Remote Radar Head Buchan or RRH Buchan is an air defence radar station operated by 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 ...
. It is located at Stirling Hill, south of
Peterhead
Peterhead (; , ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 19,060 at the 2022 Census for Scotland, 2022 Census. It is the largest fishing port in the United Kingdom for total landi ...
on the
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...
coast of northeast Scotland.
The unit is based at the operations site of the former RAF Buchan which was downgraded from an RAF station to a remote radar head (RRH) in September 2004.
History
RAF Buchan

RAF Buchan opened in 1952 as an Air Defence Radar Unit. As part of the UK Air Surveillance and Control System, the station was one of two
Control and Reporting Centre
A Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) is according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff publication 1.02 defined as: "A subordinated air control element of the tactical air control centre for which radar control and warning operations are conducted within ...
s (CRC) which monitored air traffic in and around UK airspace. RAF Buchan was parent station to remote radar heads at
Saxa Vord
Unst (; ) is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is the northernmost of the inhabited British Isles and is the third-largest island in Shetland after Shetland Mainland, Mainland and Yell (island), Yell. It has an area o ...
and
Benbecula
Benbecula ( ; or ) is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2011 census, it had a resident population of 1,283 with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It is in a zone administered by ...
.
In 1979 operations moved into interim facilities above ground whilst the 'R3' underground operations block was refitted as an 'R3A', this involved the excavation of one side of the 'R3' and an auxiliary bunker was constructed alongside to provide secure facilities for stand by generators, power cleaning and air filtration. The equipment used included the GL-161 computer system.
Control and Reporting Centre
Following the collapse of the
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...
in 1991, Buchan became a
Control and Reporting Centre
A Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) is according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff publication 1.02 defined as: "A subordinated air control element of the tactical air control centre for which radar control and warning operations are conducted within ...
(CRC), part of the UK Air Surveillance and Control System (UKASACS). Buchan was responsible for UK airspace north of
Newcastle
Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
, working closely with counterparts in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
n countries. The southern CRC was located at
RAF Neatishead
Remote Radar Head Neatishead ( ), and commonly abbreviated RRH Neatishead, is an air defence radar site operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It is located approximately north-east of Norwich in the county of Norfolk, England.
Originally kno ...
in
Norfolk
Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
. Around the same time, Buchan became parent station for
RAF Saxa Vord
Remote Radar Head Saxa Vord or RRH Saxa Vord (aka RAF Saxa Vord), is a Royal Air Force radar station located on the island of Unst, the most northern of the Shetland Islands in Scotland. As of July 2019 it is once more a fully operational radar ...
in
Shetland
Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...
(91 Signals Unit) and
RAF Benbecula (71 Signals Unit) in the
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland.
It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...
, both of which were downgraded to reporting posts which feed data into the UKASACS.
Together, the two CRCs processed information which was provided continuously by reporting posts and civilian radars, producing an overview of all aircraft operating within UK airspace, known as the
Recognised Air Picture (RAP). Information would also be communicated via digital data-links to neighbouring
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
countries,
Airborne Early Warning
An airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system is an airborne radar early warning system designed to detect aircraft, ships, vehicles, missiles and other incoming projectiles at long ranges, as well as performing command and control of t ...
(AEW) & other aircraft, ground units and ships. Fighter controllers at Buchan also provided tactical control of air-defence aircraft during peacetime
Quick Reaction Alert
Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) is state of Combat readiness, readiness and ''modus operandi'' of Anti-aircraft warfare, air defence maintained at all hours of the day by NATO air forces. The United States usually refers to Quick Reaction Alert as 'Ai ...
(QRA) interceptions, during training and in the event of war.
In 1994 Buchan was home to Nos 170 and 487 Signals Unit and the CRC.
RRH Buchan
In May 2000 the
Ministry of Defence
A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
announced the downgrading of RAF Buchan from a manned station to a remote radar head, and that
RAF Boulmer
Royal Air Force Boulmer or more simply RAF Boulmer is a Royal Air Force station near Alnwick in Northumberland, England, and is home to Aerospace Surveillance and Control System (ASACS) Force Command, Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) Boulmer ...
in
Northumberland
Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
and
RAF Neatishead
Remote Radar Head Neatishead ( ), and commonly abbreviated RRH Neatishead, is an air defence radar site operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It is located approximately north-east of Norwich in the county of Norfolk, England.
Originally kno ...
in Norfolk, would continue to operate the surveillance and control system. The measure resulted in the loss of 55 civilian jobs and the transfer of over 200 RAF personnel. Around 92 military and civilian personnel were expected to remain to operate the remote radar head. The radar unit ceased to be a RAF station on 1 September 2004 and the operational part of the station became Remote Radar Head Buchan.
The separate domestic accommodation site located in
Boddam was sold by the Ministry of Defence to a private developer in 2012.
Buchan's Type T92(B3) radar (more widely known out-with RAF service as the
Lockheed Martin
The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...
AN/FPS-117
The AN/FPS-117 is an L-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) 3-dimensional air search radar first produced by GE Aerospace in 1980 and now part of Lockheed Martin. The system offers instrumented detection at ranges on the order of and ...
) was replaced in 2015 with a new Lockheed Martin AN/TPS-77 system. The new radar was funded by
wind farm
A wind farm, also called a wind park or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an exten ...
developers and was installed in order to help reduce the impact of
interference
Interference is the act of interfering, invading, or poaching. Interference may also refer to:
Communications
* Interference (communication), anything which alters, modifies, or disrupts a message
* Adjacent-channel interference, caused by extra ...
from wind turbines.
In 2017 the unit's
radome
A radome (a portmanteau of "radar" and "dome") is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a radar antenna (radio), antenna. The radome is constructed of material transparent to radio waves. Radomes protect the antenna from weathe ...
was replaced over a six-week period, the existing enclosure having been installed in 1984.
As part of a major upgrade of Remote Radar Head sites around the United Kingdom, the Ministry of Defence began a programme entitled HYDRA in 2020 to install new communications buildings, radar towers and perimeter security.
Operations
RRH Buchan operates a Lockheed Martin AN/TPS-77 long-range surveillance radar. It collects data as part of the UK Air Surveillance And Control System (ASACS) based at
RAF Boulmer
Royal Air Force Boulmer or more simply RAF Boulmer is a Royal Air Force station near Alnwick in Northumberland, England, and is home to Aerospace Surveillance and Control System (ASACS) Force Command, Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) Boulmer ...
and supports the creation of the
recognised air picture for the United Kingdom.
Radar Flight (North) of the ASACS Engineering & Logistics Squadron based at RAF Boulmer has command and control of RRH Buchan and ensures its operational availability.
As of 1 January 2024, twenty UK Armed Forces Service personnel are based at Buchan.
See also
*
Improved United Kingdom Air Defence Ground Environment
The Improved United Kingdom Air Defence Ground Environment, normally shortened to either UKADGE or IUKADGE, was the Royal Air Force's (RAF) ground-controlled interception system covering the British Isles during the 1990s. It consisted of a numbe ...
– UK air defence radar system in the UK between the 1990s and 2000s
*
Linesman/Mediator
Linesman/Mediator was a dual-purpose civil and military radar network in the United Kingdom between the 1960s and 1984. The military side (Linesman) was replaced by the Improved United Kingdom Air Defence Ground Environment (IUKADGE), while the ...
– UK air defence radar system in the UK between the 1960s and 1984
*
List of Royal Air Force stations
This list of Royal Air Force stations is an overview of all current stations of the Royal Air Force (RAF) throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. This includes front-line and training airbases, support, administrative and training station ...
*
NATO Integrated Air Defense System
The NATO Integrated Air Defense System (short: NATINADS) is a command and control network combining radars and other facilities spread throughout the NATO alliance's air defence forces. It formed in the mid-1950s and became operational in 1962 as ...
*
Armed forces in Scotland
Since the passing of the Treaty of Union in 1707 which unified the Kingdom of Scotland with the Kingdom of England to the create the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scottish armed forces were merged with the English armed forces and remain part of ...
*
Military history of Scotland
Historically, Scotland has a long British military history, military tradition that predates the Acts of Union 1707, Act of Union with England in 1707. Its soldiers today form part of the armed forces of the United Kingdom, more usually referre ...
References
{{Royal Air Force radar stations
Buildings and structures in Peterhead
History of Aberdeenshire
Radar stations
Buchan
Buchan is a coastal district in the north-east of Scotland, bounded by the Ythan and Deveron rivers. It was one of the original provinces of the Kingdom of Alba. It is now one of the six committee areas of Aberdeenshire.
Etymology
The ge ...
1952 establishments in Scotland
Air defence radar stations