No. 1 Air Control Centre RAF

No. 1 Air Control Centre (also known as 1 ACC) is a deployable mobile command and control unit of the Royal Air Force that is currently based at RAF Boulmer in Northumberland. The unit acts in conjunction with the Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) also at RAF Boulmer, but also detaches staff to overseas locations when the Royal Air Force is engaged in operations. Some of these postings are permanent, such as in the Falklands Islands and at Cyprus.

No 1. Air Control Centre
Active9 September 1965 (1965-09-09) – 24 September 1982
1 April 1995 – present
Country United Kingdom
Branch Royal Air Force
TypeNon-flying unit
RoleDeployable Air Surveillance and Control system (ASACS) capability
Part ofNo. 1 Group
Home stationRAF Boulmer
Motto(s)Ever Alert[1]

1 ACC's remit is to protect the United Kingdom's, and deployed airspace, from hostile aircraft.

History

No. 1 Air Control Centre started out as No. 9 Signals Unit (9 SU) at RAF Rattlesden in Suffolk in 1964. A year later it was renamed as No. 1 Air Control Centre, and remained at Rattlesden. In 1967, it moved to RAF Wattisham, where it remained until 1979 until it moved to Nancekuke in Cornwall (later RAF Portreath and then RRH Portreath).[2]

Between 2006 and 2009, No. 1 ACC was deployed to Afghanistan on Operation Herrick.[3][4]

In 2008, plans were announced in Parliament to relocate 1 ACC from RAF Kirton in Lindsey and the CRC from Scampton to RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.[5] Whilst this move did not proceed as intended, 1 ACC moved to RAF Scampton in 2012 and the technical site at RAF Kirton in Lindsey was sold off, although the domestic site was retained for RAF personnel.[6]

In 2018, the RAF announced that RAF Scampton would close by 2022, which would involve moving all units out of the station to other locations.[7] 1 ACC moved to RAF Boulmer in early 2023, just before Scampton’s closure on 31 March 2023.

Staffing of the unit fluctuates with demand and role, but in 2015, the number of personnel at the unit was around 220.[8]

Role

The main role of 1 ACC is to provide deployed air control operations, both in the United Kingdom and on deployed operations worldwide.[9][10] Whilst working in the United Kingdom, 1 ACC feeds into the CRC at RAF Boulmer and helps to protect UK airspace from hostile aircraft.[11][12]

Locations

Current
  • RAF Boulmer, (2023 - present)[13]
  • RAF Scampton, (2013 – 2023)
  • Mount Olympus (Cyprus)[14]
  • Mount Alice (Falklands)
  • Byron Heights (Falklands)
  • Mount Kent (Falklands)

Historical

Short deployments

References
  1. Pine, L G (1983). A Dictionary of mottoes. London: Routledge & K. Paul. p. 67. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
  2. "No 1 Air Control Centre". www.rafweb.org. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  3. "Red Arrows air base to be sold off". BBC News. 24 July 2018. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  4. "RAF cuts: speech in full". The Daily Telegraph. 12 October 2010. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  5. "ASACS Basing Study - Hansard". hansard.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  6. "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE Defence Estate Rationalisation Update" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  7. "Home of the Red Arrows RAF Scampton will be closing in 2022". Gainsborough Standard. 24 July 2018. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  8. Farmer, Ben (27 March 2018). "RAF Typhoons: Meet the pilots on standby 24 hours a day to defend British skies". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  9. Turner, Barry, ed. (2013). "United Kingdom". The Statesman's Yearbook : the politics, cultures and economies of the world. 2014. London: MacMillan. p. 1,275. ISBN 978-1-349-59645-4.
  10. Heyman, Charles (2014). The Armed Forces of the United Kingdom 2014-2015. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. p. 142. ISBN 978-1-78346-351-0.
  11. Haynes, Deborah (24 July 2018). "Red Arrows base RAF Scampton will be axed in cost‑cutting move". The Times. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  12. Osborne, Samuel (24 July 2018). "Red Arrows base to be sold off by Ministry of Defence". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  13. Royal Air Force. "RAF Boulmer". Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  14. "Chief enjoys tour of bases". infoweb.newsbank.com. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  15. "Kirton in Lindsey Airfield History - BCAR.org.uk". www.bcar.org.uk. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  16. "Wattisham Anglia Radar – Subterranea Britannica". www.subbrit.org.uk. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  17. "Deployments (Hansard, 6 March 2002)". api.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  18. "RAF Boulmer (Hansard, 22 January 2004)". api.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  19. "Thales and RAF100". thalesgroup.com. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  20. Smith, Jon (11 July 2006). "900 more UK troops to face the Taliban". infoweb.newsbank.com. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  21. "Homecoming parade for RAF troops". infoweb.newsbank.com. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
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