RAF (Royal Air Force)
Sixth Poseidon MRA1 delivered to the RAF
The RAF took delivery of its sixth Boeing P-8A Poseidon MRA1 on September 21. The aircraft - serial ZP806 'Guernsey's Reply' (c/n 66106/8680, ex N665DS), callsign ‘Poseidon 1’ - landed at RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland, at around 0840hrs following a transatlantic ferry flight
DSEI 2021: RAF reveals second Protector RG1 unit
The RAF has revealed that No 13 Squadron ‘The Stabbed Cats’ will be the second operational unit of the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) Protector RG1 remotely piloted air system
BAE Systems wins UK synthetic flight training deal
The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded BAE Systems contracts valued at more than £220m to deliver synthetic training for pilots training to fly the Eurofighter Typhoon, the latest example of the steady growth of digital alternatives trumping physical solutions
UK MOD signs upgrade deal for C-17 and CH-47 fleet
The UK Ministry of Defence will invest almost £400m (US$552m) to improve the capabilities of its C-17 Globemaster aircraft and CH-47 Chinook helicopters
£400m upgrade for RAF C-17As and Chinooks
The UK's Boeing Chinook HC5/HC6 helicopters are to be enhanced with state-of-the-art defensive systems, while the RAF's C-17A Globemaster III fleet will receive a software and hardware upgrade
RAF prepares to receive the Protector RG1
Throughout August and September, a General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9B SkyGuardian has been performing demonstration operations from RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, as part of the SkyGuardian to the UK 2021 programme
UK accelerates Hawk T1 retirement plans
Plans to retire the Royal Air Force's British Aerospace Hawk T1 fleet have been accelerated
RAF Typhoons intercept Russian Su-24 over the Black Sea
Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4s assigned to the RAF’s 121 Expeditionary Air Wing were scrambled to intercept an unidentified Russian fighter in international airspace over the Black Sea on August 17
British P-8A Poseidon MRA1 drops first torpedo
A recoverable exercise variant Mark 54 Lightweight Torpedo was dropped for the first time from a No 120 Squadron Poseidon MRA1 maritime patrol aircraft over the Moray Firth, near RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland - the home of the RAF's P-8A fleet - in late July
EXCLUSIVE: HMS Queen Elizabeth’s Commander Air Wing talks from the Philippine Sea
Around three months into its first operational deployment, the UK Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08), and the wider Carrier Strike Group 21 (CSG21) have conducted a combined total of 2,700 hours from 32 fixed- and rotary wing aircraft