The station Commander of RAF Lossiemouth has offered assurances that there will be “plenty of room” at the Moray base when RAF Leuchars jets relocate there next year despite Leuchars personnel having to stay as far away as Inverness during a recent training exercise.
Group Captain Ian Gale said on Twitter that a recent tactical weapons exercise had been a “great opportunity” for personnel from Leuchars-based 1(Fighter) Squadron to get more familiar with the station before they move from Fife next autumn.
However, with at least one social media observer pointing out that Leuchars personnel “had to stay all over Moray and as far as Inverness due to the accommodation at Lossie”, Group Captain Gale has offered assurances that planning for the move from Leuchars to Lossiemouth next year is well in hand.
He said: “We had an extra 500 or so people (for the exercise) on top of our existing three Tornado squadrons so accommodation was always going to be tight, especially during the Nairn and Lossie Open golf competitions.
“We are working now to make sure there will be plenty of room for all of the new arrivals and have conducted tours of service families’ accommodation for our visitors, so we’re taking this very seriously.”
RAF Lossiemouth hosted the Combined Qualified Weapons Instructor operational course for two weeks.
Group Captain Gale explained that the exercise allowed the weapons instructor students from the combat air and other forces to come together, plan together then execute and debrief large force missions.
He added: “I was fortunate enough to fly with 1 (Fighter) Squadron on the last mission. But aside from the huge tactical benefits of this exercise, for RAF Lossiemouth, it has been a great opportunity for the personnel from 1 Squadron to get more familiar with our station and its facilities and local area before they move here from RAF Leuchars next autumn.
“For us, it has been a very useful chance to better understand the Typhoon and to get used to supporting it. For example, one of the hangars that will be used to house the aircraft is already complete and we have used it extensively to store and service up to 15 Typhoons.”
In an exclusive interview with The Courier in March, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond offered assurances that there will be no “gap” between the RAF withdrawing and the army arriving at Leuchars.
The MoD has since confirmed Typhoons will relocate from RAF Leuchars to RAF Lossiemouth from next summer.
Typhoon flying operations will cease at RAF Leuchars during the autumn of that year after a “progressive transfer of the base from the RAF to the army”.
A formal handover of Leuchars to the army is expected in early 2015.