Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1308154
it belonged to the Tranche 3A. The RAF's Eurofighter bears the name Typhoon. The twin-seater Block 5 jets belonging to Tranche 1 bear the name Typhoon T1. Tranche 1 Block 5 single-seaters have the F2 designation, the later twin-seater is known by T3, while the sin- gle-seaters of the younger tranches are desig- nated FGR 4. The original plan that the RAF made was that the Royal Air Force would own 5 squadrons gathering 107 Typhoons. This was related to the plan that assumed all 53 Tranche 1 jets would be decommissioned. Rapid withdraw- al of the aircraft that only reached the third of their life-cycles was met by a lot of criticism. Ultimately, the decision to completely with- draw the Tranche 1 Typhoons was revoked. This was also mentioned in the 2015 SDSR (Strategic Defence and Security Review) doc- ument. As opposed to the original plans, the SDSR expects the lifetime of those jets to be extended until 2035. This decision would mean that the RAF would have seven frontline Typhoon squadrons at its disposal, instead of five. The Tranche 1 air- craft would be gathered in two squadrons. The main tasking for them would involve the QRA and aggressor duties. The aforesaid decisions do not mean that the Royal Air Force resigned from the plan to retire the legacy aircraft completely. Back in April 2018, it was announced that 16 Tranche 1 twin-seater aircraft would be withdrawn. Following that, they would be returned to BAE Systems. They are undergoing works aimed at cannibalization of spares, with that inventory being quite useful for the active aircraft. As the RAF announced, spares coming from a single airframe have a value of around 50 million GBP. The fighters are operated by six operational squadrons and two test and evaluation squad- rons. The latter are tasked with testing new weapons and tactics. RAF Coningsby is a home for two opera- tional squadrons flying the FGR.4, alongside two secondary squadrons (41st Test and Evaluation Squadron testing the new weap- ons and systems integrated on the British Typhoons; and No. 29 Squadron Operational Conversion Unit, tasked with training the Typhoon pilots, within the scope of type con- version). RAF Lossiemouth, being the second base for the UK's Typhoon fleet, hosts three operation- al squadrons and a single international mixed squadron - the No. 12 (Bomber) Squadron that is a fused Qatar-UK unit stationed in the UK. Lossiemouth is going to host another Eurofighter squadron in the future. The second type operated by the RAF is the F-35B. The UK is the most important foreign participant of the Joint Strike Fighter program, with a financial contribution (as a Tier 1 part- ner) of 3 billion US dollars. The first F-35Bs were received by the RAF back in 2012. Until 2020 the Royal Air Force would operate 21 ex- amples of this aircraft. Currently, further F-35s are undergoing induction. The units receiving the jets are gradually achieving full operational capability. In May 2019 the jets of the RAF Squadron 617 have achieved initial combat readiness for mis- sions flown out of land bases. That readiness was then expressed by the first foreign deploy- ment, as six F-35B flew to the RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. The jets, throughout deployment last- ing six weeks, were involved in training and operations over Syria. Currently, the unit is engaged in intense training activities aimed at achieving full combat readiness for carrier ops later this year. This is related to the first tour of the Royal Navy's carrier strike group, expected to take place in 2021. Interestingly, the British Lightning II jets will become the basic inven- tory of both the RAF squadrons, as well as of the Fleet Air Arm belonging to the Royal Navy. Operationally, however, all squadrons will be a part of the RAF. RAF Marham would be hosting the F-35Bs. Currently, it is a home base for two units: No. 617 Squadron RAF (the first British op- erational unit flying the new jet), and No. 207 Squadron RAF OCU (Operational Conversion Unit) - a training unit. Edwards AFB in the US, meanwhile, hosts the No.17(R) Squadron RAF www.fragoutmag.com