Royal Air Force (RAF)
What aircraft will fly in the Queen’s Jubilee flypast?
A highlight for many of Thursday's (June 2) Platinum Jubilee celebrations will be a mass military flypast over Buckingham Palace. Key.Aero rounds up the aircraft expected to take part
UK should keep C-130Js Defence Committee told
The UK should retain the C-130J Hercules fleet, which is slated for retirement in 2023, according to evidence given recently to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee.
The secret Cold War RAF missions to test Soviet radars
Radio Proving Flights: the innocuous name given to top-secret electronic intelligence-gathering sorties, approved at the highest level, probing the performance of Soviet radar systems. In a lesser-known facet of its brief RAF service, the Boeing Washington was among the platforms that undertook this crucial Cold War role.
‘Those sorties put hairs on your chest’: Jaguar pilot memories
In the first of a two part video interview with Wg Cdr Mike Sutton (ret’d), whose book ‘Typhoon’ follows his career in the RAF and also what it was like leading a squadron on operations against ISIS, we focus on his time flying the Jaguar
New RAF Typhoon radar still planned for introduction by 2030
The next step of the planned European Common Radar System Mark 2 Active Electronically Scanned Array radar, intended to be fitted to Royal Air Force Typhoon multi-role fighters, will see the completion of a prototype system ahead of manufacturer testing
Exclusive Interview: RAF C-130J attends Red Flag-Alaska
During the dates of April 28 to May 13, one of the largest multi-national combat training exercises was taking place at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) in Alaska. Key.Aero spoke to the Officer Commanding of No. 47 Squadron, RAF, Wg Cdr James Sjoberg, about the unit’s involvement at Red Flag-Alaska (RF-A) 22-1
RAF surges reserve Voyagers into service as operational demands grow
For the first time, the RAF has surged two reserve Airbus A330-243 Voyager KC2/KC3 Multi-Role Tanker Transports – operated by the AirTanker consortium – into active service to cater for growing operational demands over Eastern Europe
When an RAF Phantom shot down a 14 Sqn Jaguar
May 2022 marks the 40th anniversary of the RAF Phantom fleet’s one and only air-to-air ‘kill’. But, as Ian Black reveals, it was not a celebrated event
UK MOD issues RFI for New Medium Helicopter programme
A much-anticipated Request for Information (RFI) was issued by the UK MOD on May 18 for the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) contract to supply up to 44 NMHs to replace existing rotorcraft systems for Army and Strategic Commands
The colourful life of an aviation photographer
Fred Hill had a colourful life as an aviation photographer. Mark Hill reflects on his late father’s varied career – from learning his trade in the RAF to working on trials with the Vulcan and Shackleton at Woodford, Fred’s valuable imagery undoubtedly assisted in aircraft development