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RAF Lossiemouth is a major Royal Air Force fast-jet station on the western edge of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland, and the only operational RAF station remaining in Scotland. It is home to Eurofighter Typhoon squadrons providing round-the-clock Quick Reaction Alert cover for UK airspace, together with the RAF's Poseidon maritime patrol force, making it one of the most active military airfields a simulator pilot can fly into in the UK.
RAF Lossiemouth is a Royal Air Force main operating base situated on the western fringe of the coastal town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland. Operated by the RAF and controlled by No. 1 Group (Air Combat), it is one of two UK bases for the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 and is also home to the RAF's Boeing Poseidon MRA1 maritime patrol force. For a virtual pilot the field offers long, well-lit military runways, an ILS approach, and the atmosphere of a genuinely busy front-line fast-jet station, with regular Typhoon quick reaction alert launches and maritime patrol traffic.
The airfield lies on the Moray coast immediately west of the town of Lossiemouth, in the Moray council area of north-east Scotland. It is a military aerodrome with its own air traffic control organisation providing approach, director, departure, ground and tower services, reflecting its role as one of the two RAF stations that maintain continuous Quick Reaction Alert cover for UK airspace.
Lossiemouth has two paired runways. The main runway, 05/23, is 9,024 feet long on the 05 heading and 8,771 feet on the reciprocal 23 heading; both directions are hard-surfaced and lit, and runway 23 is equipped with an ILS. The secondary runway, 10/28, measures 5,739 feet on runway 10 and 5,528 feet on runway 28, again hard-surfaced and lit on both headings. Field elevation is 30 feet.
Lossiemouth provides a full military air traffic service across several frequencies: Approach on 123.3 MHz, Director on 123.3 MHz, Departure on 119.35 MHz, Ground on 118.2 MHz, Tower on 118.2 MHz, Radar on 118.9 MHz, an ATIS on 26.477 MHz, and Operations on 36.93 MHz. An ILS is available for runway 23.
The station sits on the western edge of Lossiemouth town, with the North Sea coastline immediately to the north providing an obvious landmark for anyone approaching from the sea. Covesea Lighthouse, a short distance along the coast, overlooks the airfield and is a well-known local vantage point for observing flying activity.
Construction began in the summer of 1938 on land requisitioned from five local farms, and the station formally opened on 1 May 1939 under its first commander, Group Captain P. E. Maitland. The first resident unit was No. 15 Flying Training School, flying Airspeed Oxfords and Hawker Harts, with aircraft initially parked in the open until hangars were completed in August 1939. At the outbreak of the Second World War the station's defences were strengthened and flying activity intensified, with Vickers Wellingtons of No. 99 Squadron mounting attacks against the German cruiser Deutschland from Lossiemouth in November 1939. Detachments of Handley Page Hampdens, further Wellingtons, and Bristol Blenheims followed, and the first aircraft losses to enemy action occurred when three Blenheims were shot down over Norway. To avoid disrupting flying training, No. 15 FTS relocated to RAF Middle Wallop in April 1940, and Lossiemouth transferred to No. 6 Group of RAF Bomber Command, becoming home to No. 20 Operational Training Unit and No. 46 Maintenance Unit. On 26 October 1940 the station suffered its first Luftwaffe attack, when three Heinkel He 111 bombers destroyed two Blenheims and damaged several other aircraft, killing one officer and two aircrew. In 1946 the station passed to the Fleet Air Arm and became RNAS Lossiemouth, also known as HMS Fulmar, serving as a naval training station until it reverted to RAF control in September 1972. Search and rescue helicopters of No. 202 Squadron were among the first arrivals of the RAF era, followed in 1973 by the Jaguar Conversion Team, with Nos. 6 and 54 Squadrons becoming operational on the SEPECAT Jaguar in 1974. In 2013 and 2014, No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron and No. 6 Squadron relocated from RAF Leuchars as Lossiemouth prepared to become a Typhoon main operating base, and following the closure of Leuchars in 2015 it became the only operational RAF station remaining in Scotland.
RAF Lossiemouth today hosts four front-line Typhoon FGR4 squadrons, Nos. 1, 2, 6 and 9, which together provide continuous Quick Reaction Alert (Interceptor) North cover for UK airspace. The station is also home to Nos. 120 and 201 Squadrons operating the Boeing Poseidon MRA1 in the maritime patrol role, with No. 42 Squadron acting as the operational conversion unit for the Poseidon and the incoming Wedgetail fleet; No. 8 Squadron is due to operate the RAF's new Wedgetail AEW1 airborne early warning aircraft. Non-flying units include No. 5 Force Protection Wing and a Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service team. As an active military station, prior permission is required for any visiting aircraft.
