Overseas Deployments
| Country | Dates | Deployment | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gibraltar | 1940s– | RAF Gibraltar | No permanently stationed aircraft. RAF aircraft (e.g., Hercules transports) make regular visits. |
| Canada | 1940s– | RAF Unit Goose Bay, Canada | RAF aircraft train in low-level tactical flying at CFB Goose Bay, a NATO air force base of the Royal Canadian Air Force. |
| Cyprus/Malta | 1940– | RAF Akrotiri RAF Nicosia RAF Luqa |
Operation Musketeer also known as the Suez crisis involved RAF aircraft based on Malta and Cyprus. Although no RAF bases remain on Malta, RAF aircraft continue to be stationed at RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus. |
| Norway | 1960s– | Bardufoss Air Station | RAF fighter and/or helicopter squadrons undergo winter-training here most years. |
| Ascension Island | 1982– | RAF Ascension Island | Used as an air bridge between the UK and the Falkland Islands. United States Air Force personnel also stationed at this base. |
| Falkland Islands | 1982– | RAF Stanley RAF Mount Pleasant |
After initial use of the Airport at Stanley, the airbase/airport at Mount Pleasant was built to allow a fighter and transport facility on the islands, and to strengthen the defence capacity of BFFI (British Forces Falkland Islands). BFFI now replaced by BFSAI (British Forces South Atlantic Islands). |
| Bosnia | 1995– | Various helicopters | RAF enforced no-fly zones over the Balkans in the late 1990s and participated in the NATO interventions in Bosnia and Kosovo. RAF helicopters until recently remained to provide support to the United Nations. |
| Afghanistan | 2001– | Operation Veritas Operation Herrick |
Chinooks provided airlift support to coalition forces. Additionally Merlin helicopters began tasking in late 2009 following the end of Operation Telic (Iraq). Since late 2004 six BAe Harriers provided reconnaissance and close air support to the ISAF. The Harriers were replaced by an equivalent force of Tornado GR4 in mid 2009. In August 2010, the Tornado force was uplifted to 10 aircraft. Other support units are deployed to Muscat International Airport in Oman, and air bases in the UAE and the Kingdom of Bahrain. |
| Iraq | 2003- | Operation Telic Operation Kipion |
During the initial invasion, British strike fighters were used. Support aircraft such as the Hercules C130, Puma helicopter and Merlin helicopter stayed in Iraq till the withdrawal in 2009. The Merlin helicopters where the last RAF aircraft to leave Iraq. |
| Kenya | 2008– | Kenya Air Force Laikipia Air Base | Semi permanent detachment involving helicopters giving support to the British Army |
| United States | 2009– | Creech AFB, Nevada | Operation of MQ-9 Reaper UAVs by No. 39 Squadron RAF. |
| Libya | 2011– | Operation Ellamy | Enforcement of no fly zone in Libya according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. |
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