Closure
On 18 July 2011 Defence Secretary Liam Fox announced that RAF Leuchars would close, whilst RAF Lossiemouth in Moray would be spared as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review. The recently formed Typhoon force, which was stood up in March 2011, will now be moved to RAF Lossiemouth in 2013 with the Army expected to take up residence in 2015 onwards.
Very little information of a closure timeline is known. Several lodger units on the station will be required to find new homes if the Army are unable to accommodate them. These include 58 Squadron of the RAF Regiment, 6 Force Protection Wing, No 612 (County of Aberdeen) Squadron RAuxAF, the East of Scotland Universities Air Squadron incorporating 12 Air Experience Flight (who have 5 aircraft based at RAF Leuchars), and the headquarters of Scotland and Northern Ireland Region and South East Scotland Wing of the Air Training Corps.
Since the above had been released, there are now rumours that RAF Leuchars will be retained as a Typhoon base due to a requirement for more Typhoon squadrons. This would mean Lossiemouth would continue with the Tornado until 2019 as the Lockheed Martin F35B works up to front line strength.
Read more about this topic: RAF Leuchars