Tom Burke (RAF officer)

Tom Burke
Born	(1970-05-19) 19 May 1970 (age 55)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Service years	1992–present [1]
Rank	Air Vice-Marshal
Commands	No. 11 Group RAF RAF Waddington No. 39 Squadron RAF
Conflicts	Balkans Iraq War War in Afghanistan Operation Shader
Awards	Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Air Vice-Marshal Thomas James Patrick Burke, CBE (born 19 May 1970) is a British pilot and senior Royal Air Force officer, who served as Air Officer Commanding No. 11 Group RAF from August 2023 to November 2025. ^[2]

Early life

Burke was born on 19 May 1970 in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland. ^[3] Having received a university cadetship, he studied at the University of Southampton, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1991. ^{[3] [4]}

RAF career

Burke was station commander of RAF Waddington from November 2017 to December 2019. ^{[5] [6]} He was promoted air commodore on 6 January 2020 upon appointment as assistant chief of staff operations, ^[7] serving as such until he was appointed director of the Combined Air and Space Operations Centre at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in December 2022. ^[8] He was promoted to air vice-marshal and appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 11 Group RAF from August 2023 to November 2025. ^{[9] [10]}

Burke was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2021 New Year Honours. ^[11]

References

1. "No 11 Group: Air Officer Commanding". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
2. "Senior Appointments". Royal Air Force. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
3. "Burke, Air Vice-Marshal Thomas James Patrick, (born 19 May 1970), Air Officer Commanding No 11 Group, since 2023". Who's Who 2025 . Oxford University Press. 1 December 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
4. "No 11 Group". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
5. "RAF Waddington: Commander". Royal Air Force. Archived from the original on 1 November 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
6. "RAF Waddington: Commander". Royal Air Force. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
7. "No. 62915". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 February 2020. p. 2447.
8. "Senior Appointments". Royal Air Force. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
9. "No. 64194". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 October 2023. p. 20248.
10. "Senior Appointments". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
11. "No. 63218". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2020. p. N7.

Military offices
Preceded by Philip Robinson	Air Officer Commanding No. 11 Group RAF 2023–2025	Succeeded by Steve Kilvington