Maidan
Respected Leader
New Shetland radar to better protect UK Northern airspace
A new RAF radar facility reinforcing the UK’s ability to track unidentified military or civilian aircraft will be powered up ready to operate soon, the head of the RAF heard today.
Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier, visited the site of the new £10m Remote Radar Head facility, at Saxa Vord, Unst, Shetland, to inspect its progress.
The radar will improve RAF and NATO understanding of the airspace north of Britain and further out across the Norwegian Sea, improving the UK’s sovereign capability at a time of heightened Russian military activity. It will see the island return to the role it performed during the 1960s and 70s, when the site was used as an early warning radar on NATO’s northern flank.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:
We will always protect our skies from Russian aggression. This radar is a vital part of the UK’s defences as we react to intensifying global threats and reinforce our ability to tackle them. Russia’s actions are not limited to Europe’s eastern borders – the threat to British livelihoods is severe and real.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier, Chief of the Air Staff, said:
The radar system at Saxa Vord is an important part of ensuring that the RAF can fully protect both the UK’s airspace and that of our NATO allies, in the face of increasing pressure from Russia.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-shetland-radar-to-better-protect-uk-northern-airspace
A new RAF radar facility reinforcing the UK’s ability to track unidentified military or civilian aircraft will be powered up ready to operate soon, the head of the RAF heard today.
Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier, visited the site of the new £10m Remote Radar Head facility, at Saxa Vord, Unst, Shetland, to inspect its progress.
The radar will improve RAF and NATO understanding of the airspace north of Britain and further out across the Norwegian Sea, improving the UK’s sovereign capability at a time of heightened Russian military activity. It will see the island return to the role it performed during the 1960s and 70s, when the site was used as an early warning radar on NATO’s northern flank.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:
We will always protect our skies from Russian aggression. This radar is a vital part of the UK’s defences as we react to intensifying global threats and reinforce our ability to tackle them. Russia’s actions are not limited to Europe’s eastern borders – the threat to British livelihoods is severe and real.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier, Chief of the Air Staff, said:
The radar system at Saxa Vord is an important part of ensuring that the RAF can fully protect both the UK’s airspace and that of our NATO allies, in the face of increasing pressure from Russia.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-shetland-radar-to-better-protect-uk-northern-airspace
