Royal Air Force Croughton or more simply RAF Croughton is a Royal Air Force station in Northamptonshire, England, located southeast of the village of Croughton. It is currently a United States Air Force communications station, home to the 422nd Air Base Group and operates one of Europe's largest military switchboards, processing approximately a third of all U.S. military communications in Europe.

History

Early years

RAF Croughton was built in 1938, and was originally known as Brackley Landing Ground until 1940 when it became RAF Brackley. In July 1941 the name changed again and the station became RAF Croughton.

In 2012 a 2.5 gigabits per second data circuit was established to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, U.S. Africa Command's (AFRICOM) only permanent military base in Africa.

In November 2013 Tom Watson MP, was reported as saying that there was: "an urgent need for "public scrutiny" of the activities at RAF Croughton. The US Air Force station is a major hub for American military and clandestine communications". It is reported to have been central to the monitoring of the mobile phone of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

In December 2013 The Independent reported that the base was used to relay U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency communications, and it was a key intelligence facility in the UK. In 2014 byelaws were enacted by statutory instrument prohibiting various activities in and around the base.

National Review (an American publication) refers in a July 2015 story to: 'the Joint Intelligence Analysis Center (JIAC), an "intelligence fusion center" that Congress approved for construction at UK airfield RAF Croughton. The facility would bring together intelligence analysts from U.S. European Command (EUCOM), AFRICOM, and NATO under one roof, fostering a level of collaboration military commanders say is crucial to confronting Russian aggression and Islamic fundamentalism in Africa'.

In 2016 the United States Department of Defense announced that a £200 million Joint Intelligence Analysis Centre would be built at the base, to house up to 1,250 staff analysing intelligence from Europe and Africa, some transferred from the Joint Analysis Center at RAF Molesworth. However an Office of the Inspector General investigation found that financial analysis leading to this decision was inaccurate.

The 2017 Office of the Inspector General report recorded that the base provided command, control, communications, and computer support to Department of Defense and civilian agencies across Europe, and was staffed by about 265 U.S. military personnel, 140 Department of Defense civilians, and 200 UK Ministry of Defence employees. It provided about 25% of all European to United States military communications. Friends of the victim gathered to demonstrate outside the base.

On 9 July 2020 an adjournment debate on RAF Croughton, in the House of Commons, was led by local Member of Parliament Andrea Leadsom, who called for the expansion of the airfield to be stopped and for the base entrance to be moved to the A43 main road.

On 22 March 2021 the 501 CSW announced that the United States Department of the Air Force had completed its business case analysis and determined it was not cost effective to consolidate support facilitates at RAF Molesworth. Subsequently the U.S. Department of Defense submitted, and UK Ministry of Defence approved, a request to allow RAF Alconbury to remain open and to continue as the primary location for Joint Intelligence Analysis Center support.

Role and operations

RAF Croughton houses the 422nd Air Base Group whose function is to provide installation support, services, force protection, and worldwide communications across the entire spectrum of operations. The group is located in the UK and supports NATO, US European Command, US Central Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, US Department of State operations and Ministry of Defence operations. The group sustains more than 410 C2 circuits and supports 25 percent of all European Theater to continental United States (CONUS) communications.

Based units

Notable units based at RAF Croughton.

United States Air Force

United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA)

501st Combat Support Wing

  • 422nd Air Base Group
  • 422nd Air Base Squadron
  • 422nd Civil Engineer Squadron
  • 422nd Communications Squadron
  • 422nd Medical Squadron
  • 422nd Security Forces Squadron

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File:422ABG.png|422nd Air Base Group Patch

File:422 Air Base Sq.jpg|422nd Air Base Squadron Patch

File:422 Civil Engineer Sq.jpg|422nd Civil Engineer Squadron Patch

File:422 Communications Sq.jpg|422nd Communications Squadron Patch

File:422mds.png|422nd Medical Squadron Patch

File:422 Security Forces Sq.jpg|422nd Security Forces Squadron Patch

</gallery>

See also

  • List of Royal Air Force stations

References

  • Croughton Watch – campaign group
  • RAF Croughton Alumni Site