Defence
Scotland
The Air Force
The Air Force protects and defends the airspace of Scotland, its archipelagoes and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The Air Force protects 90,400 square km of Territorial Airspace and an Exclusive Economic Zone that extends to 462,315 square km
The Air Force protects against the threat of invasion, coercion, and terrorism, it also patrols the skies to monitor activities below to assist in the detection of submarines, piracy, environmental damage, smuggling, people trafficking, illegal fishing, etc., and provides assistance to civil powers for law enforcement and humanitarian or disaster relief.
About Us
The Air Force is organized into "Wings" that reflect their tasks:
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Fighter and Fast Jet Wing
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Helicopter Wing
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Transport and ISR Wing
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Airspace Management Wing
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Training and Support Wing
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Autonomous and Uncrewed Ariel Vehicle Unit
Fighter and Fast Jet Wing
The primary role is to deter and where necessary defend against aggression from state and non-state actors towards the state, its assets, resources and interests. Everything from unidentified/unresponsive aircraft to direct air strikes.
Helicopter Wing
The Air Force operates rotary wing aircraft primarily in support of the other branches of the Defence Forces.
For the Navy helicopters provide intelligence gathering and anti-submarine capabilities ) as well as light transport duties.
For the Army they are all about mobility: Helicopters provide the quickest way to cross Scotland's rugged terrain.
The Helicopter Wing also supports civil powers for humanitarian and disaster relief, firefighting, etc.
Transport and ISR Wing
The Transport and ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) Wing operates medium, light medium and light transport aircraft for a variety of roles, such as air-to-air refuelling, troop and logistics transport, water-bombing, maritime patrol, medevac and VIP travel.
Airspace Management Wing
This command unit operates the fixed and mobile radar equipment, co-ordinates military and civil traffic and provides battlespace management for the air forc.
Training and Support Wing
Ensuring that the Air Forcehas the right personnel with the right training in the right place at the right time along with the right equipment, spares, munitions, food, etc, is the priority for the Support and Training Wing.
Autonomous & Uncrewed Systems Unit
The Unit is responsible for those emerging systems that enable us to project greater capabilities at distance with reduced risk to people.