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The '''Royal Air Force''' ('''RAF''') is the air force of Britain. It was formed in 1918 by a merger of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). DIvided between Fighter Command and Bomber Command, the RAF was a vitally important factor of World War II. Fighter Command won the [[Battle of Britain]] in 1940 and, from 1941 to 1945, Bomber Command was in frequent operation over enemy territory.
The '''Royal Air Force''' ('''RAF''') is the youngest military service of the United Kingdom; the RAF and Women's Royal Air Force were formed on 1 Apr 1918.<ref name=RAF-TL->{{citation
| url = http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/raftimeline19181929.cfm
| title = RAF Timeline 1918-1929
| author = Royal Air Force}}</ref>
==Current operations==
RAF units are both permanently and temporarily assigned to locations worldwide.
===Locations===
Permanent deployments include:
*UK Air Defence
*[[Gibraltar]]
*[[Ascension Island]]
*[[Falkland Islands]]
*[[Cyprus]]
*[[Nevada]] (joint training facility in the [[United States of America]]


Major temporary operations have included:
*[[Operation Telic]] (Iraq)
*[[Operation Herrick]] (Afghanistan)
*[[United States Central Command]], [[Tampa, Florida]]
*[[Balkans]]
*[[Sierra Leone]]
*[[Diego Garcia]]
*[[Persian Gulf]]
*[[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]
*[[Sudan]]
===Equipment===
===Offensive===
The RAF operates two series of [[Harrier (fighter)]] [[STOVL]] (short takeoff and vertical landing) aircraft, from both land and sea bases. It also uses the [[Tornado GR4]] version of the [[Panavia]] for strike missions, and will be adopting the [[Eurofighter Typhoon]]. The Typhoon replaces the air defense variant of the Tornado, called the F2 or F3in British service, as well as the Jaguar ground support aircraft.
===C3I-ISR===
Tornado and Harrier aircraft can mount tactical reconnaissance pods, and the RAF increasingly uses [[unmanned aerial vehicle]]s such as the [[MQ-9 Reaper]]. Other aircraft include the R1 [[signals intelligence]] and [[imagery intelligence]] variant of the [[BaE Systems Nimrod]], as well as the [[Sentinel R1]] [[synthetic aperture radar]] surveillance aircraft, derived from the Bomardier Global Express business jet.
==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Reviewed Passed if Improved]][[Category:Suggestion Bot Tag]]

Latest revision as of 17:01, 13 October 2024

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The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force of Britain. It was formed in 1918 by a merger of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). DIvided between Fighter Command and Bomber Command, the RAF was a vitally important factor of World War II. Fighter Command won the Battle of Britain in 1940 and, from 1941 to 1945, Bomber Command was in frequent operation over enemy territory.

References