Royal Air Force
Air and space warfare force of the United Kingdom
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2025 | Mohammad Sharif Ibrahim concludes his term as commander of the Royal Brunei Air Force |
2025 | At LIMA 2025, Malaysia awarded Thales contracts for two additional Ground Master 400 radar systems for the Royal Malaysian Air Force. |
2025 | Four additional AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters were leased, bringing the total to eight aircraft, continuing the temporary replacement strategy for the Nuri helicopters. |
2025 | A Bell 212 helicopter was lost in 2025. |
May 6 2025 | A BAE Hawk 208 (M40-26) experienced a front landing gear collapse upon touchdown in Alor Setar, Perak, during a training exercise for the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2025. |
April 28 2025 | M R W Chamara Weerasinghe is scheduled for ID verification as Air Force Commander at the Air Force Commander's office in Colombo at 9am. |
April 2025 | Deployed to the 22nd Air Base in Poland for Operation Chessman, operating Typhoon FGR4 aircraft from No. II (AC) Squadron |
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. |
March 24 2025 | Air Commodore Mark J. Northover (MBE, ADC) begins tenure as Air Officer Scotland |
2024 | Squadron Leader Dave Hart assumes the role of Commanding Officer of the Northumbrian Universities Air Squadron, leading from 2024 to the present. |
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 |
October 2024 | UK government allocates £1.3 billion for FCAS development, primarily directed towards the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), reducing the original budget of £1.46 billion based on updated industry assessments. |
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. |
July 17 2024 | Air Commodore J. Lyle becomes the latest Commandant of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. |
May 25 2024 | Squadron Leader Mark Long was killed when his Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk.IXe MK356 crashed shortly after takeoff near RAF Coningsby. He was a four-year veteran pilot with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) and was scheduled to become Officer Commanding BBMF in October 2024. The aircraft was en route to a display at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre's 'Lanc, Tank and Military Machines' event. |
May 2 2024 | Major General Fatumah Ahmed was appointed as the Commander of the Kenya Air Force, becoming a significant milestone as potentially the first female commander of the air force. |
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. |
January 18 2024 | Air Commodore W. R. Gibson (MBE, ADC, MA, RAFR) begins tenure as Air Officer Scotland |
2023 | Squadron Leader John Rowe takes command of the Cambridge University Air Squadron and continues to serve as of the current date. |
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. |
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles 750 Naval Air Squadron, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff, Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch, Air commodore, Royal Malaysian Air Force, Northumbrian Universities Air Squadron, List of Royal Air Force installations, Sri Lanka Air Force, Air Officer Scotland, Future Combat Air System (UK), List of Royal Air Force stations, Bournemouth Air Festival, Royal Air Force Football Association, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom), No. 140 Expeditionary Air Wing, Cambridge University Air Squadron, Royal Air Force, Royal Air Force College Cranwell, List of fatal accidents and incidents involving Royal Air Force aircraft from 1945, Commander of the Air Force (Kenya), Air aide-de-camp & No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.