21 Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare) is an electronic warfare and signals intelligence regiment of the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

within the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. The regiment was, until the initial

Army 2020 Army 2020 is the restructuring of the British Army in the early and mid-2010s, in light of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010. The plan, as its name suggested, was intended to be completed by 2020, though most of its reorganisations ...

reforms, the only signal regiment to support the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

History

The regiment can trace its roots to the 12th (Air Formations) Signals formed in 1943, in Kirkburton, England, for the purpose of supporting the

Second Tactical Air Force The Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, and ...

in the forthcoming invasion of France on

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

. The regiment was divided into two companies in 1944 upon moving into Normandy, France; * 2nd Tactical Air Force (Main) Company * 2nd Tactical Air Force (Reserve) Company. At the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the regiment's two companies were stationed at

Bad Eilsen Bad Eilsen (West Low German: ''Ahlsen'') is a municipality in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately southwest of Stadthagen, and southeast of Minden. Bad Eilsen is also the seat of the ''Samtgeme ...

and Bueckeburg in Western Germany, supporting the Royal Air Force's Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF). From 1952 to 1958, the unit supported the West Germany-based No. 83 Group RAF. In 1954, the regiment expanded to become 83 Group (12) Air Formation Signal Regiment. In 1958, No. 83 Group RAF was disbanded, and the regiment was renamed 12th Air Formation Signal Regiment, before being redesignated in 1959 as 21st Signal Regiment (Air Formation). In July 1971, the regiment was re-designated as 21 Signal Regiment (Air Support). From 1971 until 1992, the regiment was part of the 4 Signal Group supporting the

British Army of the Rhine British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) tasked ...

and was based at RAF Wildenrath. It also took on the additional role of providing communication links for the RAF Germany Harrier Force. After the

Options for Change Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War. Until this point, UK military strategy had been almost entirely focused on defending Western Europe against the Soviet Armed Forces ...

restructuring in 1990, the regiment moved from Laarbuch to

Azimghur Barracks Azamgarh is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Azamgarh division, which consists of Ballia, Mau and Azamgarh districts. Azamgarh is situated on the bank of Tamsa River (Tons). It is located east of the stat ...

, Colerne, where it remains presently. During

Operation Telic Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on ...

in Iraq, the regiment provided ground to air tactical communications to aircraft within RAF Support Helicopter Force, which operated under the command of JHC (and consisted of Puma,

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

and Chinook helicopters as well as around 1,100 personnel). In 2011, 21st Signal Regiment (Air Support) deployed to Afghanistan for a 6 month operational tour of duty on

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 Assi ...

. Members of 214 Signal Squadron supported

3 Commando Brigade United Kingdom Commando Force (UKCF), previously called 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), is the UK's special operations-capable commando formation of the Royal Marines. It is composed of Royal Marine Commandos and commando qualified personnel f ...

, and subsequently 20 Armoured Brigade, by delivering communications to the front line, as well as installing equipment that allowed tactical commanders to direct their troops, target insurgents, and support helicopter operations including casualty evacuation (

CASEVAC Casualty evacuation, also known as CASEVAC or by the callsign Dustoff or colloquially Dust Off, is a military term for the emergency patient evacuation of casualties from a combat zone. Casevac can be done by both ground and air. "DUSTOFF" i ...

). Elements of 21st Signal Regiment (Air Support) also deployed to Afghanistan in October 2013, and operated within

Helmand Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 18 ...

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

and

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

. As part of the initial

reforms, the regiment was no longer designated as an Air Support Signal Regiment and 244 (now carrying the Air Support designation) and 214 Signal Squadrons were transferred to 30 Signal Regiment and 2 Signal Regiment respectively. After the initial

reforms, the regiment was assigned as part of

7th Signal Group 7th Signal Group (7 Sig Gp) is a military communications formation of the British Army, British Army's Royal Corps of Signals, currently subordinated to 3 (UK) Division, 3rd (UK) Division. The group oversees the close-support signal units of the c ...

within

11th Signal Brigade and Headquarters West Midlands The 11th Signal and West Midlands Brigade was a signal formation of the British Army's 3rd UK Division. By November 2024, it had been disbanded, with its sub-units resubordinated. History The brigade was formed as 11th Signal Group in Liverpool ...

, and was classified as a Multi-Role Signal Regiment. Following further changes under Army 2020 Refine, from 2018 to 2022 the regiment supported 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade as the Brigade transitioned to become the Army’s first STRIKE Brigade ( 1st Deep Recce Strike Brigade).

Future

In 2021, it was announced that under the Army's

Future Soldier Future Soldier was a multi-nation military project launched by the United States and its allies in the late 1990s. Superiority to enemy ground forces will be achieved by equipping the average ground-based combat soldier with an integrated set ...

programme, the regiment would re-role to become the Army's second dedicated Electronic Warfare and Signals Intelligence (EWSI) unit. In 2024, 21 Signal Regiment joined the newly formed Cyber and Electro Magnetic Activities (CEMA) Effects Group, within Field Army Troops. The Group commands the Army’s two Electronic Warfare and Signals Intelligence (EWSI) regiments, 21 and 14 Signal Regiments, as well as the cyber regiment, 13 Signal Regiment. 21 Signal Regiment is set to move from

, Colerne to

Imjin Barracks Imjin Barracks is a British Army installation situated near Innsworth in Gloucestershire, that is home to the headquarters of NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC). History Imjin Barracks is located at the site of the former RAF Innsworth, ...

, Innsworth ''NB'' (not before) 2028, to be based alongside 14 Signal Regiment, the British Army's only other Electronic Warfare and Signals Intelligence regiment.

Organisation

The current organisation of the regiment is: * Regimental Headquarters, at Azimghur Barracks, Colerne * 234 Signal Squadron * 237 Signal Squadron * 255 Signal Squadron Previously, the regiment included 204 Signal Squadron, before the squadron was disbanded in 2018, with personnel bolstering the other squadrons throughout 21 Sig Regt.

Freedoms

Bath – 21 Signal Regiment was granted Freedom of the City in 2011.

References

{{Reflist

External links

21 Signal Regiment
Regiments of the Royal Corps of Signals Military units and formations established in 1943