Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the British military branch responsible for aerial combat and space exploration. On April 1, 1918, the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service were reunified to become the Royal Air Force, the first autonomous air force in the world (RNAS). The Royal Air Force (RAF) became the greatest air force in the world when the Allies defeated the Central Powers in 1918. From its inception, the Royal Air Force has played a pivotal role in Britain's military. Its most notable campaign, the Battle of Britain, took place during the Second World War.

The modern Royal Air Force (RAF) has a fleet of planes that the service calls "cutting edge" in terms of technology. Fighter and strike aircraft, airborne early warning and control aircraft, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) aircraft, signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft, maritime patrol aircraft, air-to-air refuelling (AAR) aircraft, and strategic and tactical transport aircraft all fall under this category. Most RAF helicopters are members of the tri-service Joint Helicopter Command, which provides air and ground support. Several RAF planes and pilots are stationed at long-standing foreign locations or are involved in global operations (mostly over Iraq and Syria) (Ascension Island, Cyprus, Gibraltar, and the Falkland Islands). The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the primary branch of British air power; however, the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy and the Army Air Corps of the British Army also deploy armed aircraft.