On 1 April 2006 Expeditionary Air Wings (EAWs) were formed at nine of the RAF's Main Operating Bases. Each EAW has its own identity and is led by the Station Commander, supported by his Station management team. The deployable elements of the station structures form the core of each EAW, reinforced by elements of the Air Combat Service Support Units (ACSSUs). Flying and Force Protection force elements are attached to meet the requirements of each operation. EAWs enable the RAF to train as cohesive air power units which are prepared and capable of transitioning quickly from peacetime structures and deploying swiftly on operations in tailored packages.

UK based wings

Current wings

No. 34 EAW

RAF Waddington Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England. The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target ...

(

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 ...

) * Previously located at

RAF Lyneham Royal Air Force Lyneham otherwise known as RAF Lyneham was a Royal Air Force station located northeast of Chippenham, Wiltshire, and southwest of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The station was the home of all the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transpor ...

; deployed between May and December 2016 to

NSA Souda Bay Crete Naval Base ( el, Ναύσταθμος Κρήτης, ''Nafstathmos Kritis'') is a major naval base of the Hellenic Navy and NATO at Souda Bay in Crete, Greece. Formally known in NATO as Naval Support Activity, Souda Bay (NSA-Souda Bay), and ...

supporting Operation Shader.

No. 38 EAW

* 38 EAW is an Air Mobility specialist EAW composed of personnel from

RAF Brize Norton Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the village of Brize Norton, and the towns of Carterton and Witney. The statio ...

and

RAF Northolt ("Ready to carry or to fight") , pushpin_map = Greater London , pushpin_label = RAF Northolt , pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London , coordinates = , type = Royal Air Force station , code = , site_area = , height = , owner ...

. * Deployed to Barbados on

Operation Ruman Operation Ruman was the British government's combined military and humanitarian operations in September 2017 to provide relief to the British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean affected by Hurricane Irma. Background In early September 2017 Hur ...

9 September 17 to support

Hurricane Irma Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread destruction across its path in September 2017. Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Maria two ...

relief efforts in the Caribbean. 38 EAW comprised ** Elements of No. XXIV Squadron. (38 EAW was commanded by OC of No. 24 Squadron). ** Elements of No. 47 Squadron RAF with Lockheed Hercules C4/C5. ** Elements of No. LXX Squadron RAF with Airbus Atlas C1. ** Elements of No. 99 Squadron RAF with Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. ** Elements of No 1 Air Mobility Wing

No. 121 EAW

* No. 121 Expeditionary Air Wing at

RAF Coningsby Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and ho ...

* Deployed to

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 ...

from August to November 2013 for Operation Luminous comprised ** Elements of No. XI Squadron with

Eurofighter Typhoon The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...

FGR4 ** Elements of No. 8 Squadron with Boeing Sentry AEW1 ** Elements of No. 216 Squadron with

Lockheed Tristar The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, also known as the L-1011 (pronounced "El-ten-eleven") and TriStar, is an American medium-to-long-range, wide-body trijet airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation. It was the third wide-body airliner to enter comme ...

** Elements of No. 1 Air Control Centre with T101 Radar ** Elements of No. 4 Force Protection Wing * Deployed to

Ämari Air Base Ämari Air Base is a military airbase in Harjumaa, Estonia located south of Lake Klooga and southwest of Tallinn. History Ämari Air Base was built between 1940–1952 under an agreement signed by the Estonian SSR and the Soviet Union. In ...

from April to September 2015 for Operation Azotize with Typhoon FGR4

No. 135 EAW

No. 135 Expeditionary Air Wing No. 135 Expeditionary Air Wing, previously No. 135 Wing, is a wing of the Royal Air Force. It was stationed at RAF Leeming, controlling the deployable subunits of the base (but not the flying squadrons). It was activated on 1 April 2006 as part o ...

RAF Leeming Royal Air Force Leeming or RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 1991, it ...

* Deployed to

Šiauliai Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Names Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different la ...

, Lithuania from April to September 2014 for Operation Azotize with Typhoon FGR4 * Deployed to Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase near Constanța, Romania from April to August 2017 under Operation Biloxi with four Typhoon FGR4s of No. 3 (Fighter) Squadron. *Deployed to Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase near Constanta, Romania in April 2018 under Operation Biloxi with four Typhoon FGR4s of No.1 (Fighter) Squadron and No. II (Army Cooperation) Squadron. *Deployed to Šiauliai, Lithuania from April to September 2019 for Operation Azotize with Typhoon FGR4 of No. 6 Squadron.

No. 138 EAW

* RAF Marham * Believed to have deployed to West Africa in 2014 for Operation Turus with

Panavia Tornado The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS ( in ...

GR4

No. 140 EAW

RAF Lossiemouth Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or more commonly RAF Lossiemouth is a military airfield located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland. Lossiemouth is one of the largest and busiest fast-jet stations in the R ...

* Deployed to

from August to December 2014 for

Operation Shader Operation Shader is the operational code name given to the contribution of the United Kingdom in the ongoing military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The operation involves the British Army providing ground s ...

, succeeded by 903 EAW, comprised ** Elements of the RAF Tornado Force (Tornado GR4 strike aircraft) ** Elements of the RAF Air Mobility Force: *** Hercules C5 transport aircraft *** Voyager KC3 tanker aircraft * Deployed to

from April to September 2016 for Operation Azotize with Typhoon FGR4

Former wings

* No. 122 EAW -

RAF Cottesmore Royal Air Force Station Cottesmore or more simply RAF Cottesmore is a former Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, situated between Cottesmore and Market Overton. On 15 December 2009, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth announced that the ...

(Fighter / Ground Attack) - stood down in 2012 * No. 125 EAW - RAF Leuchars (Fighter) - stood down in 2013 * No. 325 EAW -

RAF Kinloss Royal Air Force Kinloss or RAF Kinloss is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near the village of Kinloss, on the Moray Firth in the north east of Scotland. The RAF station opened on 1 April 1939 and served as a training establishme ...

(Maritime Patrol & Surveillance) - stood down in 2013

Deployed Wings

Marshalling a Royal Air Force BAe 125 Aircraft in the Middle East MOD 45153874

No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group

No. 901 Expeditionary Air Wing

As of 2017, the wing was located at RAF Al Udeid, providing support to Headquarters 83 EAG and Headquarters Joint Force Communication and Information Systems (Middle East). Previously as a Middle Eastern EAW it comprised "A" Flight, at a not-publicly known location, flying Lockheed Hercules C4; "B" Flight (unknown location, reformed in 2013 as unknown) flying the Boeing C-17A Globemaster III; and "C" Flight (disbanded March 2015) at

Bahrain International Airport Bahrain International Airport ( ar, مطار البحرين الدولي, ''maṭār al-Baḥrayn al-dwalī'') is the international airport of Bahrain. Located on Muharraq Island, adjacent to the capital Manama, it serves as the hub for the nati ...

flying a mix of BAe125s and BAe146s from No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron. During the Second World War, No. 901 Wing formed 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 on 1 October 1944 at

Chiringa Chiringa is a town in Malawi. Location Chiringa is located approximately , by road, east of Phalombe, where the district headquarters are located. This is approximately , by road, east of Blantyre Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of fina ...

in British India. At the time of its formation, 901 Wing consisted of two Squadrons: 177 and 211 Squadron, both of which flew Bristol Beaufighter twin-engined fighter-bombers. The Wing was renamed No 901 (Tactical) Wing with effect from 1 December 1944. The Wing continued to operate up to four squadrons equipped with Beaufighters and de Havilland Mosquitoes during 1944-45.

No. 902 EAW

RAFO Musannah RAFO Musannah , is a Royal Air Force of Oman air base located south west of Barka, Al Batinah South, Oman. History Work started on the new air base in 2005 initially with the building of a helicopter apron and hangar to the northwest of the pr ...

in support of

Operation Kipion Operation Kipion is a long-standing maritime presence by the United Kingdom in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean to promote enduring peace and stability in the region, and ensure the safe flow of oil and trade. A permanent presence of 4 minesw ...

(May 2015 – present): ** 2 x AgustaWestland Merlin HM.2 helicopters. *Previous: ** During 2008:

Muscat International Airport Muscat International Airport , formerly Seeb International Airport, is the main international airport in Oman and is located in Seeb, 32 km from the old city and capital Muscat within the Muscat metropolitan area. The airport serves as th ...

, Oman. ***

Hawker Siddeley Nimrod The Hawker Siddeley Nimrod is a retired maritime patrol aircraft developed and operated by the United Kingdom. It was an extensive modification of the de Havilland Comet, the world's first operational jet airliner. It was originally designed ...

MR2 & R1 ** October 2013: Unknown deployed location suspected to be Muscat International Airport, Oman. *** Sentinel R1 Airborne Stand Off Radar (ASTOR) aircraft from No. V (Army Cooperation) Squadron

No. 903 EAW

in support of

(14 December 2014 – present): ** Elements of the RAF Typhoon Force (9 x Typhoon FGR4 multirole fighter aircraft) ** 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: *** 2 x Sentinel R1

aircraft from No. V(Army Cooperation) Squadron *** 2 x Sentry AEW1 AEW&C aircraft from No. 8 Squadron (aircraft withdrawn from service 2021) ** Elements of the RAF A4 Force. * Previous ** Elements of the RAF Tornado Force (10 x

Tornado GR4 The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS (interd ...

strike aircraft) (Retired 2019) ** Contingency Operating Base Basra/Basra Airport,

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 ...

for Operation Telic (2003- 2009). ** Camp Bastion, Afghanistan for

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 ...

(2009-2014)

No. 906 EAW

Al Minhad Air Base Al Minhad Air Base ( ar, قاعدة المنهاد الجوية, , also just Minhad Air Base) is a military installation in the United Arab Emirates. The base is located approximately south of Dubai and is operated by the United Arab Emirates Air ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

(15 January 2013 – present): *Previous: ** Gioia del Colle Air Base,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in support of Operation Ellamy (2011) comprising *** 10 ×

multirole fighters from

and

, *** 16 ×

interdictor An interdictor is a type of attack aircraft that operates far behind enemy lines, with the express intent of air interdiction of the enemy's military targets, most notably those involved in logistics. Interdiction prevents or delays enemy f ...

/strike aircraft from RAF Marham

British Forces South Atlantic Islands

No. 905 EAW

RAF Mount Pleasant RAF Mount Pleasant (also known as Mount Pleasant Airport, Mount Pleasant Complex or MPA) is a Royal Air Force station in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The airfield goes by the motto of "Defend the right" (while the m ...

Falklands Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

(1 April 2006 – present) **

No. 1312 Flight RAF No. 1312 Flight Royal Air Force, commonly abbreviated to 1312 Flt RAF, is an independent flight of the Royal Air Force (RAF). Currently based at RAF Station Mount Pleasant (more commonly known as RAF Mount Pleasant, and also known as Mount Plea ...

***

Airbus A400M Atlas The Airbus A400M AtlasNamed after the Greek mythological figure. is a European four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It was designed by Airbus Military (now Airbus Defence and Space) as a tactical airlifter with strategic capab ...

*** Voyager KC2 **** Previously

VC10 The Vickers VC10 is a mid-sized, narrow-body long-range British jet airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd and first flown at Brooklands, Surrey, in 1962. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance route ...

and Tristar ** No. 1435 Flight RAF *** 4 x

**** Previously Panavia Tornado F3s *Previous:Unknown

Disbanded Wings

No. 904 EAW

Kandahar Airfield Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport, also referred to as Kandahar International Airport ( ps, د کندهار نړيوال هوايي ډګر) and by some military officials as Kandahar Airfield, KAF) , is located about south-east of the city K ...

, Afghanistan for

(2006-2015). ** Harrier aircraft (eight aircraft, with eleven crews) 2009

No. 907 EAW

in support of Operation Ellamy (2011) comprising ** 3 × Sentry AEW1 AWACS aircraft from

** 1 x Nimrod R1 signals intelligence aircraft from No 51 Squadron – operational requirements forced 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 ...

to deploy one of its two remaining Nimrod R1s two weeks before they were due to be withdrawn.''

Jane's Defence Weekly ''Jane's Defence Weekly'' (abbreviated as ''JDW'') is a weekly magazine reporting on military and corporate affairs, edited by Peter Felstead. It is one of a number of military-related publications named after John F. T. Jane, an Englishman who ...

'', 16 March 2011 ** 1 x Sentinel R1 airborne standoff radar aircraft from No V(Army Cooperation) Squadron

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/wiki/No_906_Expeditionary_Air_Wing,_Royal_Air_Force - 906 EAW badge {{RAF Wings E Expeditionary units and formations

UK based wings

Current wings

No. 34 EAW

No. 38 EAW

No. 121 EAW

No. 135 EAW

No. 138 EAW

No. 140 EAW

Former wings

Deployed Wings

No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group

No. 901 Expeditionary Air Wing

No. 902 EAW

No. 903 EAW

No. 906 EAW

British Forces South Atlantic Islands

No. 905 EAW

Disbanded Wings

No. 904 EAW

No. 907 EAW

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography