RAF Waddington

RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force main operating base located near the village of Waddington, Lincolnshire, England. It serves as the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) hub. The station was first established in 1916 as a Royal Flying Corps flying training aerodrome during the First World War, operating until 1920 when it went into care and maintenance. It reopened as a heavy bomber base in 1937.

During the Second World War, RAF Waddington housed Hampdens and was the first station to receive the Avro Manchester heavy bomber in November 1940. No. 44 Squadron RAF was the first in RAF Bomber Command to fly operationally with the Avro Lancaster from Waddington in March 1942. The station played a role in the Falklands War, with three Avro Vulcan B2s from No. 44, No. 50, and No. 101 Squadrons participating in Operation Black Buck, a long-range bombing raid on Port Stanley airfield.

In the Cold War, RAF Waddington was an Avro Vulcan V-bomber station until 1984. In July 1991, No. 8 Squadron moved to RAF Waddington and re-equipped with Boeing E-3 Sentrys. The runway was closed for rebuilding between July 2014 and November 2016. In 2020, No. 216 Squadron reformed as an experimental unit for drone swarm technology, and a joint flight simulator training facility was completed. The E-3D Sentry was retired in 2021, and No. 39 Squadron disbanded in August 2022. The RAF Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, relocated to Waddington in October 2022. No. 31 Squadron was re-formed in October 2023, equipped with the General Atomics MQ-9B Protector RG1 remotely piloted air system.

Current operational units at RAF Waddington include No. 13 Squadron (MQ-9A Reaper), No. 14 Squadron (Shadow R1), No. 31 Squadron (Protector UAV), and No. 51 Squadron (RC-135W Rivet Joint). The base also hosts the ISTAR Force Operational Conversion Unit (No. 54 Squadron), ISTAR Operational Evaluation Unit (No. 56 Squadron), and the RAF Aerobatic Team (The Red Arrows). Additionally, No. 1 Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Wing is headquartered here, along with various support and training units. The station's gate guardian is Avro Vulcan XM607, which participated in Operation Black Buck.