Royal Air Force

Air and space warfare force of the United Kingdom

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2025 A Hongdu JL-8 K-8 trainer aircraft was lost by the Sri Lanka Air Force.
2025 Bournemouth Air Festival will not be taking place, with BCP Council in discussions with a potential commercial operator to run the event from 2026.
March 26 2025 RAF Puma helicopters begin their retirement farewell, conducting a flypast of locations with historical significance across the UK.
2024 SLAF approached the United States Air Force to acquire two C-130 Hercules aircraft.
2024 Suraya Marshall assumes the role of Assistant Chief of the Air Staff, serving from 2024 to the present.
2024 Three converted CN-235 maritime patrol aircraft formally handed over to the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
2024 RAF most recently contributed to NATO's Southern Air Policing mission in Romania with Typhoon FGR4s and Icelandic Air Policing mission with F-35 Lightning IIs.
2024 RAF contributed to NATO's Icelandic Air Policing mission, providing Quick Reaction Alert with F-35 Lightning IIs.
2024 RAF contributed to NATO's Southern Air Policing mission, providing Quick Reaction Alert with Typhoon FGR4s in Romania.
2024 Donnelly Lines, a permanent British headquarters with accommodation and welfare facilities, was opened at Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.
December 6 2024 Lieutenant Commander P. Clark, RN, becomes the latest commanding officer of 750 Naval Air Squadron
August 29 2024 Bournemouth Air Festival shortened to 3 days (29-31 August) with good weather. The Red Arrows did not display due to their Canadian tour. Estimated attendance was 500,000.
April 2024 Typhoon FGR4s operating from RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, engage and destroy Iranian drones over Iraqi and Syrian airspace during Iran's strikes against Israel.
March 2024 35 F-35B aircraft had been delivered to the RAF by this date.
March 2024 Reported that six Royal Malaysian Air Force pilots would begin training on the FA-50 at a Republic of Korea Air Force airbase in Gwangju in early 2026.
March 2 2024 SLAF unveiled a monument honoring the Mi-24 helicopters at the Defence Headquarters Complex in Akuregoda, Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, commemorating their exemplary service during the Sri Lankan Civil War.
February 2024 The Minister of State for Defence Procurement opened bidding for the New Medium Helicopter competition between Airbus Helicopters UK, Leonardo Helicopters UK, and Lockheed Martin UK.
January 2024 Typhoon began supporting Operation Poseidon Archer.
2023 Dorset Police launched a murder investigation after human remains were found near the Bournemouth Air Festival site. Two people were arrested and the investigation led to a beach access route being cordoned off. Despite the investigation, the festival proceeded as planned with organisers coordinating with local police.
2023 RAF Brize Norton won their record 7th RAF Challenge Cup, becoming the most successful team in the competition's history.
2023 Another PT-6 training aircraft was lost in a crash. SLAF received two new Harbin Y-12 aircraft in December.
2023 Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton begins his tenure as a senior Royal Air Force leader
2023 Tim Jones becomes Assistant Chief of the Air Staff, serving until 2024.
2023 Contract worth $172 million awarded to Leonardo for two ATR 72-600 maritime patrol variants.
2023 During LIMA 2023, Malaysia awarded Thales the contract for procuring one unit of Ground Master 400 radar for the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
2023 The Malaysian government placed an order for 18 KAI T-50 Golden Eagle 'Block 20' variants, worth $920 million, with deliveries scheduled from October 2026 to June 2027.
2023 Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules C4/5 were retired from RAF Brize Norton.
2023 RAF contributed to NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission in Estonia, providing Quick Reaction Alert with Typhoon FGR4s.
2023 The Ministry of Defence (MOD) completed installation of new state-of-the-art communications buildings, radar towers, and bespoke perimeter security on Remote Radar Head (RRH) sites under Programme HYDRA, enabling centralized monitoring with limited on-site maintenance support.
November 2023 Group Captain Bishop takes command, also serving as Deputy Air Component Commander in the Middle East
November 2023 The Ministry of Defence announced plans to recruit Non-Religious Pastoral Support Officers into Chaplaincy, reflecting the changing demographics of the United Kingdom and HM Forces.
October 11 2023 No. 31 Squadron reformed as the first Protector squadron.
September 2023 First Protector RG1 (PR009) delivered to RAF Waddington.
September 2023 Air Marshal Paul Lloyd becomes Deputy Chief of the Air Staff from September 2023 to present.
August 31 2023 Bournemouth Air Festival experienced weather disruptions, with flying between 14:00 and 16:00 BST cancelled on the first day. Evening displays were also cancelled. Total estimated attendance was 600,000.
May 2023 Final aircraft in the initial order of 22 Airbus Atlas C1 (A400M) was delivered to the RAF.
May 2023 The Australian Government announced plans to gift a former Royal Australian Air Force Beechcraft KA350 King Air aircraft (registration A32-673) to the Sri Lankan Government.
May 2023 Air Marshal Richard Maddison becomes Deputy Chief of the Air Staff from May 2023 to September 2023.
May 2023 Following King Charles III's coronation, RAF heraldic badges will be redrawn to feature the Tudor Crown.
April 2023 The RAF helps evacuate over 2,300 people from Sudan during the 2023 Sudan conflict as part of Operation Polarbear.
March 31 2023 Moved to RAF Boulmer just before the closure of RAF Scampton on this date.
2022 Dorset Police seized three drones during the first day of the Bournemouth Air Festival after they were flown in restricted airspace, which violates the Civilian Aviation Authority's Air Navigation Order 2016, specifically Article 241 regarding endangering safety.
2022 Air Commodore Blyth Crawford becomes the Commandant of the Air and Space Warfare Centre, taking over from Richard Davies.
2022 Giles Legood becomes the Archdeacon for the Royal Air Force, succeeding John Ellis.
2022 Mark Perry becomes the Resident Chaplain of St Clement Danes Church.
2022 Malaysian government finalized a tender for maritime patrol aircraft.
2022 The tender was won by the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle, though the decision was challenged and reported to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
2022 HQ AIR initiated a comprehensive change program in the RAF's operating model, leading to the amalgamation of single service Special Investigation Branches (SIBs) into a single formation.
2022 RAF Police was reorganized into the Air Security Force (ASF), with a new structure featuring three Police and Security wings and nine capability-facing squadrons.
December 2022 The Defence Serious Crime Unit (DSCU) took responsibility for Serious and Complex Criminal Investigations, replacing the previous investigative structure.

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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles 750 Naval Air Squadron, Royal Air Force Police, Royal Malaysian Air Force, List of Royal Air Force installations, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom), List of Royal Air Force stations, Royal Air Force Football Association, Royal Air Force, No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group, Heraldic badges of the Royal Air Force, Bournemouth Air Festival, No. 1 Air Control Centre RAF, Air and Space Warfare Centre, Sri Lanka Air Force, Air aide-de-camp, Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch & Assistant Chief of the Air Staff, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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