Bob Judson | |
|---|---|
 Air Vice Marshal Judson in 2014 | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1980–2015 |
| Rank | Air Vice Marshal |
| Commands held | Kandahar Airfield (2008) RAF Coningsby (2004–06) |
| Battles/wars | War in Afghanistan |
Air Vice Marshal Robert W. "Bob" Judson is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer. He was the first Station Commander of RAF Coningsby in the Eurofighter Typhoon-era.
Judson has been involved in many milestone events, personally piloting the 100th Typhoon off the production line to RAF Coningsby from the BAE Systems' Warton factory (Lancs), [1] and acting as overall formation leader for HM The Queen's 80th birthday flypast of nearly 50 aircraft, [2] [3] considered the largest flypast the Royal Air Force has produced in decades.
Promoted to air commodore on 1 July 2007, [4] Judson served as commander of Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan in 2008, [5] and stars in the Channel Five documentary Warzone, which looks into the life and operations of personnel stationed at the airfield.
Judson was appointed Director Targeting and Information Operations in the Ministry of Defence in November 2008. [6]
Since 2015, Judson is a Director in the Resilience and Crisis Management Team, part of Deloitte UK's Risk Advisory service line. [7]
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's aerial warfare force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history. In particular, it played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo that conducts the majority of the project through a joint holding company, Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH. The NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency, representing the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain manages the project and is the prime customer.
Marshal of the Royal Air Force (MRAF) is the highest rank in the British Royal Air Force (RAF). In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), and to retired Chiefs of the Air Staff (CAS), who were promoted to it on their last day of service. While surviving marshals of the RAF retain the rank for life, the highest rank to which officers on active service are promoted is now air chief marshal. Although general promotions to Marshal of the Royal Air Force have been discontinued since the British defence cuts of the 1990s, further promotions to the rank may still be made in wartime, for members of the Royal Family and certain very senior RAF air officers in peacetime at the discretion of the monarch; all such promotions in peacetime are only honorary, however. In 2012, Charles, Prince of Wales was promoted to the rank in recognition of his support for his mother, the Queen, in her capacity as head of the armed forces (commander-in-chief), while in 2014 Lord Stirrup, who had served as Chief of the Air Staff and Chief of the Defence Staff for over seven years, was also promoted.
Royal Air Force Coltishall, more commonly known as RAF Coltishall, is a former Royal Air Force station located 10 miles (16 km) North-North-East of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia, which operated from 1938 to 2006.
Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby, is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located 13.7 kilometres (8.5 mi) south-west of Horncastle, and 15.8 kilometres (9.8 mi) north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and home to the Typhoon Force Headquarters and three front-line Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 units, No. 3 Squadron, No. 11 Squadron and No. 12 Squadron. In support of front-line units, No. 29 Squadron is the Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit and No. 41 Squadron is the Typhoon Operational Evaluation Unit. Coningsby is also the home of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) which operates a variety of historic RAF aircraft.
Number 9 Squadron is the oldest dedicated Bomber Squadron of the Royal Air Force. Formed in December 1914, it saw service throughout the First World War, including at the Somme and Passchendaele. During the Second World War, No. IX (B) Squadron was one of two Avro Lancaster units specialising in heavy precision bombing and sank the battleship Tirpitz on 12 November 1944 in Operation Catechism. Between 1962 and April 1982, the squadron flew the Avro Vulcan B.2 as part of the V-Force. In June 1982, it became the first front-line squadron in the world to operate the Panavia Tornado GR.1. In May 1998, No. IX (B) Squadron received the RAF's first Tornado GR.4, which it operated until reequipping with the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 at its present home base of RAF Lossiemouth on 1 April 2019.
Number 6 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 at RAF Lossiemouth. It was previously equipped with the SEPECAT Jaguar GR.3 in the close air support and tactical reconnaissance roles, and was posted to RAF Coltishall, Norfolk until April 2006, moving to RAF Coningsby until disbanding for the first time in its history on 31 May 2007. The squadron officially reformed as a Typhoon squadron on 6 September 2010. No. 6 Squadron is unique in having two Royal standards, having been awarded its second one by King Abdullah I of Jordan in October 1950 due to its long period of service in the Middle East.
Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH is a multinational company that co-ordinates the design, production and upgrade of the Eurofighter Typhoon, this includes incorporating the jet engines designed and manufactured by EuroJet Turbo GmbH.
Number 3 Squadron, also known as No. 3 (Fighter) Squadron, of the Royal Air Force operates the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, since reforming on 1 April 2006. It was first formed on 13 May 1912 as one of the first squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps – being the first to fly heavier than air aircraft.
No. 1 Group of the Royal Air Force is one of the two operations groups in RAF Air Command. Today, the group is referred to as the Air Combat Group, as it controls the RAF's combat fast-jet aircraft and has airfields in the UK, as well as RAF Support Unit Goose Bay in Canada. The group headquarters is located alongside Headquarters Air Command at RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The other operational group is No. 2 Group RAF.
Number 56 Squadron, nicknamed the Firebirds for their ability to always reappear intact regardless of the odds, is one of the oldest and most successful squadrons of the Royal Air Force, with battle honours from many of the significant air campaigns of both the First and Second World Wars.
Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport, is located about 9 nautical miles south-east of the city Kandahar in Afghanistan. It serves as the nation's second main international airport and as one of the largest main operating bases, capable of housing up to 250 aircraft of different sizes.
A flypast is a ceremonial or honorific flight by a group of aircraft or a single aircraft. The term flypast is used in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. In the United States, the terms flyover and flyby are used.
Air Commodore Gordon Moulds, CBE DL is a retired Senior Royal Air Force Officer who held various commands including most recently Commander of Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Gary George Dalton, is a retired Royal Air Force commander and current Lieutenant Governor of Jersey.
Air Marshal Sir Stuart David Atha, is a former senior officer of the Royal Air Force. He led No. 3 (Fighter) Squadron from 2000 to 2004, which included deployment to Iraq on Operation Telic, commanded RAF Coningsby (2006–08), No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group (2009–10) and No. 1 Group (2011–14), and served as the Air Component Commander for security during the 2012 London Olympics. Atha was Deputy Commander Operations from 2016 to 2019.
Air Commodore Ashley David Stevenson, is a retired senior Royal Air Force (RAF) officer and a former Commandant of Royal Air Force College Cranwell.
Air Vice Marshal Michael John Harwood, is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer who served as Defence Attaché and Head of the British Defence Staff – US in Washington, D.C. from 2008 to 2011.
Air Marshal Sir Kevin James Leeson, is a retired Royal Air Force engineer officer, whose final appointment was as Chief of Materiel – Air at the Defence Equipment and Support organisation, concurrently holding the appointments of Air Member for Materiel on the Air Force Board and Chief Engineer (RAF), at which point he was the most senior non-aircrew officer in the service.
Royal Air Force Leuchars or RAF Leuchars was a Royal Air Force station located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the station was home to fighter aircraft which policed northern UK airspace. The station ceased to be an RAF station at 12:00 hrs on 31 March 2015 when it became Leuchars Station and control of the site was transferred to the British Army. The RAF temporarily returned to Leuchars between August and October 2020 to carry out QRA (N) responsibilities while runway works were being carried out at RAF Lossiemouth.