RAF Infos Your Definitive Source for RAF & Military Aviation

RAF Infos

Your Definitive Source for RAF & Military Aviation

Latest Articles

The Sortie That Decides Everything: Inside the High-Stakes Evaluation Flights That Shape RAF Pilot Careers
Training & Personnel

The Sortie That Decides Everything: Inside the High-Stakes Evaluation Flights That Shape RAF Pilot Careers

Within the RAF's pilot training pipeline, certain sorties carry a weight disproportionate to their duration. A single flight of less than an hour can close the door on a fast jet career or accelerate a pilot's trajectory beyond expectation. This is an examination of those moments — what creates them, what they demand, and what they reveal about the institution that stages them.
Keeping the Cold War Airborne: The Engineers Racing to Preserve Britain's Vintage RAF Fleet
Technology & Procurement

Keeping the Cold War Airborne: The Engineers Racing to Preserve Britain's Vintage RAF Fleet

Across a handful of specialist hangars in Britain, small teams of engineers are engaged in a quiet battle against time, working to keep Cold War-era RAF aircraft not merely preserved but genuinely airworthy. Their tools are ingenuity, institutional memory, and an increasingly rare understanding of technologies the modern aerospace industry has long since abandoned.
Into the Storm: The Extraordinary Training That Prepares RAF Search and Rescue Crews for Britain's Harshest Rescues
Training & Personnel

Into the Storm: The Extraordinary Training That Prepares RAF Search and Rescue Crews for Britain's Harshest Rescues

Long before an RAF search and rescue helicopter lifts into a Scottish blizzard or hovers above a stricken North Sea platform, its crew have endured some of the most demanding preparation in British military aviation. This is an account of the training, the judgement calls, and the human cost of keeping Britain's most vulnerable alive.
The Remote Cockpit: Inside the RAF's Drone Operations and the Future of Unmanned Air Power
Technology & Procurement

The Remote Cockpit: Inside the RAF's Drone Operations and the Future of Unmanned Air Power

At RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, a cadre of highly trained operators conducts missions thousands of miles from their physical location, managing lethal assets with precision and bearing the unique psychological weight that comes with remote combat. As unmanned systems grow ever more central to British air power, the men and women behind these operations are quietly rewriting the doctrine of modern warfare.
Concrete and Memory: The Slow Erasure of Britain's RAF Heritage Landscape
Training & Personnel

Concrete and Memory: The Slow Erasure of Britain's RAF Heritage Landscape

Across Britain, the physical remnants of the RAF's operational history are disappearing at an accelerating rate, replaced by housing estates, logistics parks, and retail developments. For aviation historians, preservation societies, and former station personnel, each demolition represents not merely the loss of bricks and mortar, but the irretrievable erasure of stories that shaped the nation.
From Flight Deck to A&E: The Remarkable Second Acts of RAF Medical Professionals
Training & Personnel

From Flight Deck to A&E: The Remarkable Second Acts of RAF Medical Professionals

When RAF medical officers hang up their uniforms, they carry with them a form of clinical experience that few civilian practitioners can match. From trauma centres in Manchester to aeromedical units at Heathrow, former RAF flight surgeons and combat medics are reshaping how Britain's healthcare institutions operate under pressure.
On the Edge of the Envelope: Inside the Secretive World of RAF Experimental Test Pilots
Training & Personnel

On the Edge of the Envelope: Inside the Secretive World of RAF Experimental Test Pilots

Before any RAF aircraft enters operational service, a small cadre of extraordinarily skilled aviators must first fly it into the unknown. These experimental test pilots operate at the intersection of courage and precision science, accepting risks that few can comprehend in order to validate the systems that will protect Britain for generations to come.
Spanners Before Degrees: Why Britain's Brightest Young Engineers Are Swapping Lecture Halls for RAF Hangars
Training & Personnel

Spanners Before Degrees: Why Britain's Brightest Young Engineers Are Swapping Lecture Halls for RAF Hangars

The Royal Air Force's apprenticeship and engineering fast-track programmes are mounting a serious challenge to the traditional university pathway, offering school leavers hands-on technical mastery, a salary from day one, and a career trajectory that many graduates can only envy. As Britain grapples with a deepening aerospace skills shortage, the RAF's approach to growing its own talent may well represent the most compelling vocational offer in the country.
Fortress at the Edge of the World: The RAF Pilots Holding Britain's Most Isolated Front Line
Training & Personnel

Fortress at the Edge of the World: The RAF Pilots Holding Britain's Most Isolated Front Line

Eight thousand miles from home, a small detachment of RAF Typhoon pilots maintains round-the-clock air defence over the Falkland Islands — one of Britain's most strategically sensitive overseas territories. Far from the headlines and the ceremonial fanfare of home-based squadrons, these aviators operate in conditions of profound isolation, facing operational challenges that test both machine and crew in equal measure. RAF Infos examines what life and duty truly demand at Mount Pleasant.
Briefing the Next Generation: How RAF Combat Pilots Are Sparking a STEM Revolution in Britain's Classrooms
Training & Personnel

Briefing the Next Generation: How RAF Combat Pilots Are Sparking a STEM Revolution in Britain's Classrooms

A growing RAF initiative is placing combat-experienced fighter pilots directly into secondary school classrooms, using the raw realities of military aviation to ignite student passion for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Far from a simple careers fair exercise, the programme is reshaping how young people in Britain engage with complex technical disciplines. For an air force that depends on a steady pipeline of skilled engineers and aviators, the stakes could hardly be higher.
Ears in the Ether: How RAF Signals Intelligence Aircraft Are Redefining Britain's Awareness of Modern Threats
Technology & Procurement

Ears in the Ether: How RAF Signals Intelligence Aircraft Are Redefining Britain's Awareness of Modern Threats

Largely invisible to the public yet indispensable to national security, the RAF's signals intelligence platforms conduct some of the most consequential missions in Britain's defence posture. Operating across European flashpoints and global hotspots, these specialised aircraft and their highly trained crews intercept, decode, and analyse the electronic signatures of adversaries whose ambitions increasingly challenge the rules-based international order. Understanding what they do — and why it matt
Ingenuity Over Expenditure: How RAF Engineers Are Doing More With Less and Why It Matters
Technology & Procurement

Ingenuity Over Expenditure: How RAF Engineers Are Doing More With Less and Why It Matters

With defence budgets perpetually under pressure, RAF engineers and procurement specialists have developed a remarkable culture of creative problem-solving that keeps frontline capability intact without breaking the Treasury's back. From clever retrofits to homegrown software solutions, the Royal Air Force has turned financial constraint into an unlikely engine of innovation. This investigation examines the methods, the mindset, and the broader lessons on offer.
Wings Transferred: How RAF Fast Jet Pilots Are Reshaping Commercial Aviation and What Their Success Reveals About Britain's Military Training Legacy
Training & Personnel

Wings Transferred: How RAF Fast Jet Pilots Are Reshaping Commercial Aviation and What Their Success Reveals About Britain's Military Training Legacy

Each year, a cohort of former RAF fast jet pilots trades the cockpit of a Typhoon or Tornado for the flight deck of a commercial airliner, carrying with them a set of competencies that the airline industry quietly prizes above almost any other background. Their transition illuminates not only the personal journey of career change, but the enduring quality of a training pipeline that Britain has refined over generations. What does the civilian aviation world see in these individuals, and what doe
Forged in Fire: How Three Decades of RAF Combat Operations Have Rewritten NATO's Air Power Playbook
Training & Personnel

Forged in Fire: How Three Decades of RAF Combat Operations Have Rewritten NATO's Air Power Playbook

From the skies over Baghdad to the intelligence briefings informed by the war in Ukraine, the Royal Air Force has spent three decades converting hard-won operational experience into doctrine that shapes how NATO thinks about modern air warfare. This is the story of how combat lessons become training protocols, and how British air power expertise continues to influence allied strategy at the highest levels.
Hearing the Fault: How RAF Acoustic Engineers Keep Aircraft Flying Through the Science of Sound
Technology & Procurement

Hearing the Fault: How RAF Acoustic Engineers Keep Aircraft Flying Through the Science of Sound

Beneath the roar of jet engines lies a quieter discipline that could mean the difference between a routine sortie and a catastrophic failure. A cadre of highly specialised RAF engineers have developed the remarkable ability to diagnose mechanical faults through sound analysis, vibration monitoring, and acoustic pattern recognition. This is the story of the men and women who listen to Britain's aircraft with extraordinary precision.
Watchers in the Dark: The Hidden Radar Network Standing Guard Over British Skies
Technology & Procurement

Watchers in the Dark: The Hidden Radar Network Standing Guard Over British Skies

Scattered across windswept hilltops, remote coastlines, and quiet corners of the British countryside, a network of radar stations operates ceaselessly to protect the United Kingdom's airspace. These facilities, largely invisible to the public, form the critical first line of detection against any aerial threat approaching British shores. This article examines the infrastructure, the people, and the evolving technology that keeps the nation's air picture sharp around the clock.
Scotland's Shield: Inside RAF Lossiemouth's Role as Britain's Arctic Sentinel
Technology & Procurement

Scotland's Shield: Inside RAF Lossiemouth's Role as Britain's Arctic Sentinel

RAF Lossiemouth has quietly evolved into one of the most strategically consequential air stations in NATO's northern flank, shouldering responsibility for intercepting Russian military aircraft with increasing regularity. From expanded infrastructure to hardened Typhoon squadrons on round-the-clock Quick Reaction Alert, the Moray base now sits at the sharp end of Britain's response to a resurgent Arctic threat. This is the story of how a remote Scottish station became central to the defence of t
Vertical Ambitions: The Transformation of RAF STOVL Pilot Training from Jump Jet to Lightning
Training & Personnel

Vertical Ambitions: The Transformation of RAF STOVL Pilot Training from Jump Jet to Lightning

The RAF's journey from the iconic Harrier Jump Jet to the F-35B Lightning II represents far more than a straightforward aircraft upgrade — it marks a fundamental reimagining of how Britain trains pilots to master one of aviation's most demanding disciplines. From nozzle management drills in converted hangars to immersive full-motion simulators replicating carrier deck landings, the evolution of STOVL training tells a story of hard-won lessons, technological leaps, and an enduring British commitm
Guardians Above the Horizon: How the RAF's Airborne Early Warning Force Keeps Britain's Skies Secure
Technology & Procurement

Guardians Above the Horizon: How the RAF's Airborne Early Warning Force Keeps Britain's Skies Secure

For decades, the RAF's E-3D Sentry aircraft have served as the nation's elevated eyes, detecting airborne threats far beyond the reach of ground-based radar. As these ageing platforms approach the end of their operational lives, Britain faces a critical juncture in maintaining the airborne early warning capability upon which its entire air defence architecture depends. This article examines the technology, the crews, and the procurement decisions that will define the future of UK air sovereignty
The Invisible Hand: How RAF Air Traffic Controllers Shape Every Mission from the Ground Up
Training & Personnel

The Invisible Hand: How RAF Air Traffic Controllers Shape Every Mission from the Ground Up

They never leave the ground, yet their decisions determine whether aircraft return safely. RAF air traffic controllers operate in the shadows of military aviation, wielding authority that directly governs pilot safety and mission success across every theatre of operations.