VIDEO: RAF Lossiemouth welcomes first of Poseidon MRA1 (P-8A) aircraft in initial phase of £350 million development by Ministry of Defence
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A MILESTONE day in the history of RAF Lossiemouth saw the first of the Poseidon maritime aircraft touch down permanently at the base.
The City of Elgin aircraft became the first of the new generation aircraft to take up residence at the Moray base following completion of the new runway.
A further two aircraft will arrive at RAF Lossiemouth by the end of the week, making the move from their temporary home over the last few months at neighbouring Kinloss Barracks.
A fleet of nine Poseidon MRA1 (P-8A) aircraft will eventually fly out of the base.
The runway programme, undertaken by Volker Fitzpatrick, is part of an overall £350 million development at RAF Lossiemouth which started in May 2018 and is due for completion in the spring of 2023.
The redevelopment of the runway was essential to facilitate the Poseidon aircraft which will provide a maritime defence role for the RAF.
Nine Poseidon MRA1 aircraft have been ordered, the first of which landed on British soil for the first time in February 2020. Since then, crews from CXX Squadron have been securing the seas over and around the
United Kingdom on operational missions. 54 Squadron have also been training new pilots and weapons systems operators on the platform, as 400 additional military personnel will be joining Team Lossie to fly and operate the nine aircraft.
The touchdown of the first Poseidon comes 10 years after the community in Lossiemouth and Moray fought to save RAF Lossiemouth from closure amid defence cuts.
It is now one of the key strategic bases for the RAF in the UK and its long term future is secured.
Group Captain Chris Layden, station commander of RAF Lossiemouth, welcomed the crew of 120 Squadron aircraft moments after they touched down soon after 4pm.
He said: "It's a fantastic day for RAF Lossiemouth, for the service but also the people of Moray who have supported us so well and have done for so many years.
"This takes us into the next generation and puts RAF Lossiemouth for the first time in the maritime patrol game, securing our seas as well as securing our skies.
"Lossiemouth is absolutely the best base in the Royal Air Force and the capabilies we have here and the ways in which we are able to defend the country are not replicated anywhere else in the air force.
"When you look back 10 years when the people of Moray were marching to keep their air base open, things could not be more different now. The reward for their support and their loyalty is absolutely loyalty from us back to the people amongst whom we live and I am delighted the government has invested so heavily in RAF Lossiemouth."
The Poseidon, originally designed and built for the US Navy, replaces the Nimrod maritime aircraft which went out of service 10 years ago when RAF Kinloss was closed.
Poseidon is a hugely capable submarine hunter, able to locate, identify, and track potentially hostile submarines as they operate close to our waters. Its powerful radar is also able to detect and track surface vessels above the waves. It boasts a comprehensive communications suite which means the intelligence it gathers can be passed to commanders whether they are in the air, on a ship, on the ground, or back at RAF Lossiemouth.
Gp Captain Layden said he was proud to be station commander at such an important time for the base and he paid tribute to all those service and civilian personnel who are part of "Team Lossie".
Wing Commander James Hanson, officer commanding 120 Sqn, said: "It's really good news for RAF Lossiemouth and Moray. There is an awful lot of work that has gone in to making the runway ready for us."
Wng Cdr Hanson was a navigator on the Poseidon's predecessor the Nimrod, and was based on 201 Sqn at RAF Kinloss from 2003-2008.
"We are in our new home now and our second and third aircraft will be here by the end of the week," he added.
"RAF Lossiemouth secures the skies with typhoon, we now also secure the seas with Poseidon. It is an important mission, it's important for the protection of our strategic nuclear deterrent and because we are an island nation and the threats come to us over and under the water.
"We are ready to deal with any threats and I wouldn't point them at any one specific nation but it is true the international environment, especially maritime, is increasingly contested, both commercially and militarily and we are here to ensure that Britain's interests are represented."
He said the Nimrod was highly capable and good for its time, but the Poseidon represented a step change, with a sophisticated range of onboard sensors and communications.
BOEING POSEIDON MRA1 (P-8A):
- Powerplant: two 27,000lb st (120kN) CFM International CFM56-7 turbofan engines
- Length: 129ft 6in (39.47m)
- Height: 42ft 1¼in (12.83m)
- Wingspan: 123ft 7¼in (37.64m)
- Maximum take-off weight: 189,200lb (85,820kg)
- Maximum speed: 490kt (907km/h)
- Ferry range: 4,500 miles (7,242km)
- Service ceiling: 41,000ft
Wing Commander Peter Beckett is programme director for the RAF Lossiemouth development programme, which includes the runway, personnel accommodation, new air traffic control and some facilities for United States personnel.
He said this was arguably the biggest development in the base's history in terms of time, capability and funding.
"For me this is THE base in the Royal Air Force base now. The number one base in Scotland and probably the air force."
That signals a major shift with RAF Lossiemouth going from at risk of closure 10 years ago to now a key asset for the RAF and Ministry of Defence.
Wg Cdr Beckett first came to Lossiemouth in 1988 and all of his flying career, which started on the Buccaneer, has been based around the base.
He admitted the development programme at the base was massive and he leads a team of around 15 people driving that forward.
"I didn't expect it but there were some goosebumps as I saw it (aircraft) coming in today. The runway work has been huge so to see it coming in and be operational again was a good feeling."
The £75m programme to resurface RAF Lossiemouth’s runways and operating surfaces began in January 2020, with the work being carried out by VolkerFitzpatrick. The work has involved stripping, strengthening,
and resurfacing all of the runways, taxiways and dispersals. From July 2020 both runways were out of use while the intersection was resurfaced, which meant no fixed wing flying could take place.
Quick Reaction Alert temporarily moved to Leuchars Station in Fife, with Typhoon training continuing at Kinloss Barracks.
By Friday, October 16, all Typhoon and Poseidon operations including Quick Reaction Alert will be back at their permanent home in Moray.
The overall programme include the world’s first digital air traffic control tower on a military airfield.
