13 Squadron RAF reformed @ Waddington yesterday

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Stratofreighter
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13 Squadron RAF reformed @ Waddington yesterday

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...with Reaper MQ-9s... :(

They did fly Tornadoes from Marham until 2011... :(

http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive/raf- ... n-26102012
RAF Reforms 13 Squadron

26 October 2012

Number 13 Squadron reformed today at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire.

The Squadron will operate as the first Remotely Piloted Air System (RPAS) Squadron to be based in the UK; using Ground Control Stations at Waddington, the Squadron will control Reaper MQ-9 aircraft based in Kandahar in Afghanistan via satellite.

As part of plans to improve and sustain UK Reaper operations until 2015, 13 Squadron will be the second RPAS squadron in the Royal Air Force with the other,

39 Squadron,
currently operating from Creech Air Force Base in the USA.
UK Reapers are integral to the RAF’s airpower capability, complementing the Squadrons of manned aircraft.
Their primary role is to provide Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) for allied forces with a secondary role of providing armed support if required.

RAF Waddington was selected as the location for UK Reaper Ground Control Stations as it is the RAF’s Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and
Reconnaissance (ISTAR) Hub,
providing a range of manned ISTAR aircraft for operations.

To mark the occasion Squadron personnel took part in a parade which was reviewed by Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, the Chief of the Air Staff, and attended by other senior RAF and US Air Force officers and 13 Squadron family members.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton said:

‘I was delighted to be able to review the parade held to mark the reformation of 13 Squadron at RAF Waddington. It is fitting that a Squadron with such a fine Reconnaissance history will be based at the home of the Royal Air Force’s combat-ISTAR Force.

When fully operational, 13 Squadron will significantly increase the Royal Air Force’s contribution to the ISTAR support of United Kingdom and allied ground forcesspecifically over Afghanistan.‘
November 2024 update at FokkerNews.nl....
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