No. 903 Expeditionary Air Wing is an Expeditionary Air Wing of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

. It is currently based at

RAF Akrotiri RAF Akrotiri ( el, Βασιλική Πολεμική Αεροπορία Ακρωτηρίου) is a large Royal Air Force base on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which compr ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

and is tasked with conducting operations against

ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

& Syria It was activated during 2003 as part of a modernisation package to make the RAF more deployable on an expeditionary basis. It was stationed at Camp Bastion in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

controlling RAF operations at the air base there between Summer 2009 and November 2014. It used to report to No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group.

History

Second World War

The wing was active from 1 December 1944 to 31 October 1945 as a tactical wing, part of

No. 224 Group RAF No. 224 Group of the Royal Air Force was established during World War II and was operational during the Cold War. The group was formed on 3 February 1942 as No 224 (Fighter) Group in Singapore. It was disbanded within two months, as the Japanese ...

, Third Tactical Air Force. It was formed at

Chittagong Airfield Shah Amanat International Airport ( bn, শাহ আমানত আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর ''Shah Amanôt Antôrjatik Bimanbôndôr'') is an international airport serving Bangladesh's southeastern port ...

from RAF HQ Patenga. In December 1944 it was temporarily at

Comilla Comilla (; bn, কুমিল্লা, Kumillā, ), officially spelled Cumilla, is the fifth largest city of Bangladesh and second largest in Chittagong division. It is the administrative centre of the Comilla District. The name Comilla was ...

with No. 67 Squadron RAF ( Supermarine Spitfire);Woodburn Kirby, Vol IV, Appendix 4, "Outline Order of Battle of Air Command, South East Asia, 12th December 1944". In May 1945, the Wing provided close support to ground forces as they recaptured Rangoon before being redeployed to attack concentrations of Japanese forces remaining in Burma. On 12 September No. 903 Wing was stationed at

Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the ...

, the old civil airport of Singapore City when Lord Louis Mountbatten accepted the formal surrender of all Japanese forces in south-east Asia. It included No. 31 Squadron RAF (

Douglas Dakota The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...

).Woodburn Kirby, Vol V, Appendix 21: "Outline Order of Battle, RAF Malaya, 1st October 1945". On 31 October 1945 No 903 Wing was disbanded, becoming Station Headquarters Kallang.

Operation Telic

The wing was re-commissioned into service during 2003 and sent to Contingency Operating Base Basra as part of Operation Telic. The wing stayed at Basra until May 2009.

Operation Herrick

During mid-2009 the wing was moved to Camp Bastion,

as part of

Operation Herrick Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Ass ...

. It consisted of: * Westland Sea Kings operated by 845,

846 __NOTOC__ Year 846 ( DCCCXLVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Byzantine–Bulgarian War: The Bulgarians violate the peace treaty ...

854 __NOTOC__ Year 854 ( DCCCLIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Emperor Lothair I meets his (half) brothers (Louis the German and Charles the Bal ...

857 Naval Air Squadron 857 Naval Air Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. It was first formed on 1 April 1944 at Squantum NAS in the United States as a torpedo reconnaissance unit with Grumman Avenger IIs. It reformed in its present state on 13 De ...

s. * An RAF Force Protection Wing * Thales Watchkeeper WK450's operated by

32nd Regiment Royal Artillery 32 Regiment Royal Artillery ("The Wessex Gunners") is a regiment in the Royal Artillery, part of the British Army and is equipped with the Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk III and PUMA 2 miniature unmanned aerial vehicles. 32nd Regiment is the only R ...

& 47th Regiment Royal Artillery. It also supported the following: * Joint Helicopter Force (Afghanistan) that consisted of: **

AgustaWestland Apache The AgustaWestland Apache is a licence-built version of the Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter for the British Army Air Corps. The first eight helicopters were built by Boeing; the remaining 59 were assembled by Westland Helic ...

's operated by 3 and 4 Regiments Army Air Corps. ** Chinooks operated by

No. 1310 Flight RAF No. 1310 Flight RAF is a flight of the Royal Air Force. History No. 1310 (Transport) Flight was first formed at RAF Llandow on 10 April 1944, equipped with Avro Anson I transport aircraft. The flight was disbanded on 21 July 1944 at RAF Bogno ...

. ** Merlin HC2s operated by 28(AC) and 78 Squadrons RAF. ** Elements of Tactical Supply Wing. * Visiting Air Mobility aircraft including: ** Airbus Voyager KC2 and KC3s operated by No. 10 Squadron RAF and 101 Squadron RAF. ** Lockhead Tristar aircraft operated by 216 Squadron RAF. ** Boeing C-17A Globemaster III's operated by No. 99 Squadron RAF. ** Hercules C-130J's operated by 24, 30, 47 & 70 Squadrons RAF. Camp Bastion was handed over to the ANSF as the United Kingdom withdraws from Afghanistan and 903 EAW was stood down in November 2014.

Operation Shader

In December 2015 the Wing reformed at RAF Akrotiri to replace No 140 EAW as part of Operation Shader. It consists of: * Elements of the RAF Typhoon Force (9 x Typhoon FGR.4 multirole fighter aircraft (6 active, 3 reserve)) * Elements of the RAF Air Mobility Force: ** 2 x Hercules C5 transport aircraft (1 withdrawn during 2014) ** 2 x Voyager KC3 tanker aircraft * Elements of the RAF ISTAR Force Aircraft have been using

as their home base whilst carrying out these operations. In February 2019, the Tornado force (previously involving up to 10 strike aircraft on rotation) returned to RAF Marham for retirement. Their role in theatre is being undertaken by the Typhoon detachment. Sentry AEW1 AEW&C aircraft from No. 8 Squadron were previously employed on operations. However, the aircraft was withdrawn from RAF service in 2021. The previously employed Sentinel R1

ISTAR ISTAR stands for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing ...

aircraft from No. V(AC) Squadron was similarly retired in March 2021.

Commanders

* Group Captain Paul Burt (Op TELIC 9/10 May-Nov 2007) * Group Captain Mike Wigston (Nov 2007 - Apr 2008) * Group Captain Andrew (during 2008). * Wing Commander Ian Richardson (during 2009). * Wing Commander Mark Flewin (2014). * Group Captain Charles Dickens (2019). * Group Captain Andrew Coope (Oct 18 - Mar 19) * Group Captain Jonathon Moreton (Apr 19 - Oct 19). * Group Captain Ian Townsend (Oct 19 - Feb 20). * Wing Commander Calvin Bailey (Feb 20 - Jul 20). * Wing Commander Dutch Holland (Jul 21 - Jan 22).

References

{{RAF Wings E 903