Future Brize takes off
23 Nov 09
Over the last decade RAF Brize Norton has shown its worth as a key link in the chain to front line operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, with the planned closure of RAF Lyneham in 2012 and a shift of units and aircraft to Brize, the station faces an assured but demanding future. Report by Tristan Kelly.
The huge hangar taking shape at RAF Brize Norton to accommodate the Future Stategic Tanker Aircraft when they enter service
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]
Those driving on the A40 near Oxford may have seen the emergence of a massive hangar in the distance and wondered what on earth is going on in the middle of the Oxfordshire countryside.
The answer is that this is the first step to the front line in Afghanistan and under Programme Future Brize the new hangar is just one, admittedly huge, part of transforming RAF Brize Norton into Britain's largest RAF airbase.
What isn't evident from the A40 are the further huge changes and developments taking place at RAF Brize Norton as units are transferred from the soon-to-close RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.
This will make the Oxfordshire base the future single airport of embarkation (APOE) for UK Defence and home to 15 per cent of the RAF's uniformed personnel.
Amongst the units moving over from RAF Lyneham are the C-130 Hercules force. But Brize Norton also faces the challenge of accommodating many of the RAF's new fleet of aircraft soon to enter service including the new A400M air transport fleet and the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA), together with their attendant crews and support staff.
All this is being planned and carried out while Brize and Lyneham continue to maintain their support to operations, including the strategic air bridge to operations in Afghanistan.
Tasked with the Herculean challenge of delivering these projects on time and to budget without impacting support to operations in Afghanistan is the Future Brize delivery team headed up by Air Officer Commanding Number 2 Group, Air Vice-Marshal Steve Hillier, and led on the ground by programme manager Group Captain David Houghton.
Since its inception in March this year, taking over and expanding on the earlier CATARA (Centralisation of Air Transport, Air-to-air Refuelling and Associated Assets) project, progress has been swift and physical changes can already be seen around Brize Norton. But with just 18 months until RAF Lyneham is due to close as an operational airfield the pressure is on.
The two-bay hangar that will accommodate the Future Stategic Tanker Aircraft
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]
Group Captain Houghton described the task ahead and the potential impact on operations:
"Whether it be troops going out to theatre and back, bringing casualties back or the sad job of repatriating bodies, currently carried out at Lyneham, or whether it is resupplying ammunition, critical spares or getting helicopters out - all that will in the future be supported through this single airfield," he said.
"Therefore we have to get this right. The 'head' out in Afghanistan cannot work properly if the 'tail' at Brize and Lyneham does not work.
"For example, the Hercules force currently at Lyneham are carrying out a lot of supply drops in Afghanistan and they can only do that if the fleet back at the UK is working properly, if the training is going on and the support is there.
"That is the reason why Future Brize is going to be absolutely pivotal for Defence.
"We only started in March this year and the C-130 element starts to move across in April 2011.
"There is not much time left."
However, Gp Capt Houghton is clear that while the changes will benefit Defence in the long term they cannot be allowed to compromise current operations:
"So far it has been a real collective effort across Defence as people realise if this doesn't work then Defence output and the front line will suffer and none of us are going to allow that to happen.
A VC10 carrying out air-to-air refuelling which will be replaced under the FSTA programme by the new Airbus A330-200 aircraft
[Picture: SAC Taz Hetherington, Crown Copyright/MOD 2004]
"We are completely focused on providing support to the front line - that is what we are here to do and that is what we will continue to do. We will make sure support to operations does not miss a heartbeat as we amalgamate Lyneham with Brize."
RAF Lyneham as a base will shut by 31 December 2012, and as an active airfield it will cease operations by 30 September 2011.
Just before that, the C-130 Hercules force will move across to RAF Brize Norton and other elements such as 47 Air Despatch Squadron, Royal Logistic Corps, and the other major units like the Air Mobility Wing and the Tactical Medical Wing will be moving across in late 2011 and during 2012.
Moving units with assets such as the Hercules C-130 aircraft poses not just a problem in terms of housing the equipment and engineering support facilities but also the crews and support staff and therefore will be phased over a period of time.
Gp Capt Houghton explained:
"It means big changes for Brize. Currently there are 30 aeroplanes here and there are going to be 70 in the future.
"We can't move everything at once and we need to make sure the life support systems are here - whether that be accommodation or admin support - all the things that make life liveable on base."
As Future Brize involves areas such as IT, engineering, housing and personnel, many strands of Defence have come together to deliver the project.
Future Brize is co-ordinating work with other Defence organisations, such as Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) and Defence Estates, and this has been a key feature of the plan:
"We are working very closely with other teams," Gp Capt Houghton explained.
The TriStar aircraft are reaching the end of their useful lives and will be replaced in the coming decade
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2005]
"For example we are working with the individual project teams down at Abbey Wood [DE&S] for the individual aircraft platforms to see how we need to support them and what we can do for their long term support.
"In all the areas of delivery we need to work together as one big team."
It is not just disparate internal organisations involved in the move either. The FSTA programme is being carried out in partnership with industry through a Private Finance Initiative with AirTanker Ltd which is based on a fleet of new Airbus A330-200 aircraft modified to replace the RAF's ageing VC10 and TriStar aircraft.
The programme is a 27-year holistic service, covering everything from provision of aircraft to provision of training and maintenance services, as well as new infrastructure at RAF Brize Norton including the new hangar.
So far the Future Brize programme has delivered the infrastructure building programme which will transform a selection of pre-1960 RAF amenities into modern, updated facilities.
Work is also now well underway on the next stage of the FSTA service infrastructure in the form of the construction of a two-bay hangar and associated workshops as well as what will be four-floor office accommodation for the RAF's two FSTA squadrons, the MOD's FSTA Project Team and AirTanker personnel.
Of course, with such an influx of personnel, accommodation is also a consideration and the team are working with Defence Estates to upgrade existing houses and rooms.
Brize Norton is the only RAF site in Single Living Accommodation Modernisation (SLAM) Phase 2 and will see construction of 744 new Junior Ranks rooms, 50 Senior Non-Commissioned Officers rooms and 64 Officers rooms.
Construction should last approximately three years and work on the Officers' Mess has already begun.
The new Airbus A330-200 aircraft which will replace the RAF's ageing VC10 and TriStar aircraft
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]
Plans are also being developed to replace 600 Service Families Accommodation (SFA) homes, including all flats with around 800 new houses and refurbishing nearly 600 of the current SFA houses.
The additional 200 new houses will cater for the increase in personnel entitled to SFA expected as a result of the Future Brize programme and will be a great and long overdue quality of life improvement for personnel.
With such activity the local community around Brize Norton is sure to see changes, but by and large Gp Capt Houghton believes these will be positive:
"It does mean big changes for the local community, specifically more people and more flying - though with much quieter aircraft.
"There will obviously be more people on the base as well and that will have an impact on economic activity in the area, bringing with it more jobs."
Gp Capt Houghton and his team are mindful that Brize Norton will not be transformed overnight but are determined that Future Brize is the right step in creating an airbase that can live up to the needs of current and future operations for the next half-century:
"Our focus short term is maintaining operational support. But in the longer term we are focused on making sure Brize is fit for purpose for the next 50 years.
"Brize is going nowhere and will remain the single APOE so we need to spend the money in the right places to do what's required to make it fit for purpose for current operations and also make sure we are developing it to make sure it works well for the next 40 to 50 years as it evolves over time.
"We have to get it right for Defence - not just for the Air Force but for our colleagues in the Army and Navy, they rely on us and we will give them what they need."