RAF Oakhanger
{{Short description|Royal Air Force airbase in England}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2012}}
{{use British English|date=August 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox military installation
| name = RAF Oakhanger
| ensign = Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg
| ensign_size = 90px
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| partof =
| location =
| nearest_town = Bordon, East Hampshire
| country = England
| image = File:Satellite Dish, RAF Oakhanger - geograph.org.uk - 328959.jpg
| alt = Satellite dish at Oakhanger
| caption = Satellite dish at Oakhanger
| image2 = 100px
| alt2 = RAF Oakhanger badge
| caption2 = {{Language with name/for|la|Ultra Tellurem Dico|I speak beyond the Earth|break=yes}}{{cite book|last1=Pine|first1=L.G.|title=A dictionary of mottoes|date=1983|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul|location=London|isbn=978-0-7100-9339-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmott00tion/page/241 241]|edition=1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmott00tion/page/241}}
| type = Military satellite communications station
| coordinates = {{coord|51|6|55.31|N|0|53|36.5|W|type:city_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
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| pushpin_map = Hampshire
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| pushpin_map_caption = Location within Hampshire
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| pushpin_image =
| pushpin_label = RAF Oakhanger
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| ownership = Ministry of Defence
| operator = *Royal Air Force (1966–2003)
- Paradigm Secure Communications (2003–2013)
- Airbus Defence and Space (2013 – 2024)
- Babcock International (2024 – present)
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| built = {{Start date|1966}}
| used = 1966–{{End date|2003}}
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| fate = Operation of station transferred to the private sector under a private finance initiative contract.
| condition = Closed
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RAF Oakhanger was a Royal Air Force station in Hampshire split over three operational sites; with accommodation in nearby Bordon.{{cite web|url=http://www.rafweb.org/Stations/Stations-O.htm |title=RAF Oakhanger |publisher=Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation|access-date=18 May 2012}} The main site and operations centre is located near the village of Oakhanger, the two other sites being nearby. The parent station for administrative purposes was RAF Odiham.
History
RAF Oakhanger was the home of No. 1001 Signal Unit,{{Cite web|url=https://www.squadronprints.com/item/1076/Skynet-4.html|title=Skynet 4 - Print}} responsible for supporting satellite communications services for the British Armed Forces worldwide. The unit was made up of four sub-units: Space Operations, Ground Operations, Telemetry and Control, and Support; with subordinate detachments based at RAF Rudloe Manor, RAF Colerne and RAF Defford. Command and Control of the system was conducted from Oakhanger, with a planning unit based at Rudloe Manor, co-located with No. 1 Signal Unit and Controller Defence Communication Network. The Colerne and Defford detachments provided a ground anchoring capability for the communications spacecraft. The Defford detachment was managed by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, later QinetiQ.
Space Squadron was responsible for flying a constellation of Skynet satellites, up to the fourth iteration of six space vehicles which supported Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force units. The space vehicles were controlled on a permanent basis from Oakhanger, with command and control traffic being passed from one of the three ground stations. Space Squadron also controlled the flight of space vehicles on behalf of NATO, with an earth station at the nearby NATO ground terminal. The constellation comprised geosynchronous satellites, providing Earth coverage and higher-power coverage over Northern Europe.
Ground services was responsible for routing traffic via the space vehicles, from a number of locations in the United Kingdom, to either stationary ground terminals such as Germany, Cyprus, Ascension Island and the Falkland Islands, or tactical ground terminals, mounted in ships or vehicles. Tactical terminals were operated by the Tactical Communications Wing, 30 Signal Regiment, 16 Signal Regiment, 249 (AMF(L)) Signal Squadron, 264 (SAS) Signal Squadron, or the Royal Marines Signal Squadrons.Kiralfy, R.J.C., Current issues for RAF Oakhanger and Number 1001 Signals Unit, IEE Coilloquium on Military Satellite Communications II (Ref. No: 1997/322), vol., no., pp.5/1,5/6, 18 Nov 1997 URL: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/659612
Current use
Support to British military satellite communications was outsourced to EADS Astrium's subsidiary company—Paradigm Secure Communications—in 2003, as a Private Finance Initiative. Paradigm Secure Communications was then known as Airbus Defence and Space.
The site is now operated by Babcock International under the Skynet Service Delivery Wrap (SDW) contract which commenced in March 2024.{{Cite web |title=£400 million contract to operate military satellite communications system supports 400 UK jobs |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/400-million-contract-to-operate-military-satellite-communications-system-supports-400-uk-jobs |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}
RAF Oakhanger is now used to support the Skynet 5 constellation and the United States Space Force's Satellite Control Network. A very small contingent from the U.S. 23rd Space Operations Squadron are stationed at RAF Oakhanger who with MOD civilians and contractors provide support to over 175 U.S. and allied satellites, the only site where U.S. satellites are supported by non-U.S. personnel.{{cite web |url=https://csmng.com/2017/07/18/oakhanger-gsu-uk-military-support-afscn/ |title=Oakhanger GSU, UK military support AFSCN |last=Tracy |first=William |website=CSMNG |date=18 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923044516/https://csmng.com/2017/07/18/oakhanger-gsu-uk-military-support-afscn/ |archive-date=23 September 2017}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [http://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/Unit-Info/657 Forces War Records -- RAF Oakhanger]
{{Royal Air Force}}
{{United States Space Force}}
Category:Earth stations in England
Category:East Hampshire District
Category:Science and technology in Hampshire