Country United Kingdom | Allegiance United Kingdom | |
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Branch Royal Air Force
British Army Role Ground Based Air Defence Size 3 Regiments (2 Regular, 1 Reserve), 1 Support Battery Part of OPCOM RAF Air Command, Coord Force Troops Command | ||
The UK's Joint Ground Based Air Defence HQ or Jt GBAD is a Joint (non deployable), force generating, formation under the operational command of Air Command, sitting under 2 Group RAF. All of the HQs subordinate units are drawn from the Royal Regiment of Artillery and 90% of its HQ staff, including its commander (a full colonel), are tied Royal Artillery posts. As most of the formations outputs and its personnel and equipment are Army the formation comes under the British Armies Force Troops Command for Budgetary and Coordination purposes, although there is no command relationship with this organisation. Jt GBAD Commands all the Ground Based Air Defence (surface-to-air) units in the United Kingdom's Armed Forces, with the exception of the Air Defence Troop Royal Marines who are part of No 30 Commando Royal Marines under the Operational Command of the Royal Navy, sitting under 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines.
Contents
History
Ground based air defence was first used by the British Armed Forces during WW1 and was a capability that sat under the Royal Regiment of Artillery, assigned to manouvre brigades. During WW2 the requirement for, and sophistication of, such systems was drastically increased and it was also understood that there was a requirement to cooperate closely with the RAF. This necessitated the formation of Anti-Aircraft Command, an organization that was roughly 90% Artillery and commanded by a Royal Artillery Officer but which was placed under the Operational Command of RAF Fighter Command. Its first commander was General Alan Brooke (later chief of the Imperial General Staff and Churchills senior military officer throughout the Second World War). At its peak this formation consisted of 3 AA Corps commanding 12 AA Divisions.
In the post war years the three services diverged significantly and Anti Aircraft Command ceased to exist. It was replaced by one of its subordinate formations 7 (Air Defence) Brigade (which itself was cut in size over time) under the command of the Army. The relatively small number of RAF Ground Based Air Defence units fell under the direct control of the RAF. The services approach to Ground Based Air Defence continued to diverge until UK's 1998 Defence Review. The decision was taken to cut and rationalise the British Militaries Ground Based Air Defence capability, aligning the capabilities to one service but under a joint command structure. In the same year a team led by a Royal Navy officer (to ensure impartiality) was established to assess which services units should endure. The decision was made to disband all of the RAF Regiment Rapier Squadrons (Battery sized formations) along with one of the two Regular Army Rapier Regiments (each of which consisted of 4 Battery's) and retaining the remaining one Regular Rapier Regiment, one Reserve Rapier Regiment and two HVM Regiments. 7 Air Defence Brigade was reorganised as HQ Jt GBAD and its RAF equivalent disbanded. The organization was then placed under command of the RAF, but with all units being manned by the Royal artillery.
This placed the remaining Short Range Air Defence (SHORAD) assets (16 Regiment RA & 106 Regiment RA) under JtGBAD, however, the army's refusal to release the two HVM (Starstreak) Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) units resulted in JtGBAD having a much reduced span of command than had initially been envisaged. As a result, the Headquarters was cut in size repeatedly over the years. Finally the UK's Defence Review rerolled one of the two remaining Regular HVM Regiments to UAVs 47th Regiment Royal Artillery and resubordinated the last (12 Regiment RA) under the command of Jt GBAD. This review also rerolled the Reserve Rapier Regiment to HVM. It also rerolled a Battery to become an Air Defence Support Unit (42 (Alem Hamza) Battery RA) which was to be manned by almost 200 personnel and commanded by a lieutenant colonel. A new Land Environment Air Picture Provision Battery (49 (Inkerman) Battery RA), was also established and subordinated to 16 Regiment RA, being commanded by an RAF Squadron Leader but manned by a 50/50 split RAF to RA. The position of Commander Jt GBAD was tied as a Royal Artillery post and Deputy Commander to the RAF. The formation now controlled all GBAD assets in the UK military less for the Air Defence Troop Royal Marines over which it only has training validation authority. The new single structure for Ground Based Air Defence would reduce inflexibility and increase efficiency in terms of training and command and control.
Operational History
Jt GBAD is a non deployable force generating HQ, however its units have served in a number of overseas operations, including Operation TELIC (Iraq) in the Counter Rocket Artillery Mortar (C-RAM) role, Operation HERRICK (Afghanistan) in the Automated Sense and Warn Role (AS&W)fulfilled by 16 Regiment RA. Since the disbandment of the RAF Regiment Rapier Squadrons in 2004/5 16 Regiment RA has also had a standing commitment to provide the Resident Rapier Battery in the Falkland Islands on an enduring basis. 12 Regiment RA and 16 Regiment RAs 49 (Inkerman) Battery RA are both aligned to manouvre Brigades in the British Army and regularly deploy with them on training and operations. Jt GBAD also plays a part in UK home operations, notably the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Organisation
Jt GBAD air defence units include: