Air Command, the headquarters of the Royal Air Force, has been redesignated as Air and Space Command, reflecting the RAF’s role as the Lead Command for Space across Defence.
Air Command was formed in 2007, when Strike Command was merged with Personnel and Training Command into a single command. It has now become Air & Space Command, underscoring how the RAF is responsible for both domains – generating and employing air and space power to defend the nation.
Air & Space Command, led by the Chief of the Air Staff, will continue to be responsible for UK Space Command, which safeguards UK and allied interests in space. Air & Space Command will also continue to lead the RAF Groups, which deliver air power and train RAF personnel.
“Space is essential to defence, security, prosperity, and our modern way of life. But it is also a domain of growing strategic competition. It has fast become an operational domain in its own right, and is vital to our ambition to develop and mature the integrated force. The RAF’s core mission of gaining and maintaining control of the air is fundamentally dependant on our freedom of action in and through the space domain.
It is now more important than ever for space power to be planned and delivered through the highest levels of military leadership, like all other domains. Our new HQ Air & Space Command will lead the delivery of space power with the same dedication that it leads for the air domain.”
Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth
Chief of the Air Staff
Under the Lead Command Model, the military commands of the UK armed forces will take leadership of different activities that are important to all of defence. The RAF’s selection as the Lead Command for space reflects its historic connection to the domain, having established the UK’s ballistic missile early warning system at RAF Fylingdales in 1963 and launched the SKYNET 1A satellite in 1969.
From Lancasters to satellites: RAF High Wycombe’s journey from Bomber Command to Air & Space Command
Bomber Command was formed in 1936, to control the RAF’s growing pre-war bombing force. It was initially based at RAF Uxbridge in West London, but with tensions in Europe rising, the UK government decided to relocate Bomber Command to a safer location – within reach of London, but harder for enemy aircraft to find and attack from the air.
RAF High Wycombe was established in 1938 as the new location for Bomber Command, located in the woods of the Chiltern Hills near the villages of Walter’s Ash and Naphill – just outside High Wycombe. RAF High Wycombe would be home to Bomber Command headquarters for another thirty years.
In 1968, Bomber Command was merged with Fighter Command to form the new Strike Command, based at RAF High Wycombe. This new command controlled the RAF’s combat aircraft, including all its bomber and fighter forces.
RAF High Wycombe was home to Strike Command for nearly 40 years. In 2007, Strike Command merged with Personnel & Training Command to form a single Air Command to act as the headquarters for the entire RAF.
With the growing importance of space to daily lives, as well as military operations around the world, UK Space Command was formed under Air Command in 2021. UK Space Command’s mission is to safeguard the UK’s national and military space interests and enable UK forces to operate globally.
Air Command operated for nearly two decades before its redesignation to Air & Space Command in 2026.
Your journey into space: Space careers in Air & Space Command
The following roles may be of interest if you wish to pursue a space career in the Royal Air Force:
- Operations Specialist
- Operations Officer
- Cyberspace Communication Specialist
- Cyberspace Engineering Officer
- Intelligence Officer
- Intelligence Analyst
The RAF is the only service with a dedicated Air and Space profession. Currently serving personnel who wish to transfer to the RAF Air and Space Operations (ASO) profession should contact the ASO Professions Advisory Team.
UK Space Command is a joint command with personnel from across the UK armed forces. If you are interested in careers in the space domain with the Royal Navy or the British Army, please visit Royal Navy jobs or British Army jobs. Civil Service roles at UK Space Command are advertised via Civil Service Jobs.
