Air Command | |
---|---|
Founded | 1 April 2007 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Royal Air Force |
Role | Military air operations |
Location | RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire |
Motto(s) | Fortis Ubique Volantis (Flying Bravely Everywhere) |
Air Command is the only Command currently active in the Royal Air Force. It was formed by the merger of Royal Air Force Strike and Personnel and Training commands on 1 April 2007, and has its headquarters at RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. [1]
The equivalent in the Royal Navy is Navy Command Headquarters at Portsmouth and the equivalent in the British Army is Army Headquarters at Andover.
Air Command was formed by the merger of Royal Air Force Strike and Personnel and Training commands on 1 April 2007. Initially, it was under a four-star Air Chief Marshal, Commander-in-Chief, Air Command. At that time, there were two Deputy Commanders of Air Marshal rank: the Deputy Commander-in-Chief (Personnel) and the Deputy Commander-in-Chief (Operations). [2]
Following the implementation of the 2011 Levene Report, the role of Commander-in-Chief, Air Command was discontinued in spring 2012, and the deputy commanders started to report direct to the Chief of the Air Staff. [3] In November 2018, No. 11 Group was formed to create a "multi-domain operations group" as part of RAF Command. [4]
RAF Air Command is led by the Chief of the Air Staff under whom responsibilities are split as follows: [5] [6]
The United Kingdom's Strategic Command (StratCom), previously known as Joint Forces Command (JFC), manages allocated joint capabilities from the three armed services.
Air Chief Marshal Sir John Romney Day, was a senior Royal Air Force commander and a military advisor to BAE Systems.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Christopher Hugh Moran, was a fast jet pilot and later a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. He was Commander-in-Chief of Air Command at the time of his unexpected death.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Anthony Wilkinson Heward, was a senior Royal Air Force (RAF) commander.
Air Marshal Sir Timothy Ivo Jenner, is a retired senior Royal Air Force commander who since retirement has worked for Serco.
No. 22 Group Royal Air Force is one of six groups currently active in the Royal Air Force (RAF), falling under the responsibility of Deputy Commander-in-Chief (Personnel) in Air Command. Its previous title up until 2018 was No. 22 (Training) Group. The group is responsible for RAF training policy and controlling the Royal Air Force College and the RAF's training stations. As such, it is the direct successor to Training Group. 22 Group provides training to all three service branches of the British Armed Forces; namely the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy, and the British Army.
The Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (DCAS) is a senior appointment in the Royal Air Force. The incumbent is the deputy to the Chief of the Air Staff. The post existed from 1918 to 1969, and from 2023 to present. The Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, formerly the Deputy Commander Capability, is responsible for the strategic planning and delivery of all aspects of Royal Air Force capability, including people, equipment, infrastructure, and training. The appointee is a Member of the United Kingdom's Air Force Board as the Air Member for Personnel and Capability due to their position.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Malcolm David Pledger, is a retired Royal Air Force officer.
Air Marshal Sir Richard Frank Garwood, is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer.
Air Chief Marshal Stuart William Peach, Baron Peach, is a British retired senior Royal Air Force officer. After training as a navigator, Peach commanded IX (Bomber) Squadron and then became Deputy Station Commander RAF Bruggen. He was deployed as NATO Air Commander (Forward) in Kosovo in 2000. He went on to be Chief of Defence Intelligence in 2006, Chief of Joint Operations in 2009 and the first Commander of Joint Forces Command in December 2011 before being appointed Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff in May 2013. Peach succeeded General Sir Nick Houghton as Chief of the Defence Staff on 14 July 2016. He succeeded General Petr Pavel as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee on 29 June 2018, serving as such until his retirement from NATO in June 2021.
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 RAF Deputy Commander Operations from 2016 to 2019.
Air Marshal Sir Barry Mark North, is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer, who served as Deputy Commander (Personnel) at RAF Air Command. A helicopter pilot, North has held command appointments at all levels, notably No. 78 Squadron in the Falkland Islands, the Special Forces Flight as a squadron leader and the newly established No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group in the Middle East as an air commodore.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Simon Bryant, is a former Royal Air Force officer, who served as Commander-in-Chief of Air Command, and he was the second-most senior officer in the service until this post was dis-established in March 2012. He was appointed in 2010, following the sudden death of the then Commander-in-Chief, Air Chief Marshal Sir Christopher Moran, having served as Deputy Commander-in-Chief Personnel for just over a year. He was knighted in the 2011 New Year Honours List.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Douglas Pulford, is a retired senior Royal Air Force (RAF) commander. A helicopter pilot with operational service in Northern Ireland, the Falklands War and Iraq War, Pulford commanded RAF Odiham and No. 2 Group, and served as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff Operations, before taking up the post of Deputy Commander-in-Chief Personnel at Air Command and Air Member for Personnel in 2010. He became Chief of the Air Staff on 31 July 2013, retiring from the Royal Air Force on 12 July 2016.
Air Marshal Sir Alan Cyril Davies, was a Royal Air Force officer who served as Deputy Commander of RAF Strike Command in 1977.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard John Knighton, is a senior Royal Air Force (RAF) officer and professional engineer, currently serving as Chief of the Air Staff, the professional head of the RAF, since 2 June 2023. He previously served as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff from January 2015 to January 2017, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff at the Ministry of Defence, and as Deputy Commander Capability at RAF Air Command. Knighton is notable for being the first Chief of the Air Staff who is not a military pilot or indeed aircrew-qualified.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Wigston, is a former senior officer in the Royal Air Force, who served as Chief of the Air Staff from 26 July 2019 until 2 June 2023. He previously served as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff from 2017 to 2018, and Deputy Commander (Personnel) and Air Member for Personnel and Capability from 2018 to 2019.
Air Marshal Harvey Smyth, is a senior Northern Irish Royal Air Force officer, who has been the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff since March 2024. Previously, he served as Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group (2018–2020) and Air and Space Commander (2022–2024). Between February 2020 and August 2022, he took up the new post of Director Space, in the Ministry of Defence.
Air Marshal Richard Clark Maddison, is a senior Royal Air Force officer. He was Air Officer Commanding No. 22 Group RAF from 2020 to 2023, and then served as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff and Air Member for Personnel from May to September 2023.
The Air and Space Commander is the senior Royal Air Force officer responsible for the conduct of air operations. The current Air and Space Commander is Air Marshal Allan Marshall who has been serving in the position since March 2024.
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