionary Air Wing (138 EAW) and, as such, is one of the RAF's "Main Operating ...
) – fighter operations
* No. 140 Expeditionary Air Wing (
RAF Lossiemouth
Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or more commonly RAF Lossiemouth is a military airfield located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland.
Lossiemouth is one of the largest and busiest fast-jet stations in the ...
) – fighter operations
Several
Expeditionary Air Wing
On 1 April 2006 Expeditionary Air Wings (EAWs) were formed at nine of the RAF's Main Operating Bases. Each EAW has its own identity and is led by the Station Commander, supported by his Station management team. The deployable elements of the st ...
s are based overseas:
* No. 901 Expeditionary Air Wing (
Al Udeid Air Base
Al Udeid Air Base ( ar, قاعدة العديد الجوية) is one of two military bases southwest of Doha, Qatar, also known as Abu Nakhlah Airport ().
It houses the Qatar Emiri Air Force, United States Air Force, Royal Air Force, and othe ...
,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
) – Communication and information systems support
* No. 902 Expeditionary Air Wing (Middle East) – Helicopter support
*
No. 903 Expeditionary Air Wing
No. 903 Expeditionary Air Wing is an Expeditionary Air Wing of the Royal Air Force. It is currently based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus and is tasked with conducting operations against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL in Iraq & Syria
It w ...
(
RAF Akrotiri
RAF Akrotiri ( el, Βασιλική Πολεμική Αεροπορία Ακρωτηρίου) is a large Royal Air Force base on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which compr ...
, Cyprus) – Supports
Operation Shader
Operation Shader is the operational code name given to the contribution of the United Kingdom in the ongoing military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The operation involves the British Army providing ground s ...
*No. 905 Expeditionary Air Wing (
RAF Mount Pleasant
RAF Mount Pleasant (also known as Mount Pleasant Airport, Mount Pleasant Complex or MPA) is a Royal Air Force station in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The airfield goes by the motto of "Defend the right" (while the m ...
,
Falklands Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about fro ...
) – Protection of
British Overseas Territories
The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...
in the South Atlantic
* No. 906 Expeditionary Air Wing (Middle East) – Air transport support
Training schools
Flying training
The RAF Schools consist of the squadrons and support apparatus that train new aircrew to join front-line squadrons. The schools separate individual streams, but group together units with similar responsibility or that operate the same aircraft type. Some schools operate with only one squadron, and have an overall training throughput which is relatively small; some, like
No. 3 Flying Training School
No. 3 Flying Training School is a Royal Air Force military training school, which manages elementary flying training for the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force and also for the training of all non-pilot aircrew for the RAF and is home to the Central ...
, have responsibility for all Elementary Flying Training (EFT) in the RAF, and all RAF aircrew will pass through its squadrons when they start their flying careers.
No. 2 Flying Training School
No.2 Flying Training School is a Flying Training School (FTS) of the Royal Air Force, Royal Air Force (RAF). It is part of No. 22 Group RAF, No. 22 (Training) Group that delivers glider flying training to the Royal Air Force Air Cadets. Its head ...
and
No. 6 Flying Training School do not have a front-line training responsibility – their job is to group the
University Air Squadron
University Air Squadrons are training units under the command of No. 6 Flying Training School RAF of the Royal Air Force and their main role is to attract students into careers as RAF officers. Primarily its goal is achieved through offering b ...
s and the
Volunteer Gliding Squadron
Volunteer Gliding Squadrons (VGSs) are Royal Air Force (UK) Flying Training units, operating military Viking T1 conventional gliders to train cadets from the Royal Air Force Air Cadets.
Since 2014, the squadrons operate under No. 2 Flying Trai ...
s together. The commanding officer of No. 2 FTS holds the only full-time flying appointment for a Group Captain in the RAF, and is a reservist.
*
Central Flying School
The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school. The school was based at R ...
(RAF Cranwell) – standardises flying training across the air force and ensures standards and safety are maintained.
*
No. 1 Flying Training School
The No. 1 Flying Training School (1 FTS) is the oldest military pilot training school in the world, currently used to deliver rotary training to aircrew of the British armed forces.
History
First formation (1919 – 1928)
On 23 December 1919 ...
(RAF Shawbury) – basic and advanced helicopter training.
*
No. 2 Flying Training School
No.2 Flying Training School is a Flying Training School (FTS) of the Royal Air Force, Royal Air Force (RAF). It is part of No. 22 Group RAF, No. 22 (Training) Group that delivers glider flying training to the Royal Air Force Air Cadets. Its head ...
(
RAF Syerston
Royal Air Force Station Syerston, commonly known as merely RAF Syerston , is a Royal Air Force station in the parish of Flintham, near Newark, Nottinghamshire. Opened in 1940, it was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a bomber base during the ...
) – gliding training provided by
Volunteer Gliding Squadron
Volunteer Gliding Squadrons (VGSs) are Royal Air Force (UK) Flying Training units, operating military Viking T1 conventional gliders to train cadets from the Royal Air Force Air Cadets.
Since 2014, the squadrons operate under No. 2 Flying Trai ...
s based at airfields throughout the UK.
*
No. 3 Flying Training School
No. 3 Flying Training School is a Royal Air Force military training school, which manages elementary flying training for the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force and also for the training of all non-pilot aircrew for the RAF and is home to the Central ...
(RAF Cranwell) – Elementary Flying Training (EFT) for RAF, Fleet Air Arm and Army Air Corps crews, also operates from
RAF Wittering
Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford, Lincolnshire, Sta ...
and
RAF Barkston Heath
Royal Air Force Barkston Heath or RAF Barkston Heath is a Royal Air Force station near Grantham, Lincolnshire, England.
RAF Barkston Heath has the Naval Element of No. 3 Flying Training School RAF (No. 3 FTS) which, for a period between approx ...
.
*
No. 4 Flying Training School (
RAF Valley
Royal Air Force Valley or more simply RAF Valley ( cy, Llu Awyr Brenhinol Y Fali) is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides both basic and advanced fast-jet training ...
) – Basic Fast Jet Training (BFJT) and Advanced Fast Jet Training (AFJT).
*
No. 6 Flying Training School (RAF Cranwell) – Initial training provided by
University Air Squadron
University Air Squadrons are training units under the command of No. 6 Flying Training School RAF of the Royal Air Force and their main role is to attract students into careers as RAF officers. Primarily its goal is achieved through offering b ...
s and
Air Experience Flight
An Air Experience Flight (AEF) is a training unit of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch) whose main purpose is to give introductory flying experience to cadets from the Air Training Corps and the Combined Cadet Force. As of 20 ...
s based at airfields throughout the UK.
Non-flying training
![Line up of Jaguar GR](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Line_up_of_Jaguar_GR.3As_at_Cosford.jpg)
The British military operate a number of joint training organisations, with Air Command leading the provision of technical training through the Defence College of Technical Training (DCTT). It provides training in aeronautical engineering, electro and mechanical engineering, and communication and information systems.
*
No. 1 School of Technical Training is based at RAF Cosford and provides RAF personnel with mechanical, avionics, weapons and survival equipment training. Also based at Cosford is the Aerosystems Engineer and Management Training School. Both are part of the Defence School of Aeronautical Engineering.
* No. 4 School of Technical Training is part of the Defence School of Electronic and Mechanical Engineering (DSEME) and is based at MOD St Athan. It provides training to non-aircraft ground engineering technicians.
* No. 1 Radio School and the Aerial Erectors School are based at Cosford and RAF Digby respectively and are part of the
Defence School of Communications and Information Systems
The Defence School of Communications and Information Systems (DSCIS) is a Defence Training Establishment of the British Ministry of Defence. It was formed on 1 April 2004 and comprises a headquarters and The Royal Signals School at Blandford Cam ...
.
Specialist training and education
The Royal Air Force operates several units and centres for the provision of non-generic training and education. These include the Royal Air Force Leadership Centre and the
RAF Centre for Air Power Studies, both based at RAF Cranwell, and the
Air Warfare Centre
The Air and Space Warfare Centre (ASWC) is a Royal Air Force research and testing organisation based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire. It has a training branch nearby as a lodger unit of RAF Cranwell and other branches elsewhere, including ...
, based at RAF Waddington and RAF Cranwell. Non-commissioned officer training and developmental courses occur at
RAF Halton
Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It is located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World W ...
and officer courses occur at the
Joint Services Command and Staff College
Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC) is a British military academic establishment providing training and education to experienced officers of the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force, Ministry of Defence Civil Service, and serving offic ...
at Shrivenham.
Personnel
![RAF Regiment (8658943968) (2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/RAF_Regiment_%288658943968%29_%282%29.jpg)
At its height in 1944 during the Second World War, more than 1,100,000 personnel were serving in the RAF. The longest-lived founding member of the RAF was
Henry Allingham
Henry William Allingham (6 June 1896 – 18 July 2009) was an English supercentenarian. He is the longest-lived man ever recorded from the United Kingdom, a First World War veteran, and, for one month, the verified oldest living man in the w ...
, who died on 18 July 2009 aged 113.
As of 1 January 2015, the RAF numbered some 34,200 Regular and 1,940
Royal Auxiliary Air Force
The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rein ...
personnel, giving a combined component strength of 36,140 personnel. In addition to the active elements of the RAF, (Regular and Royal Auxiliary Air Force), all ex-Regular personnel remain liable to be recalled for duty in
a time of need, this is known as the
Regular Reserve. In 2007, there were 33,980 RAF Regular Reserves, of which 7,950 served under a fixed-term reserve contract. Publications since April 2013 no-longer report the entire strength of the Regular Reserve, instead they only give a figure for Regular Reserves who serve under a fixed-term reserve contract. They had a strength of 7,120 personnel in 2014.
[gov.uk MoD – reserves and cadet strengths](_blank)
, table 4-page 13. April 2014.
Figures provided by the
International Institute for Strategic Studies
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England.
The 2017 Global Go To Think T ...
from 2012 showed that RAF pilots achieve a relatively high number of flying hours per year when compared with other major
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
allies such as France and Germany. RAF pilots achieve 210 to 290 flying hours per year. French and
German Air Force
The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War a ...
pilots achieved 180 and 150 flying hours across their fleets respectively.
Officers
![Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command%2C_1942-1945._CH20901.jpg)
Officers hold a
commission from the
Sovereign
''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'.
The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...
, which provides the legal authority for them to issue orders to subordinates. The commission of a regular officer is granted after successfully completing the 24-week-long Initial Officer Training course at the
RAF College, Cranwell, Lincolnshire.
To emphasise the merger of both military and naval aviation when the RAF was formed, many of the titles of officers were deliberately chosen to be of a naval character, such as
flight lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...
,
wing commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...
,
group captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...
, and
air commodore.
Other ranks
Other ranks attend the Recruit Training Squadron at
RAF Halton
Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It is located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World W ...
for basic training. The titles and insignia of other ranks in the RAF were based on that of the Army, with some alterations in terminology. Over the years, this structure has seen significant changes: for example, there was once a separate system for those in technical trades, and the ranks of
chief technician
Chief technician (Chf Tech or formerly C/T) is a senior non-commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force which is only held by aviators in technical trades and by musicians. It is between sergeant and flight sergeant and, like the latter has a N ...
and
junior technician
Junior technician (Jnr Tech or formerly J/T) is a junior non-commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, the Pakistan Air Force and the Royal Danish Air Force. In the RAF it ranks equivalent to senior aircraftman technician (SAC (T)), equivalent ...
continue to be held only by personnel in technical trades. RAF other ranks fall into four categories: Warrant Officers, Senior Non-Commissioned Officers, Junior Non-Commissioned Officers and Airmen. All Warrant Officers in the RAF are equal in terms of rank, but the most senior Non-Commissioned appointment is known as the
Warrant Officer of the Royal Air Force
The Warrant Officer of the Royal Air Force (WORAF) (previously known as the Chief of the Air Staff’s Warrant Officer) is the senior RAF appointment for a warrant officer (WO), and therefore the most senior non-commissioned appointment in the R ...
.
Ranks
Aircraft
Combat air
Typhoon
![Eurofighter Typhoon FIA 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Eurofighter_Typhoon_FIA_2012.jpg)
The
Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4
The Eurofighter Typhoon is in service with seven nations: United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Austria. It has been ordered by Kuwait and Qatar, with orders for all eight customers still pending as of September 2017. Th ...
is the RAF's primary multi-role air defence and ground attack fighter aircraft,
following the retirement of the
Panavia Tornado F3
The Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant (ADV) was a long-range, twin-engine interceptor version of the swing-wing Panavia Tornado. The aircraft's first flight was on 27 October 1979, and it entered service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 198 ...
in late March 2011.
With the completion of 'Project Centurion' upgrades, the Typhoon FGR4 took over ground attack duties from the
Panavia Tornado GR4, which was retired on 1 April 2019. The Typhoon is tasked to defend UK airspace, while also frequently deploying in support of NATO air defence missions in the Baltic (Operation Azotize), Black Sea (Operation Biloxi), and Iceland.
The RAF has seven front-line Typhoon squadrons, plus an
Operational Conversion Unit (OCU), and
Operational Evaluation Unit
An Operational Evaluation Unit is a type of "reserve" squadron of the Royal Air Force. OEU squadrons are tasked with evaluating an aircraft's weapons, systems and performance. This is to either assist in bringing the aircraft to an operational ca ...
(OEU);
No. 3 (Fighter) Squadron,
No. XI (Fighter) Squadron,
No. 12 Squadron (joint RAF /
Qatar Air Force
The Qatar Emiri Air Force ( ar, القوات الجوية الأميرية القطرية , Al-Quwwat Al-Jawiyah Al-Amiriyah Al-Qatariyah) (QEAF) is the air arm of the armed forces of the state of Qatar. It was established in 1974 as a small aer ...
),
No. 29 Squadron (OCU), and
No. 41 Test and Evaluation Squadron (OEU) based at
RAF Coningsby
Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and hom ...
; with
No. 1 (F) Squadron,
No. II (Army Cooperation) Squadron,
No. 6 Squadron, and
No. IX (Bomber) Squadron based at
RAF Lossiemouth
Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or more commonly RAF Lossiemouth is a military airfield located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland.
Lossiemouth is one of the largest and busiest fast-jet stations in the ...
.
Additionally, four Typhoons (''Faith'', ''Hope'', ''Charity'', and ''Desperation'') are based at
RAF Mount Pleasant
RAF Mount Pleasant (also known as Mount Pleasant Airport, Mount Pleasant Complex or MPA) is a Royal Air Force station in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The airfield goes by the motto of "Defend the right" (while the m ...
on the
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
, forming
No. 1435 Flight, where they provide air defence. It was originally suggested that an eighth front-line Typhoon squadron could be formed, however, the
2021 Defence Command Paper announced the retirement of 24 Tranche 1 Typhoons by 2025, and a commitment to seven front-line squadrons.
The Typhoon made its combat debut in support of
Operation Ellamy
Operation Ellamy was the codename for the United Kingdom participation in the 2011 military intervention in Libya. The operation was part of an international coalition aimed at enforcing a Libyan no-fly zone in accordance with the United Nation ...
in 2011, and has been supporting
Operation Shader
Operation Shader is the operational code name given to the contribution of the United Kingdom in the ongoing military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The operation involves the British Army providing ground s ...
since December 2015.
Lightning
![RAF_F-35B](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/RAF_F-35B.jpg)
The
Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide elect ...
is a single-seat, single-engine, all-weather
stealth multirole combat aircraft
A multirole combat aircraft (MRCA) is a combat aircraft intended to perform different roles in combat. These roles can include air to air combat, air support,
aerial bombing, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and suppression of air defens ...
. It is intended to perform both
air superiority
Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of c ...
and
strike
Strike may refer to:
People
* Strike (surname)
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
*Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
missions while also providing
electronic warfare
Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...
and
intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
ISTAR stands for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing t ...
capabilities. It will be jointly operated by the RAF and the Royal Navy and with its ability to perform
short take-offs and vertical-landings (STOVL), can operate from the Royal Navy's
''Queen Elizabeth''-class aircraft carriers. Originally a total of 138 Lightnings were planned, however the 2021 Defence Command Paper amended this to a commitment to increase the fleet beyond the current order of 48.
By October 2021, 24 F-35Bs had been delivered to the RAF (though one crashed in November 2021).
The first RAF squadron to operate the F-35B was
No. 17 Test and Evaluation Squadron at
Edwards AFB
Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is Ed ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, accepting its first aircraft in 2014.
No. 617 (The Dambusters) Squadron officially reformed on 18 April 2018 as the first operational RAF Lightning squadron. The first four aircraft arrived at
RAF Marham
RAF Marham is a Royal Air Force station and military airbase near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia.
It is home to No. 138 Expeditionary Air Wing (138 EAW) and, as such, is one of the RAF's "Main Operating ...
from the United States in June 2018, with a further five arriving in August 2018.
The Lightning was declared combat ready in January 2019. The second UK based F-35B squadron to be formed was
No. 207 Squadron on 1 August 2019 as the OCU for both RAF and Royal Navy pilots.
Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR)
Six
Hawker Beechcraft Shadow R1s (with two more to be converted) are operated by
No. 14 Squadron from RAF Waddington, these aircraft are King Air 350CERs that have been specially converted for the ISTAR role. Four Shadow R1s were originally ordered in 2007 due to an
Urgent Operational Requirement
An Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) is a system used by the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) to obtain urgent equipment for operations.
Supplementing the MOD's long term planned equipment programme are Urgent Operational Requirements (UOR), ...
, and began the conversion process to the ISTAR role in 2009.
''ZZ416'' was the first Shadow R1 to be delivered in May 2009 to No. V (AC) Squadron. A further Shadow was procured and delivered in December 2011. The Shadow fleet was transferred over to the newly reformed No. 14 Squadron in October 2011. Following the 2015 SDSR, three more Shadows were ordered and the fleet was given an OSD of 2030.
Ten
General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles have been purchased to support operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. They are operated by
No. 39 Squadron based at
Creech Air Force Base
Creech Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) command and control facility in Clark County, Nevada used "to engage in daily Overseas Contingency Operations …of remotely piloted aircraft systems which fly missions across the globe." ...
and
No. XIII Squadron at RAF Waddington.
Three
Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joints (also known in RAF service as Airseeker) replaced the
Hawker Siddeley Nimrod R1
The Hawker Siddeley Nimrod R1 is a signals intelligence (reconnaissance) aircraft formerly operated by the Royal Air Force. The aircraft was a conversion of the existing Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft, with all of the electronic equipment and ...
fleet in the
signals intelligence
Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...
role under the Airseeker Programme and are flown by
No. 51 Squadron. The Nimrod fleet was retired in 2011, the RAF co-manned aircraft of the US Air Force until the three RC-135s entered service between 2014 and 2017. The aircraft were
Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transport ...
tankers converted to RC-135W standard in the most complex combined
Foreign Military Sales
The United States Department of Defense's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program facilitates sales of U.S. arms, defense equipment, defense services, and military training to foreign governments. The purchaser does not deal directly with the defens ...
case and co-operative support arrangement that the UK had undertaken with the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
since the Second World War. The Rivet Joint received its first operational deployment in August 2014, when it was deployed to the Middle East to fly missions over
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
and
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
as part of Operation Shader. The RC-135W's OSD is 2035.
Based at RAF Waddington,
No. 54 Squadron and
No. 56 Squadron act as the OCU and OEU for the ISTAR fleet respectively.
File:RC-135W Rivet Joint MOD 45159809.jpg, Airseeker R1
File:Shadow R1 5(AC) Sqdn RAF Waddington this morning.jpg, Shadow R1
File:Reaper UAV Takes to the Skies of Southern Afghanistan MOD 45151418.jpg, MQ-9A Reaper
Maritime patrol
![First RAF Poseidon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/First_RAF_Poseidon.jpg)
Nine
Boeing Poseidon MRA1 were ordered by the Government in November 2015 in its
Strategic Defence and Security Review for surveillance, anti-submarine and anti-surface ship warfare, filling a capability gap in maritime patrol that had been left since the cancellation of the
BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4
The BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 was a planned maritime patrol and attack aircraft intended to replace the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR2. The rebuilt aircraft would have extended the operating life of the Nimrod fleet by several decades and signific ...
programme in the 2010 SDSR. On 13 July 2017, it was announced that
No. 120 Squadron and
No. 201 Squadron, both former
Nimrod MR2 squadrons, would operate the Poseidon and be based at RAF Lossiemouth.
No. 120 Squadron stood up on 1 April 2018,
with No. 201 Squadron reforming on 7 August 2021. No. 54 Squadron acts as the OCU for the Poseidon fleet.
The first production Poseidon MRA1 ''ZP801'' made its initial flight on 13 July 2019. ''ZP801'' arrived at Kinloss Barracks, the former home of the Nimrod, on 4 February 2020, filling a decade long gap in maritime capability. The Poseidon was declared combat ready in April 2020. The Poseidon carried out its first operational mission on 3 August 2020, when the Russian warship ''Russian patrol boat Vasily Bykov, Vasily Bykov'' was tracked. A Poseidon MRA1 arrived at RAF Lossiemouth for the first time in October 2020.
The ninth, and final Poseidon arrived at RAF Lossiemouth on 11 January 2022.
Air mobility
No. 99 Squadron RAF, No. 99 Squadron operate eight C-17 Globemaster III, Boeing C-17A Globemaster III in the heavy strategic airlift role from
RAF Brize Norton
Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the village of Brize Norton, and the towns of Carterton and Witney.
The station ...
, Oxfordshire. Four C-17A were originally leased from Boeing in 2000, These four were subsequently purchased outright, followed by a fifth delivered on 7 April 2008 and a sixth delivered on 11 June 2008. The MOD said there was "a stated departmental requirement for eight" C-17s and a seventh was subsequently ordered, to be delivered in December 2010. In February 2012 the purchase of an eighth C-17 was confirmed; the aircraft arrived at RAF Brize Norton in May 2012.
Shorter range, tactical-airlift transport is provided by the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules, Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules, known as the Hercules C4 (C-130J-30) and Hercules C5 (C-130J) in RAF service, based at RAF Brize Norton and flown by No. 47 Squadron RAF, No. 47 Squadron. Twenty-five C-130Js were originally ordered in December 1994 (15 C4s and ten C5s),
the first Hercules C4 to be delivered was ''ZH865'' in August 1998, with the first Hercules C5 (''ZH881'') in May 1999. The 2010 SDSR called for the retirement of the Hercules fleet by 2022, with the 2015 SDSR amending this to maintaining the fourteen Hercules C4s until 2030.
The draw-down of the Hercules C5 fleet began in 2016, with two left in service by December 2020.
The fourteen C4 extended variants were scheduled to retire on 31 March 2035. However, due to the crash of Hercules C4 ''ZH873'' in August 2017, one Hercules C5 was retained to keep the fleet at 14 aircraft. The 2021 Defence Command Paper brought forward the retirement of the Hercules fleet to 2023.
The Airbus A400M Atlas, Airbus Atlas C1 (A400M) replaced the RAF's fleet of Hercules C1/C3 (C-130K) which were withdrawn from use on 28 October 2013, having originally entered service in 1967.
Based at RAF Brize Norton, the Atlas fleet is operated by No. 30 Squadron RAF, No. 30 Squadron and No. 70 Squadron RAF, No. LXX Squadron. The first Atlas C1 (''ZM400'') was delivered to the RAF in November 2014. The A400M is also expected to replace the C4/C5 variants. Originally, twenty-five A400Ms were ordered; the total purchase has now dropped to twenty-two.
No. 24 Squadron RAF, No. XXIV Squadron acts as the Air Mobility OCU (AMOCU) for the Globemaster, Hercules and Atlas, while No. 206 Squadron RAF, No. 206 Squadron is the OEU.
Air transport tasks are also carried out by the Airbus A330 MRTT, Airbus Voyager KC2/3, flown by No. 10 Squadron RAF, No. 10 Squadron and No. 101 Squadron RAF, No. 101 Squadron. The first Voyager (''ZZ330'') arrived in the UK for testing at MoD Boscombe Down, MOD Boscombe Down in April 2011, and entered service in April 2012. The Voyager received approval from the MOD on 16 May 2013 to begin air-to-air refuelling flights and made its first operational tanker flight on 20 May 2013 as part of a training sortie with Tornado GR4s. By 21 May 2013, the Voyager fleet had carried over 50,000 passengers and carried over 3,000 tons of cargo. A total of fourteen Voyagers form the fleet, with nine allocated to sole RAF use (three KC2s and six KC3s). As the Voyagers lack a Refueling boom, refuelling boom, the RAF has requested a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United States Air Force, USAF allowing the UK access to tankers equipped with refuelling booms for its Boeing RC-135, RC-135W Rivet Joint .
File:C17 Transport Aircraft Taking Off from RAF Brize Norton MOD 45156519.jpg, C-17 Globemaster III, C-17A Globemaster III
File:RAF_A400M_Lands_at_RAF_Brize_Norton.jpg, Airbus A400M Atlas, Atlas C1 (A400M)
File:RAF Hercules C130 Aircraft Takes Off from Camp Bastion, Afghanistan MOD 45153038.jpg, C-130J Super Hercules, Hercules C4 (C-130J-30)
File:Royal Air Force, ZZ330, Airbus KC2 Voyager (42524680970).jpg, Airbus A330 MRTT, Voyager KC2 (A330 MRTT)
Helicopters
RAF helicopters support the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
by moving troops and equipment to and around the battlefield. Helicopters are also used in a variety of other roles, including in support of RAF ground units and heavy-lift support for the Royal Marines. The support helicopters are organised into the tri-service
Joint Helicopter Command
Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) is a tri-service organisation uniting battlefield military helicopters of the British Armed Forces for command and coordination purposes.
History Background
Over the years, the grouping of all battlefield suppor ...
(JHC), along with helicopters from the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
and
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
. No. 22 Squadron RAF, No. 22 Squadron, based at
RAF Benson
Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located at Benson, near Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line station and home to the RAF's fleet of Westland Puma HC2 support helicopters, use ...
, re-formed in May 2020 as the OEU for JHC.
The large twin-rotor Boeing Chinook (UK variants), Boeing Chinook is the RAF's heavy-lift support helicopter. Originally ordered in 1978, with subsequent orders in 1995, 2011, and 2018 (yet to be finalised), the Chinook is operated by No. 7 Squadron RAF, No. 7 Squadron, No. 18 Squadron RAF, No. 18(B) Squadron and No. 27 Squadron RAF, No. 27 Squadron at
RAF Odiham
RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force station situated a little to the south of the village of Odiham in Hampshire, England. It is the home of the Royal Air Force's heavy lift helicopter, the Chinook, and of the King’s Helicopter Flight (TKHF) . I ...
and No. 28 Squadron RAF, No. 28 Squadron (Support Helicopter OCU) at RAF Benson.
Since being first delivered in 1980, the Chinook has been involved in numerous operations: the Falklands War (1982); Operation Granby (1991); NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, Operation Engadine (1999); Operation Barras (2000); Operation Herrick (2002–2014); Operation Telic (2003–2011); Operation RUMAN, Operation Ruman (2017); and Operation Barkhane, Operation Newcombe (2018–present).
The 60-strong fleet of Chinooks currently has an OSD in the 2040s.
The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma, Westland Puma HC2 is the RAF's Medium-lift support helicopter. It is operated by No. 33 Squadron RAF, No. 33 Squadron and No. 230 Squadron RAF, No. 230 Squadron, as well as by No. 28 Squadron RAF, No. 28 Squadron (Support Helicopter OCU), all of which are based at RAF Benson. The first two Puma HC1s (''XW198'' and ''XW199''), of an eventual forty-eight, were delivered in January 1971, which were supplemented by a captured Argentine Army SA 330J in 2001 and six ex-South African Air Force SA 330Ls in 2002. Twenty-four Puma HC1s underwent upgrades to HC2 standard between 2012 and 2014. The Puma HC2 OSD is currently March 2025.
Three Bell 412, Bell Griffin HAR2 are operated by
No. 84 Squadron based at
RAF Akrotiri
RAF Akrotiri ( el, Βασιλική Πολεμική Αεροπορία Ακρωτηρίου) is a large Royal Air Force base on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which compr ...
in the Cyprus Akrotiri and Dhekelia, Sovereign Base Areas.
They are the RAF's only dedicated search and rescue helicopter since the disbandment of the RAF Search and Rescue Force in February 2016. However, all UK military helicopter aircrew routinely train and practise the skills necessary for search and rescue, and the support helicopters based in the UK are available to the Government under Military Aid to the Civil Authorities.
The AgustaWestland AW109, AgustaWestland AW109 Grand New of No. 32 Squadron RAF, No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron based at
RAF Northolt
("Ready to carry or to fight")
, pushpin_map = Greater London
, pushpin_label = RAF Northolt
, pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London
, coordinates =
, type = Royal Air Force station
, code =
, site_area =
, height =
, owners ...
provides the VIP transport Command Support Air Transport role.
File:18 SQUADRON MOUNTAIN TRAINING MOD 45166840.jpg, Boeing Chinook (UK variants), Chinook HC6A
File:RAF Puma Mk2 Helicopter MOD 45156639.jpg, Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma, Puma HC2
File:Bell 412EP Griffin HAR2, UK - Air Force AN1560195.jpg, Bell 412, Griffin HAR2
File:GZ100 Agusta A109 Helicopter (30899706936).jpg, AgustaWestland AW109S Grand, AW109 Grand New
Training aircraft
The UK's military flying training has been privatised through a Public–private partnership, public-private partnership, known as the
UK Military Flying Training System
The UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) takes UK armed forces aircrew from initial training through elementary, basic, and advanced flying training phases, preparing them for their arrival at their designated operational aircraft units. I ...
(UKMFTS). Training is provided by
Ascent Flight Training
Ascent Flight Training is a flight training company set up as a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Babcock International to deliver flying training to pilots and aircrew from the three services of the UK Armed Forces as part of a Private F ...
, a consortium of Lockheed Martin and Babcock International. New aircraft were procured to reduce the training gap between the older generation Grob G 115, Grob Tutor T1, Short Tucano, Short Tucano T1 and Beechcraft King Air, Beechcraft King Air T1 aircraft, and the RAF's modern front-line aircraft, including advanced systems and glass cockpits. UKMFTS also relies far more on Flight simulator, synthetic training to prepare aircrew for the front line, where advanced synthetic training is commonplace.
Initial training
The Grob Tutor T1 equips fifteen
University Air Squadron
University Air Squadrons are training units under the command of No. 6 Flying Training School RAF of the Royal Air Force and their main role is to attract students into careers as RAF officers. Primarily its goal is achieved through offering b ...
s, which provide university students an opportunity to undertake an RAF training syllabus, which includes first solo, as well as air navigation, aerobatics and formation flying. These units are co-located with
Air Experience Flight
An Air Experience Flight (AEF) is a training unit of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch) whose main purpose is to give introductory flying experience to cadets from the Air Training Corps and the Combined Cadet Force. As of 20 ...
s, which share the same aircraft and facilities and provide air experience flying to the Air Training Corps and Combined Cadet Force. The Tutor is also flown by No. 16 Squadron RAF, No. 16 Squadron and No. 115 Squadron RAF, No. 115 Squadron based at RAF Wittering.
Volunteer Gliding Squadron
Volunteer Gliding Squadrons (VGSs) are Royal Air Force (UK) Flying Training units, operating military Viking T1 conventional gliders to train cadets from the Royal Air Force Air Cadets.
Since 2014, the squadrons operate under No. 2 Flying Trai ...
s also provide air experience flying to cadets using the Grob G103a Twin II, Grob Viking T1 conventional glider. Due to an airworthiness issue in April 2014, the Viking fleet and the Grob G109, Grob Vigilant T1 fleet were grounded for a two-year period, although Viking operations have subsequently resumed. The Vigilant was unexpectedly withdrawn from service in May 2018, a year earlier than planned. A contract tender was initiated in February 2018 to replace this capability from 2022 onwards.
Elementary training
The Grob G 120TP, Grob Prefect T1 was introduced to RAF service in 2016 as its elementary trainer. The 23-strong fleet is based at RAF Cranwell and RAF Barkston Heath in Lincolnshire where they are operated by No. 57 Squadron RAF, No. 57 Squadron. On completion of elementary training, aircrew are then streamed to either fast jet, multi-engine, or rotary training.
Basic fast jet training
Basic fast jet training is provided on the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II, Beechcraft Texan T1, which replaced the Short Tucano T1 in November 2019. The Texan is a tandem-seat turboprop aircraft, featuring a digital glass cockpit. It is operated by No. 72 Squadron RAF, No. 72 (F) Squadron based at
RAF Valley
Royal Air Force Valley or more simply RAF Valley ( cy, Llu Awyr Brenhinol Y Fali) is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides both basic and advanced fast-jet training ...
in Anglesey which provides lead-in training for RAF and Royal Navy fighter pilots prior to advanced training on the BAE Systems Hawk, BAE Hawk T2. The first two Texans were delivered in February 2018 and by December 2018 ten aircraft had arrived at RAF Valley.
Four additional Texans were delivered on 3 November 2020.
Advanced fast jet training
The BAE Hawk T2 is flown by No. 4 Squadron RAF, No. IV (AC) Squadron and No. 25 Squadron RAF, No. XXV (F) Squadron based at RAF Valley. The latter provides initial Advanced Fast Jet Training (AFJT), while pilots who graduate on to the former squadron learn tactical and weapons training. After advanced training aircrew go on to an
Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) where they are trained to fly either the Typhoon FGR4 (
No. 29 Squadron at RAF Coningsby) or F-35B Lightning (
No. 207 Squadron at RAF Marham) in preparation for service with a front-line squadron. The OCUs use operational aircraft alongside flight simulator, simulators and ground training, although in the case of the Typhoon a two-seater training variant exists which is designated the Typhoon T3.
On 15 October 2020, it was announced a joint RAF-Qatari Air Force Hawk squadron (similar to
No. 12 Squadron) would be formed in the future. On 1 April 2021, it was further elaborated that this squadron would stand-up in September 2021 at
RAF Leeming
Royal Air Force Leeming or RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 1991, it ...
, North Yorkshire. The Joint Hawk Training Squadron received its first two Hawk Mk.167s at RAF Leeming on 1 September 2021. On 24 November 2021, the Joint Hawk Training Squadron became 11 Squadron QEAF when it reformed at RAF Leeming.
Multi-engine training
Multi-Engine aircrew, weapon systems officer (WSO) and weapon systems operator (WSOp) students are trained on the Embraer Phenom 100, Embraer Phenom T1. It is operated by No. 45 Squadron RAF, No. 45 Squadron based at RAF Cranwell. Multi-engine aircrew then go to their Operational Conversion Unit or front-line squadron.
File:Royal Air Force Grob G-103A Viking TX1 Lofting-1.jpg, Grob G103a Twin II, Viking T1
File:Grob G 115E EA-3.JPG, Grob Tutor, Tutor T1
File:EGVA - Grob G120TP Prefect T1 - Royal Air Force - ZM307 (48385816261).jpg, Grob G 120TP, Prefect T1
File:Hawker Beechcraft T-6C Texan II N2824B (35871033230).jpg, Beechcraft T-6 Texan II, Texan T1
File:RAF BAE Systems Hawk T2 Lofting-1.jpg, BAE Hawk, Hawk T2
File:EGVA - Embraer 500 Phenom 100 - Royal Air Force - ZM335 (48385967192).jpg, Embraer Phenom 100, Phenom T1
File:Eurofighter Typhoon T.3 ‘ZK382 - BG’ (30750294326).jpg, Eurofighter Typhoon, Typhoon T3
Rotary
No. 1 Flying Training School
The No. 1 Flying Training School (1 FTS) is the oldest military pilot training school in the world, currently used to deliver rotary training to aircrew of the British armed forces.
History
First formation (1919 – 1928)
On 23 December 1919 ...
(No. 1 FTS) (formerly the Defence Helicopter Flying School) is based at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire and provides basic helicopter pilot training for all UK armed forces. It flies twenty-nine Eurocopter EC135, Airbus Juno HT1. No. 1 FTS comprises two main elements, 2 Maritime Air Wing (2 MAW) and No. 9 Regiment.
2 MAW includes No. 660 Squadron AAC, No. 660 Squadron of the
Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
(AAC) and 705 Naval Air Squadron and provide basic helicopter flying training. No. 9 Regiment comprises No. 60 Squadron RAF, No. 60 Squadron of the RAF and No. 670 Squadron RAF, No. 670 Squadron of the AAC in the advanced helicopter flying training. No. 202 Squadron RAF, No. 202 Squadron is also part of No. 1 FTS and operates the Eurocopter EC145, Airbus Jupiter HT1 at RAF Valley.
File:2019 Royal International Air Tattoo 1P4A8375 (48387276351).jpg, Eurocopter EC135, Juno HT1
File:H-145 Jupiter - RIAT 2018 (41932985800).jpg, Eurocopter EC145, Jupiter HT1
Future aircraft
On 5 October 2015, it was announced that the Scavenger programme had been replaced by "Protector", a new requirement for at least 20 unmanned aerial vehicles.
On 7 October 2015, it was revealed that Protector will be a Type certificate, certifiable derivative of the MQ-9 Reaper, MQ-9B SkyGuardian with enhanced range and endurance. In 2016, it was indicated that at least sixteen aircraft would be purchased with a maximum of up to twenty-six. In July 2018, a General Atomics US civil-registered SkyGuardian was flown from North Dakota to RAF Fairford for the Royal International Air Tattoo where it was given RAF markings. It was formally announced by the Chief of Air Staff that No. 31 Squadron RAF, No. 31 Squadron would become the first squadron to operate the Protector RG1 as it will be known in RAF service. In July 2020, the Ministry of Defence signed a contract for three Protectors with an option on an additional thirteen aircraft. The 2021 Defence Command Paper confirmed the order for 16 Protectors,
despite the fact that the 2015 SDSR originally laid out plans for more than 20.
In July 2014, the House of Commons Defence Select Committee released a report on the RAF future force structure that envisaged a mixture of unmanned and manned platforms, including further F-35, Protector RG1, a service life extension for the Typhoon (which would otherwise end its service in 2030) or a possible new manned aircraft. In July 2018, at the Farnborough Airshow, the Defence Secretary announced a £2bn investment for BAE Systems, MBDA and Leonardo S.p.A., Leonardo to develop a new British 6th Generation Fighter to replace Typhoon in 2035 under BAE Systems Tempest, Project Tempest.
On 22 March 2019, the Defence Secretary announced the UK had signed a $1.98 billion deal to procure five Boeing 737 AEW&C, Boeing E-7 Wedgetails to replace the ageing Boeing E-3 Sentry, Boeing E-3D Sentry AEW1 fleet in the Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) role.
As of May 2020, the first E-7 is expected to enter RAF service in 2023 with the final aircraft arriving in late 2025 or early 2026. In December 2020, it was announced that the Wedgetail AEW1 will be based at RAF Lossiemouth. The 2021 Defence Command Paper cut the Wedgetail order down to three aircraft.
The Sentry AEW1s were officially withdrawn on 28 September 2021.
File:RIAT 2018 - Static display IMGP2662 (28679706407).jpg, General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, Protector RG1
File:E-7A Wedgetail - RIAT 2018 (43230634064).jpg, Boeing 737 AEW&C, E-7 Wedgetail
Symbols, flags, emblems and uniform
![Ensign of the Royal Air Force](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Air_Force_Ensign_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg)
Following the tradition of the other British armed services, the RAF has adopted symbols to represent it, use as rallying devices for members and promote esprit de corps. British aircraft in the early stages of the First World War carried the Union Flag as an identifying feature; however, this was easily confused with Germany's Iron Cross motif. In October 1914, therefore, the French system of three concentric rings was adopted, with the colours reversed to a red disc surrounded by a white ring and an outer blue ring.
[Robertson 1967, p 89] The relative sizes of the rings have changed over the years and during the Second World War an outer yellow ring was added to the fuselage roundel. Aircraft serving in the Far East during the Second World War had the :File:RAF Far East Command roundel.svg, red disc removed to prevent :File:Japan Air Self-Defense Force roundel.svg, confusion with Japanese aircraft.
Since the 1970s, camouflaged aircraft carry low-visibility roundels, either red and blue on dark camouflage, or washed-out pink and light blue on light colours. Most non-camouflaged training and transport aircraft retain the traditional red-white-blue roundel.
[
]
The RAF's motto is "" and is usually translated from Latin as "Through Adversity to the Stars",[Air Ministry Orders A.666/49, 15 September 1949] but the RAF's official translation is "Through Struggle to the Stars". The choice of motto is attributed to a junior officer named J S Yule, in response to a request for suggestions from a commander of the Royal Flying Corps
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colors =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, decorations ...
, Frederick Sykes, Colonel Sykes.
The badge of the Royal Air Force was first used in August 1918. In Heraldry, heraldic terms it is: "In front of a circle inscribed with the motto Per Ardua Ad Astra and ensigned by the Imperial Crown an eagle volant and affronte Head lowered and to the sinister". Although there have been debates among airmen over the years whether the bird was originally meant to be an albatross or an eagle, the consensus is that it was always an eagle.
Ceremonial functions and display
Red Arrows
The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Waddington
Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England.
The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target A ...
. The team was formed in late 1964 as an all-RAF team, replacing a number of unofficial teams that had been sponsored by RAF commands. The Red Arrows badge shows the aircraft in their trademark ''Diamond Nine'' formation, with the motto , a French word meaning "brilliance" or "excellence".[
Initially, they were equipped with seven Folland Gnat trainers inherited from the RAF Yellowjacks display team. This aircraft was chosen because it was less expensive to operate than front-line fighter aircraft, fighters. In their first season, they flew at sixty-five shows across Europe. In 1966, the team was increased to nine members, enabling them to develop their ''Diamond Nine'' formation. In late 1979, they switched to the BAE Hawk trainer. The Red Arrows have performed over 4,700 displays in fifty-six countries worldwide.
]
Royal Air Force Music
Headquarters Music Services, Headquarters Royal Air Force Music Services, located at RAF Northolt
("Ready to carry or to fight")
, pushpin_map = Greater London
, pushpin_label = RAF Northolt
, pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London
, coordinates =
, type = Royal Air Force station
, code =
, site_area =
, height =
, owners ...
, supports professional musicians who perform at events around the globe in support of the RAF. The Central Band of the Royal Air Force was established in 1920. Other bands include the Band of the Royal Air Force College, the Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment and the Band of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force.
See also
* List of all aircraft current and former of the United Kingdom
* List of military aircraft operational during World War II
* List of Royal Air Force stations
* Royal Air Force Air Cadets
The Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAFAC) is a volunteer-military youth organisation sponsored by the Royal Air Force that manages both the Air Training Corps and RAF Sections of the Combined Cadet Force. The organisation is headed by a former ser ...
* Royal Air Force Museum
* RAF News
Footnotes
References
Bibliography
* Biddle, Tami Davis. ''Rhetoric and Reality in Air Warfare: The Evolution of British and American Ideas about Strategic Bombing, 1914–1945'' (2002)
* Bowyer, Chaz. ''History of the RAF'' (London: Hamlyn, 1977).
* Dean, Maurice. ''The Royal Air Force and Two World Wars'' (Cassell, 1979).
* Connolly, Corvin J. ''Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Cotesworth Slessor and the Anglo-American Air Power Alliance, 1940–1945'' (Texas A&M Press, 2001).
* Cox, Jafna L. "A splendid training ground: the importance to the Royal Air Force of its role in Iraq, 1919–32." ''Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History'' 13.2 (1985): 157–184.
* Davis, Richard B. ''Bombing the European Axis Powers. A Historical Digest of the Combined Bomber Offensive 1939–1945'' (Air University Press, 2006
online
* Gooderson, Ian. ''Air Power at the Battlefront: Allied Close Air Support in Europe 1943–45'' (Routledge, 2013).
* Heaton, Colin D., and Anne-Marie Lewis. ''Night Fighters: Luftwaffe and RAF Air Combat Over Europe, 1939–1945'' (Naval Institute Press, 2008).
*
* Hoffman, Bruce. ''British Air Power in Peripheral Conflict, 1919–1976'' (RAND, 1989)
online
, with bibliography
*
*
* Lee, David. ''Eastward: a history of the Royal Air Force in the Far East, 1945-1972'' (Seven Hills Books, 1984).
* Lee, David. ''Flight from the Middle East: A History of the Royal Air Force in the Arabian Peninsula and Adjacent Territories, 1945–1972'' (HM Stationery Office, 1980).
* Maiolo, Joseph. ''Cry Havoc: How the arms race drove the world to war, 1931–1941'' (2010)
* Philpott, Ian, ed. ''Royal Air Force History: Royal Air Force – an Encyclopaedia of the Inter-War Years'' (2 vol 2008)
* Rawlings, John D.R. ''The History of the Royal Air Force'' (1984) well illustrated.
* Richards, Denis, and David Pilgrim. ''Royal Air Force, 1939–1945: The fight at odds'' (1954), the official history.
*
* Saunders, Hilary. ''Per Ardua: The Rise of British Air Power, 1911-1939'' (Oxford UP, 1945).
* Sinnott, Colin S. ''The RAF and Aircraft Design: Air Staff Operational Requirements 1923-1939'' (Routledge, 2014).
* Smith, Malcolm. ''British Air Strategy Between the Wars'' (Oxford, The Clarendon Press, 1984).
* Smith, Gordon Scott. ''RAF War Plans and British Foreign Policy 1935 – 1940'' (MIT Dept. of Political Science, 1966)
online
*
* Werrell, Kenneth P. "The strategic bombing of Germany in World War II: Costs and accomplishments." ''Journal of American History'' 73.3 (1986): 702–713
online
External links
*
*
RAF Benevolent Fund
The RAF channel on YouTube
{{Authority control
Royal Air Force,
1918 establishments in the United Kingdom
Articles containing video clips
British Armed Forces
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
Military of the United Kingdom
Military units and formations established in 1918
Organisations based in the United Kingdom with royal patronage