Along with the improvement of interceptors and detection equipment, the command structure underwent major changes. In 2005, by the time the IUKADGE system was built, 11 different facilities were operating in the United Kingdom - command posts, analytical centers, communication centers and radar posts.
The British Air Force is responsible for the control of the Kingdom's airspace, for which a corresponding structure has been created - Air Surveillance and Control System (ASACS) - "Air surveillance and control system". ASACS is responsible for air border integrity, air attack notification, air situation coverage, radar information and fighter interceptor guidance. ASACS interacts with National Air Traffic Services (NATS) - "National Air Traffic Service".
NATS manages traffic in UK airspace and over the Northeast Atlantic during peacetime. Until 2007, air traffic control was carried out from the RAF West Drayton airbase - "West Drayton". The UK Air Traffic Control Center is now located in Swanwick, Hampshire. Here, in their specially designated sector, representatives of the RAF are constantly present, thanks to which, in crisis situations, operational interaction between the civilian ATC service and the Air Force is possible. Part of the central control room was built to military standards. Although the designers and builders were never tasked with ensuring the safety of the building after a nearby nuclear explosion, as was the case with the bunkers of the "Rotor" system, the central section of the control complex has increased strength. The complex is equipped with its own life support system: a boiler room with liquid fuel reserves, an artesian well and diesel generators. The number of personnel regulating and controlling air traffic over the UK on a daily basis can be gauged by the number of vehicles parked near the ATC center in Swanwick.
UK Air Traffic Control Center at Swanwick
Another large dispatch center, interacting with ASACS, is located in the suburbs of London, 4 km north of Heathrow Airport. In the past, it was planned to close it, but due to the high intensity of flights over the territory of the UK and the need to control aircraft taking off and landing at Heathrow Airport, the duplicate control center was retained. In order to reflect the fact that there are currently two civilian ATC locations in the UK, the center has been renamed the London Air Traffic Control Center.
To accommodate the command posts of IUKADGE, several highly protected bunkers, built in the 50s for the Rotor air defense system, were revived, and even new ones were being built. One of these multi-storey underground structures is located near the town of Alnwick in Northumberland in the north-east of England. The facility, known as Boulmer Air Base or Bunker R3A, is the command post of the ASACS, the missile attack warning system and the center for observation of near-Earth space.
Construction on RAF Boulmer began in 1950. Since 1954, one of the many radar posts and a communications center has been located here. Subsequently, the status of the base was raised to the level of a regional command post.
Shift officers in one of the underground halls of RAF Boulmer, photo taken in the 90s
During the implementation of the "Mediator" program, when the number of command posts, communication centers and radar stations was reduced several times, the equipment for processing, displaying and transmitting information at Boulmer airbase was radically modernized. Instead of the old American radars AN / FPS-3 and AN / TPS-10, a British-made station Type 84 was deployed here.
Radar Type 101 near Boulmer airbase
Since the mid-70s, the role of this facility in the UK air defense system has only increased, and the bunker equipment has been updated several times. In 1994, the Type 84 radar in the vicinity of the airbase was replaced by the stationary Type 92 (American-made AN / FPS-117). Not so long ago, the first stationary Type 101 radar was installed here. In the future, it is planned to replace the Type 92 and Type 93, which are depleting their resource, with stations of this type.
Satellite image of Google Earth: Stationary Type 101 radar near Boulmer airbase
In 2002, a major overhaul and installation of new equipment began at the underground command post. The first stage of the planned modernization was completed in 2004. At the same time, £ 60 million was spent at the exchange rate of ten years ago. In 2004, following the downgrading of the Buhan and Neytisid command posts to radar posts, the Boulmer Central Command Post duty shift is responsible for airspace control and coordinates the operations of the UK and NATO air defense forces.
Not far from the village of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire is the headquarters of RAF Air Command - "Air Command of the Air Force" and European Air Grou - "Air European Command", the organization coordinating the joint actions of the air forces of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Great Britain.
The history of this facility began in the late 30s, when RAF Bomber Command - "Bomber Command" needed a safe command post, located before that in London, vulnerable to air raids. During the construction, strict measures were taken to maintain secrecy, and the appearance of the ground part of the command post did not stand out in any way against the background of the surrounding rural buildings. So, dormitories for the personnel looked like estates. And the fire station was built with a tower resembling a village church. During construction, to preserve the camouflage, the trees that grew here were preserved as much as possible. The main underground rooms, protected from above by reinforced concrete, were located at a depth of 17 meters.
In 1958, the headquarters of the 7th Air Division of the Strategic Air Command moved to RAF High Wycombe. After 2007, the facility was transferred to the Air Force Command and is used to control fighter aircraft and prevent unauthorized incursions into British airspace. There is also a department in High Wycombe that investigates UFO sightings.
The largest military communications center in the United Kingdom is RAF Menwith Hill - Menwith Hill Air Force Base. In 1954, the British War Office in North Yorkshire acquired an area of 2.21 km 2 for the construction of a communications center for the Rotor system. In 1958, American reconnaissance equipment was installed at Menwith Hill, and soon the number of American personnel at the airbase outnumbered the British.
In 1966, the US NSA assumed responsibility for all intelligence programs carried out at this facility, and the liaison functions of the air base in the air defense system faded into the background. In addition to radio interception, decryption, processing and relaying of messages, American and British reconnaissance satellites are controlled in Menwit Hill. According to the statements of the high-ranking British military, the main purpose of Menwit Hill is the timely detection of various kinds of threats, providing support for the intelligence services of Great Britain, the United States and allies. As well as communication services for the American missile defense system.
On the territory of the base there are 33 large-sized antennas in spherical fairings, which the military jokingly call "golf balls"
Although the base is formally British, as of 2015, more than 1,800 military and civilian specialists were serving here, of whom only 400 were British. According to official US data, the US NSA in Menwit Hill spends more than $ 60 million annually on electricity bills alone.
One of the most important British-American facilities is the early warning radar station in Faylingdales in North York. In the 60s, three 25-meter AN / FPS-49 radar antennas with a mechanical drive weighing 112 tons, protected by radio-transparent fiberglass spherical domes with a diameter of 40 meters, were built here. In 1992, the American corporation Raytheon erected an AN / FPS-115 radar in the area, which was upgraded to the AN / FPS-132 level in the early 2000s. A unique feature of the station, located in Filingdales, is the ability to scan space in a circular way, for which a third antenna mirror has been added.
Satellite image of Google Earth: radar SPRN AN / FPS-132
Although the station is formally British, the Americans are much more interested in it, and the received radar information is broadcast in real time via satellite channels to the NORAD command post located at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In parallel with the observation of ballistic missile launches, the radar station in Faylingdales monitors objects in low-Earth orbit.
In the period from 2005 to 2012, in order to save money, several reserve command posts and communication centers were closed, or their status was reduced to radar posts with a minimum number of service personnel. This fate befell RAF Buchan - Buchan Air Base in Aberdeenshire, where, until 2005, one of the command posts was located in a two-story underground bunker, from which air defense forces were coordinated and radar information was processed. After the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, a regional command post with a communications center was located here. In his area of responsibility was the northern sector of the British airspace and monitored the work of the Sachsword and Benbecula radar posts. However, after 50 years of operation, the infrastructure of the underground bunker deteriorated and began to require significant capital investments. Having weighed all the pros and cons, the RAF command decided to eliminate the command post, transferring all its functions to Boulmer.
During the Cold War, Type 80 and AN / TPS-34 radars were deployed in the vicinity of the command post. Currently, a Type 92 stationary station is operated here, which has the status of a remote radar post.
In the English county of Norfolk in the town of Horning until 2005, there was RAF Neatishead - Neutised Air Base. Earlier, on the territory of the airbase, around the fortified reinforced concrete building and an underground bunker built during the Second World War, several powerful radars were located at different times: Type 7, AN / FPS-6, Type 80, Type 84 and Type 85.
Type 84 radar at Neytised airbase
After the military left the base, the Radar RAF Air Defense Museum - "Museum of Radar and Air Defense" was created here. The museum has a wide exposition of the British Air Defense Forces' equipment dating back to the times of the Cold War. Also, the consoles and workplaces of the duty officers who served here until 2005 have been preserved.
The duty room at the museum at Natesed AFB
In the north of Scotland, there is RRH Benbekyula, a remote Benbekyula radar post. Installed in this place permanently under the dome, the Type 92 radar looks northwestward. In addition to the surveillance radar in the territory controlled by the military, there is a radar interrogator of transponders and radio stations used to control the movement of civil aircraft.
The first radars in the Saksword Hills on the northern island of Shetland appeared in 1941. However, soon after the victory, the military left this territory. Saksword was remembered when the construction of the national air defense system "Rotor" began. On an area of several hundred square meters, radars of various types used jointly by the Air Force and Navy were installed. The Saksward radar post played an important role in the detection of Soviet Tu-95 bombers, which made transatlantic training flights towards the United States in the 60s and 80s.
Radar Type 93 on Saksword Hill
A Type 93 radar is currently in operation on Shetland Island. The Saxword radar, located at the same latitude as Anchorage in Alaska, is the northernmost British radar post. In winter, the conditions here are rather harsh and hurricane winds are not uncommon.
The southwestern approaches to the British Isles are monitored by a radar post at Portrith on the north coast of Cornwall. In wartime, the Nansekück bomber airfield was located here, and in the 50s experiments with nerve agents were carried out in this area and until the second half of the 70s there was an experimental installation for the production of VX substance. In the 70-80s, artillery ammunition was tested in the vicinity of the air base.
In 2000, there was a fatal accident here - several civilian specialists employed in the maintenance of the airfield, Nansekuk died from nerve gas. During the investigation, it was found that people were exposed to a poisonous substance contained in chemical projectiles buried in one of the old mines. Beginning in 2003, the territory adjacent to the airfield was cleared of old ammunition with toxic substances and reclaimed.
Google Earth Satellite Image: Portrith Radar Post
In 1986, as part of the creation of the UKADGE air defense system, the construction of a radar post and a new fortified bunker began at an unused air base, which was an extremely rare event for the second half of the 80s. Simultaneously with the construction of the command post next to the runway, the airbase deployed one of four Type 91 mobile radars (S-723 Marconi Martello) purchased by the British Air Force. However, this British-made station turned out to be extremely capricious in operation and after 10 years of operation it was replaced by the stationary Type 101. This radar post is located on the southern tip of the British Isles. The mothballed runway of the Nansekük airbase during the exercise is used as a platform for the deployment of mobile radars.
The oldest radar post in the UK is Stuckston World, located 20 km southeast of the Faylingdales EWS radar in North York. It is possibly the oldest operating radar facility on the planet. In 1939, one of the first British radars was deployed 11 km off the coast. In the 50-80s, the following radars were located here: Type 80, Type 54, AN / FPS - 6, Type 84. which replaced it in the same place under the plastic dome with the Type 101.
Layout of stationary radar posts in the UK
Currently, 8 stationary radars Type 92, Type 93 and Type 101 operate on a permanent basis in the United Kingdom. These stations can see high-altitude air targets at a distance of up to 400 km and control the entire airspace over the British Isles and coastal waters. The diagram below shows that all British stationary radars (blue diamonds) are deployed along the coast.
In the mid-70s, in the midst of the confrontation between the two ideological systems, the British military faced an acute issue of improving air defense, which was associated with the dramatically increased capabilities of Soviet long-range aviation. However, the UKADGE air defense program adopted for execution began to show results when the Soviet Union had already disintegrated, and the likelihood of an attack on Great Britain fell to zero. Although the program for improving the air defense system was not curtailed, the end of the Cold War made significant adjustments to the course and scope of its implementation. Thus, the British abandoned their intention to purchase over-the-horizon radars and Patriot air defense systems from the United States. The service of the Tornado F.3 fighter-interceptors turned out to be much shorter than originally planned. The last aircraft of this type were withdrawn from air defense squadrons in March 2011, although the resource of a significant part of the interceptors allowed them to be used at least until 2018, that is, these RAF aircraft could still fly.
Officially, the refusal of the "Tornado" was motivated by the fact that the much more advanced fighter Eurofighter Typhoon began to enter service. The new fighters, according to the ideas of British politicians and the military, should have been, with a smaller number, due to more advanced avionics and weapons, to be more effective than the Tornado F.3. Unlike the Tornado, the Typhoon's armament includes long-range missiles MBDA Meteor and AIM-120 AMRAAM, as well as highly maneuverable melee missiles AIM-132 ASRAAM. At the same time, the new British fighters could fight on an equal footing with the 4th generation F-15C fighters, which was confirmed in training battles over Mildenhall AFB.
In part, the calculations for the increased effectiveness of Typhoons in the air defense system were justified, and the fighters showed themselves well in airspace control. The first meeting in the air with the Russian Tu-95MS took place on August 17, 2007. The RAF's interceptors were Typhoon F.2s, adapted to combat airborne enemies. The combat aircraft of the air defense squadrons were based at Coningsby and Lossiemouth air bases.
However, the infrequent flights of Russian long-range bombers faded into the background after it became clear that the British ground units fighting "world terrorism" in Afghanistan and Iraq lacked air support. There are not so many aging Tornado GR.4 fighter-bombers left in the RAF, and the technical condition did not always allow them to be involved in hostilities. And after the decommissioning of the Jaguars and Harriers, there are no other strike vehicles in the RAF. In this regard, with regard to the Typhoon fighters, it was decided to abandon the priority in the fight against the air enemy and give the aircraft more strike capabilities. The RAF fighters, adapted for solving strike missions, received the designation Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4. In the course of the modernization program to expand their strike capabilities, the British Typhoons received air-to-surface missiles AGM-65 Maverick, AGM-88 HARM, Brimstone, Taurus KEPD 350, Storm Shadow / Scalp EG, Paveway II / III / IV guided bombs, JDAM and RCC Sea Killer Marte-ERP. Suspended sighting and search containers Litening III and AN / AAQ-33 Sniper have been adapted to target guided weapons with avionics of fighters.
At the very beginning of the procurement of Eurofighter Typhoon fighters, the British government, responding to criticism of the excessive cost and protraction of the European fighter program, declared that the costs were justified, since due to the large resource, the planned service life of each aircraft would be 30 years. However, in 2015, plans were made public to decommission the Typhoon Tranche 1 fighters. The least worn-out fighters will be upgraded and sold if foreign customers appear, and the rest will be decommissioned. Apparently, this is due to the fact that the British budget does not have funds to maintain in flight condition and modernize the entire existing fleet of Typhoons while simultaneously purchasing F-35A fighters from the United States. At the same time, the 5th generation F-35A multipurpose fighters are not optimal when performing interception and the capabilities of the British air defense after the purchase of the Lightning will not be strengthened.
The last British long-range air defense systems Bloodhound Mk. II was written off in 1991, again for reasons of economy, and the purchase of American Patriot air defense systems was abandoned due to the end of the Cold War. As a result, a situation may arise when British facilities and ground units, with a shortage of cover fighters, will find themselves under enemy air strikes. Rapier short-range military complexes and "transported" Starstreak MANPADS, with many of their advantages, of course, are not able to adequately solve all air defense tasks. The issue of intercepting operational-tactical missiles is especially acute in the British army.
The only British long-range anti-aircraft missiles are the Aster 15/30, used in the PAAMS air defense missile systems on Type 45 Destroyer air defense destroyers. At the moment, the Royal Navy formally has six Type 45 EMs, which are apparently involved in providing air defense for naval bases. The S1850 radar with a phased array, located on the destroyer's aft mast, detects high-altitude targets at a distance of up to 400 km.
HMS Dragon Type 45
The station reportedly sees targets not only in the atmosphere, but also in near space, and is simultaneously capable of tracking up to 1000 targets. That, in combination with missiles that use active radar homing in the final section and have a launch range of more than 100 km, makes the PAAMS air defense system capable of fighting ballistic missiles. However, the adoption of the ground version of the SAMP-T air defense system is still under consideration. However, even if this happens, then the matter is likely to be limited to making a decision to purchase just a few batteries.
