Royal Air Force In Scotland

摘要

Scotland is an important part of the United Kingdom for the RAF, with three large bases - RAF Lossiemouth, Leuchars and Kinloss - housing front-line and training squadrons. The country's uncongested airspace, large unpopulated areas and diverse terrain makes it ideal for training, and consequently many exercises take place in Scottish airspace. RAF Lossiemouth in Moray is home to more than half of the RAF's Panavia Tornado GR.4 fleet, which comprises three operational squadrons, 12 (B), 14 and 617 Squadrons, and the operational conversion unit (OCU), XV (R) Squadron. The latter is responsible for training the pilots and weapon systems officers (WSOs) selected for the aircraft, and also runs post-graduate courses to teach qualified weapons instructors (QWIs). With approximately 26 aircraft on strength, the squadron is one of the largest in the RAF.