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‘No. 8 Squadron is one of the largest squadrons in today’s Royal Air Force with over
100 aircrew. The first RAF operational squadron to fly the Boeing E-3D AWACS
aircraft, the squadron moved down from RAF Lossiemouth where it previously flew the
Avro Shackleton AEW Mk2. In the fifteen or so years of E-3D operations, crews
from No. 8 Squadron have been involved in many conflicts, providing Airborne Early
Warning (AEW) and Command and Control (C²) functions to other aircraft. This
started shortly after the Squadron’s re-formation with enduring operational tasking
over Bosnia. The Squadron remained focussed on Balkan operations during the
Kosovan campaign. Shortly after this finished, the crews were re-deployed to
the Middle East where they participated in operations over Afghanistan. Most
recently, crews were involved in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Today No. 8 Squadron
regularly operates all over the world and in the last year alone crews have detached
to India, Malaysia, Oman, Australia, the USA, Norway, Canada and Germany and have
flown operations in the Baltic, Central America and Cyprus. The Squadron’s
proud motto Uspiam et Passim - Everywhere Unbounded, rings truer now than ever.’
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