Ministry of Defence Woodbridge or MOD Woodbridge is a military installation located near the town of Woodbridge, in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, England. The site opened in 2006 and is operated by 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 ...

and incorporates both Rock Barracks and Woodbridge Airfield. The barracks are home to two

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

regiments. The airfield is used periodically by helicopters of the Army Air Corps for training exercises. The site was previously known as

RAF Woodbridge Royal Air Force Woodbridge, or more simply RAF Woodbridge, is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Woodbridge and around 7 miles north-east of Ipswich, in the county of Suffolk, England. Constructed in 1943 as a RAF military airfi ...

and had periods where it was 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 ...

and

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. The RAF station closed in August 1993.

History

RAF Woodbridge

Constructed in 1943 as a

(RAF) airfield during 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 ...

to assist damaged aircraft to land on their return from raids over

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, it was later used by the

during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, being the primary home for the 79th Tactical Fighter Squadron and the

78th Tactical Fighter Squadron The 78th Attack Squadron (78 ATKS) is an Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) unit under the 926th Wing, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada and Tenth Air Force (10 AF) at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. The 78 ATKS condu ...

and squadrons of the 81st Fighter Wing under various designations until 1993. For many years, the 81st Fighter Wing also operated from nearby

RAF Bentwaters Royal Air Force Bentwaters or more simply RAF Bentwaters, now known as Bentwaters Parks, is a former Royal Air Force station about northeast of London and east-northeast of Ipswich, near Woodbridge, Suffolk in England. Its name was taken fr ...

, with Bentwaters and Woodbridge being known as the "Twin Bases". The RAF station closed in August 1993.

Reactivation

In 2001, 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 that £100 million would be invested in the Woodbridge site in order to accommodate British Army personnel. Due to budgetary constraints and commitments to

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 ...

(the UK's contribution to the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

), the start of work at Woodbridge was delayed until January 2004. On 1 September 2006, the former Woodbridge site was split up and the two parts renamed as Woodbridge Airfield and Rock Barracks.

Airfield

Woodbridge Airfield is used by Army Air Corps helicopters for training exercises. During August 2016, the airfield was used for testing the

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 capa ...

Cancelled closure

In November 2016, the Ministry of Defence announced that MOD Woodbridge would close by 2027. However, in February 2019, following detailed assessment work, the Ministry of Defence concluded the retention of MOD Woodbridge supports the military requirement of the Army, and its closure was cancelled.

Based units

The following units are based at Rock Barracks. * 23 Parachute Engineer Regiment,

**12 Parachute Headquarters and Support Squadron ** 9 Parachute Squadron ** 51 Parachute Squadron * 28 Engineer Regiment (C-CBRN), Royal Engineers ** Regimental Headquarters (moving from RAF Honington, by 2024) ** 42 Field Squadron (C-CBRN) ** 77 Field Squadron (C-CBRN)

References

{{Reflist Barracks in England Military history of Suffolk