RAF Lossiemouth's £75m revamped runway opens
- Published
The first of eventually nine Poseidon aircraft arrived at Lossiemouth on Tuesday afternoon
RAF Lossiemouth in Moray has been reopened to aircraft following a £75m revamp of the station's runways.
The runways were constructed for fast jets such as Tornadoes and more recently Typhoons.
After being stripped and resurfaced, they can now handle the take off and landings of larger, multi-engine aircraft.
RAF Lossiemouth is to be the base for a fleet of nine P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol planes, as well as Typhoons.
The first of the US-built Poseidon aircraft have been stationed at nearby Kinloss Barracks, a former RAF station, and arrived at Lossiemouth on Tuesday afternoon.
It is 10 years since the RAF's last maritime patrol aircraft were scrapped.
The last of those jet aircraft, called Nimrods, flew out of RAF Kinloss in 2010. New Nimrods were dismantled for scrap as part of defence cuts, but not replaced by another type of plane until now.
A Typhoon after landing at RAF Lossiemouth on Monday
Typhoons, whose crews carry out quick reaction alert (QRA) missions, are to return to Lossiemouth after being temporarily based at Leuchars in Fife.
QRAs frequently involve interceptions of Russian military aircraft detected flying near airspace of "Nato interest".
A new facility has been constructed at a cost of £132m to service the new Poseidon aircraft
Also, returning to Lossiemouth are Typhoons flown on training sorties and have been temporarily stationed at Kinloss.
The first of the Typhoons were back at the Moray station on Monday.
Station commander, Gp Capt Chris Layden, said RAF Lossiemouth would be "right at the centre" of the RAF's air combat power with four squadrons of Typhoons and two squadrons of Poseidon aircraft.
Wg Cdr James Hanson said the primary function of the Poseidon was anti-submarine and surface ship warfare, but he added the aircraft could be used in any military maritime mission.
A Typhoon at Lossiemouth with the new Poseidon facility in the background
Work on the runways began at the start of the year and continued through the coronavirus lockdown.
Separately, a £132m facility has been constructed for the Poseidon aircraft.
It can house three aircraft for maintenance while the remainder of the fleet can be parked outside.