Our Work and Role
Defending our country is the primary role of the RAF. It’s their sworn duty to safeguard UK airspace and protect the lives of UK citizens from potential threats.
Highly trained personnel, world-class equipment, and state-of-the-art surveillance and intelligence let the RAF stay one step ahead – always ready and prepared to respond rapidly to any threat.
But how exactly do they do this? Just take a look at some of the examples:
Quick Reaction Alert (QRA)
Quick Reaction Alert refers to two groups of RAF aircraft, aircrews and ground crews who are on a permanent state of high alert, ready for immediate action. Intruder detected? They’re there to intercept in an instant.
Superior Air Power
Sophisticated, versatile, agile and very, very fast aircraft, like the Eurofighter Typhoon, play a huge part in the RAF’s UK air defence. State-of-the-art aircraft, radars and weapons systems are what the RAF call ‘superior air power’, and are a huge deterrent against enemy attacks.
Reconnaissance, Intelligence Gathering and Surveillance
RAF Intelligence Officers and Intelligence Analysts collect data from a number of sources, apply their specialist skills and build up profiles of enemies. The information they piece together provides vital ‘defence intelligence’ in peacetime and in conflict.
Search and Rescue
Ready to respond 24 hours a day, the RAF’s Search and Rescue (SAR) Force covers the whole of the UK – and beyond. In one year, the Search and Rescue Force can expect to respond to more than a thousand callouts – anything from rescuing a group of lost hill walkers to large-scale operations like flood relief.
