UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has announced an ambitious air defence plan, including the establishment of quick reaction alert (QRA) fighter facilities at three bases in southern England.
RAF St Mawgan in Cornwall, Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton in Somerset and RAF Marham in Oxfordshire will be equipped to support QRA aircraft when needed, with construction of the necessary open-ended aircraft shelters (known as Q-Sheds) and adjacent air- and groundcrew accommodation.
Communications infrastructure will be bolstered to support adequate contact between the fighters and their fighter controllers and air defence radar sites.
The airfields will not host permanent QRA detachments, however.
The moves come in the wake of a re-evaluation of Britain's air defences, prompted by the events of 11 September.
Defences, long orientated to cope with the Soviet threat, faced mainly north and north-east, with fighters at RAF Leuchars in Scotland and RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire maintaining a QRA commitment, ready to ‘scramble' at a moment's notice.
The new threat posed by unconventional and asymmetric air terrorist attacks meant visible symbols of the British state, including prominent non-military targets in London and the South-east were potentially at risk. London, with its concentration of government buildings and historic sites, was therefore perceived to be especially at risk.
Harmless
Because terrorist attacks may materialise suddenly, with an apparently harmless aircraft suddenly becoming a threat, detection and reaction times may be dramatically reduced, increasing the need for the forward deployment of interceptors, and for flying standing patrols during certain high-risk periods.
Against this background, the disposition of the UK's Tornado F3s at Leuchars, Leeming and Coningsby in Lincolnshire was far from ideal.
There were suggestions that two Tornado F3 fighters might be forward-deployed to RAF Marham in Norfolk to protect London against terrorist air attack, but this did not materialise.
The deployment may still be mounted following the disbandment of 5 Squadron next summer, or after the Tornado conversion unit moves north to Leuchars.
RAF Coningsby is the closest air defence fighter station to the capital – only 140 miles (225km) and less than 14min flying time away from London.
Coningsby's runway is due to close when the last Tornados move out, while the base is rebuilt for Eurofighter operations.
The use of Marham – an existing Tornado bomber and reconnaissance base – was widely expected, with aircraft and crews rotating from Leuchars and Leeming.
There were unconfirmed reports that a single Tornado was maintained on patrol over London during the Queen Mother's funeral and that this aircraft operated from Leeming.
Under the new plan, work at Marham and St Mawgan will be completed within the next 12 months, with work at RNAS Yeovilton taking slightly longer.
Some Tornado force insiders expressed surprise that Yeovilton had been chosen rather than Boscombe Down, which is well located, has a superb long runway, and an abundance of hardened aircraft shelters, as well as an RAF enclave with its own support facilities.
Squadrons
Aircraft and aircrew at the QRA bases will effectively be provided by the existing squadrons at no additional cost, while the cost of deploying groundcrew, spares, support and test equipment is modest.
The host airfields will have to be able to provide ATC and fire cover 24h per day if required, which may be achievable through the realignment of shift patterns, or which may require changes to unit establishment.
Source: Flight Daily News