RAF Mildenhall to close. Lakenheath to get F-35 by 2020

[Cornish-guy]

I wonder if Fairford will se a fair share of transport types that would have gone into Mildenhall, I understand things will be moving to Germany, but would imagine logistics might still need to brought into the UK, so surely Fairford will be the logical place for this.
Also it seems a bit of a step backwards to base the tankers in Germany adding to the fuel burn if they are used for any Atlantic missions using fighters from the Heath.

C.

[baz1]

to close or not to close that is the question!?

[Snoop 95]

Interesting feature on life at both Mildenhall & LAkenheath on the BBC News website. Half way down the article it says 'apparently (the decision to close) is under review, but source for that gem is not disclosed. Maaaybe!

[ChrisCwmbran]

Interesting feature on life at both Mildenhall & LAkenheath on the BBC News website. Half way down the article it says 'apparently (the decision to close) is under review, but source for that gem is not disclosed. Maaaybe!

They do actually give a link - part way through the article:

http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/news/upd ... -1-7921014

[Proteus]

Sadly that article is dated mid April.....

[Thunder]

Also it seems a bit of a step backwards to base the tankers in Germany adding to the fuel burn if they are used for any Atlantic missions using fighters from the Heath.

That's where the likes of Prestwick comes into the equation, regularly sees BLUE,CLEAN and REACH flights already.

[page_verify]

Let's imagine that if Fairford were to get upgraded to support the RC-135 mission, then I'd suggest it's highly likely that other USAF missions will occasionally, or perhaps more so, start using Fairford as well (tankers, special ops, air lift, VIPs etc.) - especially if Mildenhall closes. And while it's a large base, I wonder what that'd mean for RIAT? While I'm sure there's the space for both, the history of RIAT and other large UK shows suggests they don't mix well with regular military operations. I wonder then whether RIAT hosting a second show at Scampton might be the start of something bigger over the next five years? Who knows?

[Thunder]

No way on Earth would Scampton be able to host a show anywhere near the scale of RIAT. If Fairford was to become unavailable to RIAT then I would suspect that they would relocate back to Boscombe.

[page_verify]

Good to know, thanks Thunder, I don't know how the base sizes compare.

[bizfreeq]

No way on Earth would Scampton be able to host a show anywhere near the scale of RIAT. If Fairford was to become unavailable to RIAT then I would suspect that they would relocate back to Boscombe.

Unfortunately with Qinetic now running Boscombe Down I very much doubt that airfield is even close to being an option now

[Spitfire88]

Fairford is getting upgraded, work starts in March, there's no "if"

[the concerned]

Ironically a good alternative to fairford would be mildenhall

[Thunder]

No way on Earth would Scampton be able to host a show anywhere near the scale of RIAT. If Fairford was to become unavailable to RIAT then I would suspect that they would relocate back to Boscombe.

Unfortunately with Qinetic now running Boscombe Down I very much doubt that airfield is even close to being an option now

Everything has it's price, unfortunately that would mean higher prices for the attendees and retailers, which in turn would mean more expensive drinks and burgers.

There isn't really any other alternative to Fairford for RIAT is there,unless Waddington get over their security concerns.

[page_verify]

It was all just a thought, apologies if it was too deep! I just can't see how when Fairford has several hundred personnel living in the dorms and base housing, along with several USAF and RAF RC-135s flying in and out 24/7, that the base facilities or security requirements lend themselves to hosting a large air show that brings 2,000 air show staff nevermind public on to the site.

[Tronk 11]

I dont want to put a fly in the ointment but if waddo has security concerns I wonder why fairford doesn't. They both fly RC-135's but waddo has a large security pen to put aircraft into. Fairford doesn't yet?! The US always seem a tad more anxious around security, however the airshow still took place when the ETTF was still deployed to fairford. Size isnt a problem, security might be.

[page_verify]

Fairford is getting upgraded, work starts in March, there's no "if"

Thanks Spitfire88, I hadn't seen any public chatter about when the work at Fairford is going to start.
From similar mutterings I heard that the RC-135 team wants to move to Fairford regardless of what happens to Mildenhall because of the problems operating from there causes them.
If the RC-135 mission is due to have moved to Fairford by 2021, then there's going to be a good 3 years of construction work around the base starting soon......
Like people say, I hope RIAT has a plan!

[Spitfire88]

My neighbours works for RIAT and they have said RIAT is going nowhere, the personal build up at Fairford has started already and will continue, with just over
500 USAF personal and 750 family members moving to Fairford plus all the RAF their already and plus the RAF Airseeker personal.

[page_verify]

Ah great, thanks for confirming, do you have a link to the announcement they're not now? I've only seen the article saying they were.

[Spitfire88]

Oh been told by RAF guys at Fairford that they are, be nice to get confirmation

[Thunder]

Have to say that I was also under the impression that the USAF and RAF RC-135's will both operate out of Fairford eventually, using a joint operation centre/facilities.