The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five RN fighting arms. As of 2023 it is a predominantly "rotary" force, with helicopters undertaking roles once performed by biplanes such as the Fairey Swordfish. It operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike and the AW159 Wildcat and AW101 Merlin for commando and anti-submarine warfare.
The Harrier, informally referred to as the Harrier jump jet, is a family of jet-powered attack aircraft capable of vertical/short takeoff and landing operations (V/STOL). Named after a bird of prey, it was originally developed by British manufacturer Hawker Siddeley in the 1960s. The Harrier emerged as the only truly successful V/STOL design of the many attempted during that era. It was conceived to operate from improvised bases, such as car parks or forest clearings, without requiring large and vulnerable air bases. Later, the design was adapted for use from aircraft carriers.
Royal Air Force Station Cottesmore or more simply RAF Cottesmore is a former Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, situated between Cottesmore and Market Overton. On 15 December 2009, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth announced that the station would close in 2013 as part of defence spending cuts, along with the retirement of the Harrier GR9 and the disbandment of Joint Force Harrier. The formal closing ceremony took place on 31 March 2011, and the airfield became a satellite of RAF Wittering until March 2012.
The Blackburn Buccaneer is a British carrier-capable attack aircraft designed in the 1950s for the Royal Navy (RN). Designed and initially produced by Blackburn Aircraft at Brough, it was later officially known as the Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer when Blackburn became a part of the Hawker Siddeley Group, but this name is rarely used.
The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was a British policy document produced in July 1998 by the Labour Government that had gained power a year previously. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of the new government, with a series of key decisions designed to enhance the United Kingdom's armed forces.
The British Aerospace Harrier II is a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) jet aircraft used previously by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and, between 2006 and 2010, the Royal Navy (RN). The aircraft was the latest development of the Harrier family, and was derived from the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II. Initial deliveries of the Harrier II were designated in service as Harrier GR5; subsequently upgraded airframes were redesignated accordingly as GR7 and GR9.
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.
Number 4 Squadron, normally written as No. IV Squadron, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. Since November 2011, it has operated the BAE Hawk T2 from RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales. The squadron provides weapons and tactics training for student pilots after they have completed their conversion to jet aircraft with No. XXV(F) Squadron. Between 1970 and January 2011, No. IV Squadron operated various marks of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier and British Aerospace Harrier II.
The Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment (TTTE) was a multinational air unit based at RAF Cottesmore in Rutland, England, from 1981 to 1999. It performed training on the Panavia Tornado for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Luftwaffe, Marineflieger and Italian Air Force. Initially, pilots received four weeks of training on the ground, followed by nine weeks in the air.
Royal Air Force Brawdy, or more simply RAF Brawdy, is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located 6.3 miles (10.1 km) east of St Davids, Pembrokeshire and 9.8 miles (15.8 km) south west of Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was operational between 1944 and 1992; it was used by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy (1946–1971), before the site was turned over to the British Army and renamed Cawdor Barracks.
800 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier-based squadron formed on 3 April 1933 by amalgamating No's 402 and 404 Flights.
The Defence Aviation Repair Agency, better known as DARA, was an executive agency of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence, responsible for the maintenance and repair of Royal Air Force, Army and the Royal Navy's aircraft. It became part of the Defence Support Group from 1 April 2008. Part of the Defence Support Group (DSG) was sold to Babcock on 31 March 2015 while the remainder became the Defence Electronics and Components Agency (DECA) on 1 April 2015.
892 Naval Air Squadron was a carrier-based fighter squadron of the British Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It was formed in 1943, flying Grumman Martlets, and was the only operational Fleet Air Arm squadron to fly the McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1.
801 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm squadron of the Royal Navy formed in 1933 which fought in World War II, the Korean War and the Falklands War.
809 Naval Air Squadron is a squadron of the Fleet Air Arm of the United Kingdom. It was first formed in 1941 and flew in the Soviet Union, the Mediterranean and the Far East during the Second World War.In Jan 54 the sqdn equipt with Sea Hornet NF21s joined HMS Eagle enroute to the Med, however when an a/c was lost over the ships side the sqdn was put ashore in Gibraltar to operate from North Front airfield, the sqdn personnel were embarked on another carrier on way back to the UK the a/c having flown back to UK at this time. The sqdn was disbanded at Culdrose and moved to Yeovilton and took delivery of Venom 20s later updated to 21s, in Nov 55 moved to Malta operating from RAF Takali as Halfar was undergoing runway refurbishment. After active service during the Suez Crisis, 809 was disbanded in 1959. Reformed in 1963 to fly Blackburn Buccaneers, the squadron was disbanded briefly in 1965-66, and then again in 1978. A brief period during the Falklands War saw 809 reformed to bring Sea Harrier FRS.1 aircraft south to the UK task group and to fly from HMS Illustrious.
The Naval Strike Wing (NSW) was a flying unit of the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. It was formed on 9 March 2007. It included elements of 801 and 800 Squadrons, amalgamated into a single operational unit for deployment either on land or aboard the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers. Equipped with Harrier GR7 and GR9 aircraft and based at RAF Cottesmore, NSW was the Naval component of Joint Force Harrier.
899 Naval Air Squadron was a squadron of the Fleet Air Arm of the United Kingdom.
The Strike Attack Operational Evaluation Unit (SAOEU) or Strike Attack OEU, was a unit of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Boscombe Down in Wiltshire between 1988 and 2004. The unit operated the Panavia Tornado GR1 and GR4, BAE Harrier and SEPECAT Jaguar aircraft. The role of the SAOEU was to evaluate new and existing equipment and to develop fast-jet ground attack tactics in order to provide timely advice to the front line.
This is a list of data removed from McDonnell Douglas Phantom in UK service as a result of the editorial process.
United Kingdom 
Royal Air Force 
Royal Navy 
