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team at [email protected]Comment
Thomas Newdick
Email at:
[email protected]Royal Air Force at 100
T
he Royal Air Force was busier than ever
as it marked its centenary on April 1.
Among its many commitments, the air
force’s fast jets remain dedicated to Operation
Shader, flying from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
Thanks to efforts by the coalition – in which the
RAF has been an important partner – so-called
Islamic State has lost approximately 98% of
the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria.
The service’s fast jet contribution to Shader
currently comprises two squadrons. They are
a significant part of a force that has been cut
back to just seven frontline fast jet squadrons.
This lack of what is now termed ‘combat
mass’ is a concern. Aside from the counter-
IS mission, the Typhoon Force alone (five
frontline squadrons) has responsibility for two
quick reaction alert (QRA) missions in the UK,
one in the Falklands, plus regular NATO air
policing deployments and the usual exercises.
Reflecting the on-going effort in the Middle
East, Air Cdre Johnny Stringer – Air Component
Commander from October 2016 until October
2017 – told reporters earlier this year: “TheRoyal Air Force has operated at a tempo, a
scale and collective weight and rate of effort
that we have probably not seen since 1945.”
It’s a challenge, and one that involves
many other air power elements besides
Typhoons and the soon-to-be-retired Tornado
GR4s. The Sentinel R1, RC-135W Rivet
Joint, Voyager, Atlas C1, Hercules and C-
have all played a part, as have the Reaper
remotely piloted air systems (RPAS) that
are continuously deployed in the region.
While the service is still feeling the effects
of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security
Review (SDSR), there are signs that important
progress is being made in this centenary year.
The arrival of the Lightning Force at RAF
Marham, Norfolk, this summer will signal the
Ministry of Defence’s commitment to fielding
a ‘fifth-generation air force’ and the P-8 –
due to be introduced at RAF Lossiemouth,
Scotland, from 2019 – will be equally significant,
restoring a capability lost with the retirement
of the Nimrod MR2 in 2010. Beyond Lightning
and Typhoon (the latter expected to remainin UK service until at least 2040), the UK
is now taking tentative steps towards a
future combat aircraft, under the Combat Air
Strategy, due to be published this summer.
The RAF’s training arm is in the midst of
modernisation, with the Prefect, Phenom and
Texan II all now in country as part of the overhaul
of its fixed-wing fleet. The Juno and Jupiter
helicopters are in place on the rotary-wing side.
It’s not only in terms of ‘combat mass’
where the RAF is having to do more with less.
Personnel numbers have never been lower –
at around 35,000. As it embarks on its next
hundred years, it is critical that the service
reaches out to attract the men and women it
needs to fill its ranks – and provides the work-
life balance required to keep them there.No 29 Squadron Typhoon FGR4 ZK318 (c/n 308/
BS079) wears the RAF100 logo on the fin and is
expected to be the service’s display aircraft for its
centenary year. David Mackeyhttp://www.airforcesmonthly.com #362 MAY 2018 // 3