The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world. The RAF has taken a significant role in British military history, playing a large part in the Second World War as well as in more recent conflicts.
As of January 2012 the Royal Air Force is the largest air force in the world. Although the RAF is the principal British air power arm, the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm and the British Army's Army Air Corps also deliver air power which is integrated into the maritime, littoral and land environments.
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 British Empire; to support the Government’s foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security."
The RAF's mission statement is "... [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 British Defence Mission." The mission statement is supported by the RAF's definition of air power, which guides its strategy. Air power is defined as: "The ability to project power from the air and space to influence the behaviour of people or the course of events."
Contents
History[edit | edit source]
Structure[edit | edit source]
Personnel[edit | edit source]
Aircraft[edit | edit source]
Fighters and attack aircraft[edit | edit source]
Hawker Siddeley Tornado
Supermarine Rapier - 492
Supermarine Spiteful - 224
Supermarine Typhoon - 1,674
Bombers[edit | edit source]
Airborne early warning aircraft[edit | edit source]
Reconnaissance[edit | edit source]
Avro Adelaide
Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander
Canadair-Raytheon CE-196 Sentinel
Hawker Shadow
Hawker Siddeley Protector RG1
Helicopters[edit | edit source]
Transport and air-to-air refueling aircraft[edit | edit source]
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Airbus A300
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Airbus A330 MRTT Voyager
Armstrong Whitworth AW.681
Avro Whisperjet
Canadair CC-177 Stingray
De Havilland dH.125 Jet Dragon
De Havilland Canada DHC-9 Bison
Fairey Rotodyne
Short Belfast
Vickers VC10
Vickers VC14
Search and rescue aircraft[edit | edit source]
Training aircraft[edit | edit source]
Aérospatiale AS350 Ecureuil
Embraer EMB 312 Tucano
Grob G 115
Grob G103a Twin II
Grob G 109
Hawker Hawk
Mitsubishi MU-2