In a previous article, I said I would decide whether to support the Government in extending military action against ISIL/Daesh into Syria once I had seen the motion. The motion is here and it is as follows (layout and emphasis my own): That this House notes that ISIL poses a direct […]
Read MorePost Tagged with: "RAF"
The capacity of the Royal Air Force
Much of Friday’s debate took for granted the Royal Air Force’s capacity to deliver substantial air power. We are to understand the operation in Iraq could last for years. In 1991, at the time of our first Gulf War, the RAF had exactly 30 front-line fast jet squadrons. Today, we […]
Read MoreVisiting RAF Coningsby and experiencing Typhoon
As one of just two ex-Royal Air Force officers in Parliament – Jason McCartney is the other – I was delighted this week to visit RAF Coningsby under the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme to witness first-hand a Quick Reaction Alert training sortie. We flew to an area over Wales to rehearse techniques for intercepting, […]
Read MoreThe astonishing RAF Benevolent Fund
Back in November, I mentioned the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund in debate and I recently had the pleasure of meeting Paul Hewson, the Fund’s Regional Director for London, Home Counties and South England. As it says on the Fund’s site: We are the RAF’s leading welfare charity providing practical, financial […]
Read MoreWar planes mark 70th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s Battle of Britain speech – Telegraph
Ex-fighter pilots and relatives of war heroes joined commemorations as Sir Winston Churchill’s stirring ‘so much owed by so many to so few’ speech was read out, prompting tears in the crowd. The actor Robert Hardy began reading out the speech at 3.52pm, exactly 70 years after the wartime prime […]
Read MoreBBC News – Trident costs must come from MoD budget, Osborne says
Could this be a game-changer? The full £20bn cost of renewing the UK’s Trident nuclear deterrent must be paid for by the Ministry of Defence, George Osborne has said. Traditionally, the Treasury has always found the money for the submarines. The chancellor’s comments come as Defence Secretary Liam Fox warned […]
Read MoreNew Queen’s colours for the RAF and RAF Regiment
What a parade and what a great deal of rain to round it off. I was delighted to see this young officer:
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