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70-658: The Royal Air Force Air Cadets ( RAFAC ) is the combined volunteer-military youth organisation sponsored by the Royal Air Force , which is formed by both the Air Training Corps and RAF Sections of the Combined Cadet Force . The organisation is headed by a former serving RAF officer, Commandant Air Cadets . The current commandant is Air Commodore Al Lewis. Prior to 1 October 2017, the RAFAC

140-679: A Private Finance Initiative with newly purchased Sikorsky S-92 and AgustaWestland AW189 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 technology demonstrator. The 100 kg Carbonite-2 uses commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components to deliver high-quality imagery and 3D video footage from space. The Royal Air Force celebrated its 100th anniversary on 1 April 2018. It marked

210-637: A wing commander and, for a fast-jet squadron, have an complement of around twelve aircraft. 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 , with four Eurofighter Typhoon fighters based at RAF Mount Pleasant . Support capabilities are provided by several specialist wings and other units. Command, control, and support for overseas operations

280-676: A factor of 10. NRO "has a proven track record in [ISR]", insists one of the founders of the US Space Force, who defends the capability of the NRO over the ambition of the Space Force to take over the role of ISR. GMTI (ground moving target indicator) data is an objective for Space Force, NGA, and NRO. In July 2022, Junior (3rd year) and Senior (4th year) cadets at West Point had hands-on experience building and using drones with various tactical capabilities, guided by faculty from

350-697: A front-line training responsibility – their job is to group the University Air Squadrons and the Volunteer Gliding Squadrons 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. ISTAR Information is collected on the battlefield through systematic observation by deployed soldiers and a variety of electronic sensors. Surveillance , target acquisition and reconnaissance are methods of obtaining this information. The information

420-644: A minor role in the Korean War , with flying boats taking part. From 1953 to 1956 the RAF Avro Lincoln squadrons carried out anti- Mau Mau operations in Kenya using its base at RAF Eastleigh . The Suez Crisis in 1956 saw a large RAF role, with aircraft operating from RAF Akrotiri and RAF Nicosia on Cyprus and RAF Luqa and RAF Hal Far on Malta as part of Operation Musketeer . The RAF suffered its most recent loss to an enemy aircraft during

490-620: A quarter of Bomber Command's personnel were Canadian. Additionally, the Royal Australian Air Force represented around nine per cent of all RAF personnel who served in the European and Mediterranean theatres. During the Battle of Britain in 1940, the RAF defended the skies over Britain against the numerically superior German Luftwaffe . In what is perhaps the most prolonged and complicated air campaign in history,

560-594: A single Hawker Tempest F.6 in January 1949. Before Britain developed its own nuclear weapons , the RAF was provided with American nuclear weapons under Project E . However, following the development of its own arsenal, the British Government elected on 16 February 1960 to share the country's nuclear deterrent between the RAF and submarines of the Royal Navy, first deciding to concentrate solely on

630-626: A support enabler role. A Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) at RAF Boulmer 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. The UK operates permanent military airfields (known as Permanent Joint Operating Bases) in four British Overseas Territories . These bases contribute to

700-490: 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. The RAF played a large role in the Aden Emergency between 1963 and 1967. Hawker Hunter FGA.9s based at RAF Khormaksar , Aden , were regularly called in by

770-494: A weapon strike at any time." The United States Space Force , National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) share the satellite-based ISR task as of 2021. See Space Delta 7 From 2018, the NGA has used Data transformation services (DTS), to convert raw sensor data into a format usable by its mission partners, who are government agencies whose names are classified. In light of

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840-999: Is also responsible for the RAF Medical Services, RAF Support Force, consisting of the RAF's engineering, logistics, intelligence, signals, musical and mountain rescue assets, RAF's Combat and Readiness Force, comprising the RAF Regiment , and the Air Security Force, comprising RAF Police . It oversees stations at RAF Benson and RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, RAF Henlow in Bedfordshire, RAF Honington in Suffolk, RAF Odiham in Hampshire and RAF Northolt in West London. No. 11 Group

910-501: Is at RAF High Wycombe co-located with Air Command. Groups 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 is responsible for combat aircraft (comprising the Lightning Force and Typhoon Force) and

980-420: Is being used to track troop movements, broadcast world events in real time, and conduct war.— NHK World-Japan ISTAR is the process of integrating the intelligence process with surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance tasks in order to improve a commander's situational awareness and consequently their decision making . The inclusion of the "I" is important as it recognizes the importance of taking

1050-725: Is defined as "the ability to project power 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 , airborne early warning and control , intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR), signals intelligence (SIGINT), maritime patrol, air-to-air refueling (AAR) and strategic & tactical transport . The majority of

1120-814: Is part of the Ministry of Defence and body legally responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories . 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 . The Chief of the Air Staff is supported by several other senior commanders: Administrative and operational command of

1190-657: Is responsible for integrating operations across the air , cyber and space 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 in Northumberland, RAF Fylingdales in North Yorkshire and RAF Spadeadam in Cumbria. No. 22 Group

1260-731: 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 which is provided by civilian contractor Ascent Flight Training . The group oversees stations at RAF College Cranwell in Lincolnshire, RAF Cosford and RAF Shawbury in Shropshire, RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire, MOD St Athan in

1330-755: Is then passed to intelligence personnel for analysis, and then to the commander and their staff for the formulation of battle plans. Intelligence is processed information that is relevant and contributes to an understanding of the ground, and of enemy dispositions and intents. Intelligence failures can happen. ISR is the coordinated and integrated acquisition, processing and provision of timely, accurate, relevant, coherent and assured information and intelligence to support commander's conduct of activities. Land, sea, air and space platforms have critical ISR roles in supporting operations in general. By massing ISR assets, an improved clarity and depth of knowledge can be established. ISR encompasses multiple activities related to

1400-517: Is typically provided through Expeditionary Air Wings (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. Several Expeditionary Air Wings are based overseas: 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

1470-643: The 1948 Arab–Israeli War : during the withdrawal of the former Mandatory Palestine in May 1948 where British Supermarine Spitfire FR.18s shot down four Royal Egyptian Air Force Spitfire LF.9s after the REAF mistakenly attacked RAF Ramat David airbase; and during encounters with the Israeli Air Force which saw the loss of a single de Havilland Mosquito PR.34 in November 1948 and four Spitfire FR.18s and

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1540-634: The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , the NGA has taken operational control of DoD's Project Maven , the AI ISR project for area defense, to identify point targets for ISR. The NGA uses OREN, the Odyssey GEOINT Edge Node for National System for Geospatial Intelligence, or NGS. The Joint Regional Edge Node (JREN) is on-deck for distributing nearly a petabyte to the Combatant Commands in the next year, for 2023, an increase by

1610-653: The British Army as close air support to carry out strikes on rebel positions. The Radfan Campaign (Operation Nutcracker) in early 1964 was successful in suppressing the revolt in Radfa, however it did nothing to end the insurgency with the British withdrawing from Aden in November 1967. One of the largest actions undertaken by the RAF during the Cold War was the air campaign during the 1982 Falklands War , in which

1680-647: The British Empire , including establishing bases to protect Singapore and Malaya. The RAF's naval aviation branch, the Fleet Air Arm , was founded in 1924 but handed over to Admiralty control on 24 May 1939. The RAF adopted the doctrine of strategic bombing , which led to the construction of long-range bombers and became its main bombing strategy in the Second World War . The Royal Air Force underwent rapid expansion prior to and during

1750-678: The London Eye , the RAF Memorial and (at 13.00) the Ministry of Defence building . Four major defence reviews have been conducted since the end of the Cold War: the 1990 Options for Change , the 1998 Strategic Defence Review , the 2003 Delivering Security in a Changing World 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

1820-659: The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). This was done as recommended in a report prepared by the South African statesman and general Jan Smuts . 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

1890-741: The Royal Navy 's Fleet Air Arm and the British Army 's Army Air Corps also operate armed aircraft. The Royal Air Force was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the third independent air force in the world after the Mexican Air Force (established 5 February 1915) and the Finnish Air Force (established 6 March 1918), by merging the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and

1960-558: The Second World War , the RAF established air superiority over Nazi Germany 's Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain , and led the Allied strategic bombing effort. The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (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

2030-868: The U-2 , to uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) such as the US Air Force's Global Hawk and Predator and the US Army's Hunter and PSST Aerostats, to unmanned ocean-going vessels, to other ground-, air-, sea-, or space-based equipment, to human intelligence teams, or to AI-based ISR systems. The intelligence data provided by these ISR systems can take many forms, including optical, radar, or infrared images or electronic signals . Effective ISR data can provide early warning of enemy threats as well as enable military forces to increase effectiveness, coordination, and lethality, and demand for ISR capabilities to support ongoing military operations has increased. In December 2021,

2100-417: The UK Military Flying Training System which is dedicated to training aircrew for all three UK armed services. Specialist ground crew training is focused at RAF Cosford , RAF St Mawgan and MOD St. Athan . Operations are supported by numerous other flying and non-flying stations, with activity focussed at RAF Honington which coordinates Force Protection and RAF Leeming & RAF Wittering which have

2170-631: The United States Air Force , the RAF formed its own RPAS squadron in 2007 when No. 39 Squadron was stood up as a General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper unit at Creech AFB , Nevada. The RAF's 90th anniversary was commemorated on 1 April 2008 by a flypast of the RAF's Aerobatic Display Team the Red Arrows and four Eurofighter Typhoons along the River Thames , in a straight line from just south of London City Airport Tower Bridge,

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2240-740: The Westland Puma HC2 for search and rescue. No. 230 Squadron , based at Medicina Lines , Brunei, also operate the Puma HC2. 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 and battle honours for meritorious service. Most flying squadrons are commanded by

2310-708: The 1991 Gulf War , the 1999 Kosovo War , the 2001 War in Afghanistan , the 2003 invasion and war in Iraq , the 2011 intervention in Libya and from 2014 onwards has been involved in the war against the Islamic State . The RAF began conducting Remotely-piloted Air System (RPAS) operations in 2004, with No. 1115 Flight carrying out missions in Afghanistan and Iraq with the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator . Initially embedded with

2380-547: The Battle of Britain contributed significantly to the delay and subsequent indefinite postponement of Operation Sea Lion , Hitler's plans for an invasion of the UK. In the House of Commons on 20 August, prompted by the ongoing efforts of the RAF, Prime Minister Winston Churchill 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" . The largest RAF effort during

2450-569: The Berlin Blockade take place. As part of Operation Pitting , the RAF helped evacuate over 15,000 people in two weeks. Between April and May 2023, the RAF helped evacuate over 2,300 people from Sudan due to the 2023 Sudan conflict as part of Operation Polarbear . In April 2024, Typhoon FGR4s operating from RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, engaged and destroyed Iranian drones over Iraqi and Syrian airspace during Iran's strikes against Israel . The professional head and highest-ranking officer of

2520-592: The Electrical Engineering and Computer Science departments in tactical applications during Cadet Leadership Development Training . Ukraine's soldiers are using FPV drones on the battlefield, armed with munitions. ISR concepts are also associated with certain intelligence units, for instance Task Force ODIN , ISR TF (Company+) in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan. In light of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , commercial satellite imagery

2590-582: The Government's foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security". The RAF describes its mission statement as "... [to provide] 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 , which guides its strategy. Air power

2660-673: The Houses of Parliament, Conservative MP and Minister of State for the Armed Forces , Andrew Robathan , 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 Coningsby in Lincolnshire and RAF Lossiemouth 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

2730-689: The RAF is delegated by the Air Force Board to Headquarters Air Command , based at RAF High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire . Air Command was formed on 1 April 2007 by combining RAF Strike Command and RAF Personnel and Training Command , resulting in a single command covering the whole RAF, led by the Chief of the Air Staff. Through its subordinate groups , Air Command oversees the whole spectrum of RAF aircraft and operations. United Kingdom Space Command (UKSC), established 1 April 2021 under

2800-408: The RAF operated alongside the Fleet Air Arm . During the war, RAF aircraft were deployed in the mid-Atlantic at RAF Ascension Island and a detachment from No. 1 Squadron was deployed with the Royal Navy, operating from the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes . RAF pilots also flew missions using the Royal Navy's Sea Harriers in the air-to-air combat role, in particular Flight Lieutenant Dave Morgan

2870-546: The RAF's intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities. It oversees stations at RAF Coningsby and RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, RAF Lossiemouth in Moray and RAF Marham in Norfolk. The group's Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 aircraft protect UK and NATO airspace by providing a continuous Quick Reaction Alert capability. No. 2 Group controls the Air Mobility Force which provides strategic and tactical airlift , air-to-air refuelling and command support air transport (CSAT). The group

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2940-427: The RAF's rotary-wing aircraft form part of the tri-service Joint Aviation Command 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 , Cyprus , Gibraltar , and the Falkland Islands ). Although the RAF is the principal British air power arm,

3010-401: 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 incumbent Chief of the Air Staff is Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton who was appointed in 2023. The management of the RAF is the responsibility of the Air Force Board , a sub-committee of the Defence Council which

3080-478: The Second World War. Under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan of December 1939, the air forces of British Commonwealth countries trained and formed " Article XV squadrons " for service with RAF formations. Many individual personnel from these countries, and exiles from occupied Europe , also served with RAF squadrons. By the end of the war the Royal Canadian Air Force had contributed more than 30 squadrons to serve in RAF formations, similarly, approximately

3150-423: The Suez Crisis, when an English Electric Canberra PR7 was shot down over Syria . In 1957, the RAF participated heavily during the Jebel Akhdar War in Oman, operating both de Havilland Venom and Avro Shackleton 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

3220-649: The US Navy began testing the usefulness and effectiveness of unmanned "saildrones" at recognizing targets of interest on the high seas. For space-based targeting sensors, in a 2019 Broad Agency Announcement, the US government defined ISR in this case as "a capability for gathering data and information on an object or in an area of interest (AOI) on a persistent, event-driven, or scheduled basis using imagery, signals, and other collection methods. This includes warning (to include ballistic missile activity), targeting analysis, threat capability assessment, situational awareness, battle damage assessment (BDA), and characterization of

3290-421: The United States and works in close cooperation with the U.S. Air Force in the development of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning . No. 80 Squadron is part of the Australia, Canada and United Kingdom Reprogramming Laboratory (ACURL) at Eglin Air Force Base , Florida, and is tasked with compiling and testing the Mission Data File Sets (MDFS) for the F-35. No. 84 Squadron is located at RAF Akrotiri, operating

3360-578: The Vale of Glamorgan, RAF St Mawgan in Cornwall and RAF Valley on Anglesey. The No. 22 Group also manages the Royal Air Force Air Cadets . An RAF station is ordinarily subordinate to a group and is commanded by a group captain . Each station typically hosts several flying and non-flying squadrons or units which are supported by administrative and support wings. Front-line flying operations are focused at eight stations: Flying training takes places at RAF Barkston Heath , RAF College Cranwell , RAF Shawbury and RAF Valley , each forming part of

3430-439: The air force's V bomber fleet. These were initially armed with nuclear gravity bombs , later being equipped with the Blue Steel missile . 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 gravity bombs. This tactical role

3500-494: 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 , 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 Yorks , Douglas Dakotas flying to Gatow Airport and Short Sunderlands flying to Lake Havel. The RAF saw its first post-war engagements in

3570-414: The command of Air Vice-Marshal Paul Godfrey is a joint 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

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3640-463: The decline of the British Empire, global operations were scaled back, and RAF Far East Air Force 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 against Malayan pro-independence fighters during the Malayan Emergency . Operations continued for the next 12 years until 1960 with aircraft flying out of RAF Tengah and RAF Butterworth . The RAF played

3710-569: 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 provision in the UK. The RAF and Royal Navy's Westland Sea King fleets, after over 30 years of service, were retired. A civilian contractor, Bristow Helicopters , took over responsibility for UK Search and Rescue, under

3780-402: 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 infamous "Dambusters" raid by No. 617 Squadron , or the Amiens prison raid known as Operation Jericho . Following victory in the Second World War, the RAF underwent significant re-organisation, as technological advances in air warfare saw

3850-462: The highest scoring pilot of the war. Following a British victory, the RAF remained in the South Atlantic to provide air defence to the Falkland Islands, with the McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR2 based at RAF Mount Pleasant which was built in 1984. 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

3920-482: The information from all the sensors and processing it into useful knowledge. ISTAR can also refer to: There are several variations on the "ISTAR" acronym. Some variations reflect specific emphasis on certain aspects of ISTAR. A term used when emphasis is to be placed on the sensing component of ISTAR. RSTA is used by the US Army in place of STAR or ISTAR. Also, a term used to identify certain US Army units: for instance, 3rd Squadron, 153rd RSTA. These units serve

3990-567: The latest 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, the BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 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 aircraft, the BAE Harrier GR7/GR9 . In recent years, fighter aircraft on Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) have been increasingly required to scramble in response to Russian Air Force aircraft approaching British airspace. On 24 January 2014, in

4060-431: 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

4130-423: The occasion on 10 July 2018 with a flypast over London consisting of 103 aircraft. Between March 2020 and 2022, the RAF assisted with the response efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom as part of Operation Rescript . This saw 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

4200-416: The operational environment." Persistence was described: "Persistent access provides predictable coverage of an area of interest (AOI). Most space-based intelligence collection capabilities consist of multiple satellites operating in concert, or supplemented by other sensors, when continuous surveillance of an area is desired. Persistent sensors must provide sufficient surveillance revisit timelines to support

4270-416: 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. Four RAF squadrons are based overseas. No. 17 Test and Evaluation Squadron is based at Edwards Air Force Base , California, in

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4340-510: The planning and operation of systems that collect, process, and disseminate data in support of current and future military operations. In July 2021 the NDAA budget markup by the House Armed Services Committee sought to retain ISR resources such as the RQ-4 Global Hawk, the E-8 Joint Surveillance Radar and Attack System (JSTARS) which the Air Force is seeking to divest. Examples of ISR systems include surveillance and reconnaissance systems ranging from satellites , to crewed aircraft such as

4410-486: The rank of group captain , and is usually retired regular RAF. The Region is further staffed by a number of cadet forces adult volunteers (CFAV) who maintain the day-to-day operations of each of the regions. Examples of these CFAV posts include Region Staff Officer, Region Training Officer, and Region STEM Officer. Air Cadet sections within the Combined Cadet Force usually follow their own chain of command within their school's unit. Above their school unit, they diverge into

4480-419: 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 , 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 and No. 6 Flying Training School do not have

4550-453: The same chain of command as the Air Training Corps, which is usually their Wing , or Region. Air Cadet activities vary vastly, however some of the most common to take place include: There are also more rare, but enriching activities that take place also. Examples include: Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force ( RAF ) is the air and space force of the United Kingdom , British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies . It

4620-422: The staffing of hospitals, testing units and vaccination centres. Under Operation Broadshare , 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. The UK's 20-year long operations in Afghanistan came to an end in August 2021, seeing the largest airlift since

4690-555: The war was the strategic bombing 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 Harris , 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 on German cities such as Hamburg and Dresden . Night time area bombing constituted

4760-436: Was called the Air Cadet Organisation ( ACO ). As of 1 April 2023, the ACO had a strength of 42,190 cadets and 10,070 cadet force adult volunteers. Cadets are aged between 12 and 17 on entry to the organisation, and can remain until they are 18, or with special permission, until they are 20. The RAFAC's infrastructure consists of: The six regions consist of: Each Region is commanded by a "Regional Commandant" (RC), who holds

4830-423: Was continued by the V bombers into the 1980s and until 1998 by the Panavia Tornado GR1 . For much of the Cold War the primary role of the RAF was the defence of Western Europe against potential attack by the Soviet Union , with many squadrons based in West Germany . The main RAF bases in RAF(G) were RAF Brüggen , RAF Gutersloh , RAF Laarbruch and RAF Wildenrath – the only air defence base in RAF(G). With

4900-407: Was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has played a significant role in British military history . In particular, during

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