RAF Ascension Island explained

RAF Ascension Island
Ensign:Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg
Ensign Size:90px
Native Name:Wideawake Airfield
Ascension Island Auxiliary Field
Nearest Town:Georgetown
Country:Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Image2 Size:150px
Pushpin Map:Ascension Island #South Atlantic #Atlantic Ocean
Pushpin Label:RAF Ascension Island
Pushpin Map Caption:Location on Ascension Island
Type:Permanent Joint Operating Base
Site Area:55 hectares (135.9 acres)
Ownership:UK Ministry of Defence
Operator:Royal Air Force and US Space Force
Condition:Operational
Used:1939–present
Current Commander:Wing Commander Kim Surman (UK)[1]
Elevation:78.6m (257.9feet)
Iata:ASI
Icao:FHAW
Wmo:61902
R1-Number:13/31
R1-Length:3054m (10,020feet)
R1-Surface:Asphalt
Footnotes:Source: UK MIL AIP – FHAW Ascension / Wideawake[2]

RAF Ascension Island, also known as Wideawake Airfield or Ascension Island Auxiliary Field, is a military airfield and facility located on Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean. The airfield is jointly operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Space Force (USSF). Under the terms of an international agreement between the UK and US governments, only state aircraft (e.g. military and diplomatic flights) are authorised to land at Ascension; however, it is also open to air services between Saint Helena and Ascension.[3]

The facility is home to a U.S. Space Force ground tracking station in support of the Eastern Range and rocket launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

History

In 1939 Ascension became important as a high-frequency direction finding radio station covering trade routes.[4] Wideawake Airfield (named after a noisy colony of sooty terns nearby) was built by the US military in 1942 by arrangement with the British government. The work was done by a US task force[5] of the USAAF 38th Engineer Combat Regiment and the airfield opened on 10 July 1942.[6] The first aircraft to land on Ascension Island was a Fairey Swordfish from HMS Archer in June, 1942 and it went on to be used by more than 25,000 aircraft as a staging point during the Second World War.[7] An unusual visitor was a captured German Junkers Ju 88 bomber, which landed there in October 1943 as it was being flown from the Middle East to the United States in stages.[8]

A U.S. Air Force tracking station (now administered by the U.S. Space Force) was officially activated as a satellite of Patrick Air Force Base (now Patrick Space Force Base) in Florida on 25 June 1956.[9]

The airfield's runway was extended in the latter part of 1980. The base was re-garrisoned by the RAF in 1982 and used extensively as a staging airfield during the Falklands War. At one stage, Wideawake became the busiest airport in the world for the number of aircraft movements.[10] A series of long-range bombing raids was carried out from there under the name Operation Black Buck.[11] The first mission was on 30 April 1982.[12]

In 2017 a parliamentary answer disclosed the runway needed a 'full depth resurfacing'.[13] In June 2020 the U.S. Department of Defense announced the runway would be repaired, with a completion date in 2022 after eighteen months work; until then commercial flights were suspended.[14] Normal flights were able to resume in August/September 2022 when repairs to the eastern side of the runway were completed (see further discussion below).[15]

The USAF relies upon contractors to maintain the airfield facilities and the satellite station. An update is underway, with a completion date in 2025.[16]

Target Tracking Radar Station

The Target Tracking Radar Station was a Nike Zeus test facility for tracking reentry vehicles from Cape Canaveral missile launches. Built from 1960-1961 for anti-ballistic missile measurement, the "Golf Ball" radar antenna was on Cat Hill, and a collimation tower for radar calibration was towards English Bay. The facility is home to the Detachment 2 of the 45th Mission Support Group, part of the U.S. Space Force's Delta 45. It operates a ground tracking station in support of the Eastern Range and rocket launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.[17]

The NASA Tracking Station at Devil's Ashpit and the Cable & Wireless Earth Station at Donkey Plain were built in the mid-1960s for space operations and communications, including the latter's use for transmitting "microwave borne data via the Early Bird Satellite back to the NASA facility at Andover, Maine".[18]

Operations

The station comes under the overall jurisdiction of the Commander British Forces South Atlantic Islands, an officer of one-star rank.[19], the incumbent is Commodore Jonathan Lett.[20]

The RAF airfield on Ascension Island is run on a day-to-day basis by around 19 RAF personnel, headed by a wing commander.

RAF Ascension Island is normally the refuelling point for the Ministry of Defence's South Atlantic air bridge flights to RAF Mount Pleasant, on the Falkland Islands, from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, in the UK.[21]

Beginning in November 2017, the Ascension Island Government has contracted South African air carrier Airlink to conduct regularly scheduled charter flights between Saint Helena Airport and Ascension Island on a monthly basis. Flights are currently scheduled on the second week of every month, arriving at Ascension on Saturday afternoon and returning to Saint Helena on Sunday morning. The first of these flights are scheduled for 18 and 19 November 2017.[22] Additionally civilian passengers had been permitted on flights to and from RAF Brize Norton with reservations handled by AW Ship Management, with some customers doing package deals combined with the RMS Saint Helena, which travelled between Saint Helena and Cape Town, South Africa until the opening of St Helena Airport to passenger flights.[23] [24]

Ascension serves as a diversion airport for ETOPS aircraft crossing the Atlantic. In January 2013, a Delta Air Lines Boeing 777-200LR en route from Johannesburg to Atlanta diverted to Ascension as a result of engine problems.[25]

The site is home to a high frequency radio station forming part of the Defence High Frequency Communications Service. The station is operated by Babcock International Group on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.[26]

Suspension of operations and runway repair

Potholes on the runway led to the suspension in April 2017 of all Ministry of Defence South Atlantic Air Bridge Flights between RAF Mount Pleasant and RAF Brize Norton until at least 2019/2020. An Airbus A330 aircraft operated by AirTanker Services on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) carried out those flights although a limited number of commercial passenger tickets were available. Those flights traveled via Dakar.[27] Planes for emergency medical evacuation flights and the newly established monthly charter flight to Saint Helena Airport were not impacted given the size of aircraft used. Essential personnel and equipment were also exempt from the suspension.[28] [29] In February 2021, an RAF A400M aircraft delivered Covid-19 vaccines to the island.[30]

While A330s were unable to land at the airport until the repair reached a stage to permit the resumption of full flight operations, the United States military continued to maintain a weekly flight between the island and Patrick Space Force Base in Florida, only for the use of its personnel, while the MV Ascension supply ship regularly services US facilities.[31]

A repair project aimed at restoring service to the airport celebrated its halfway point in March 2022.[32] In August 2022, the eastern portion of the runway was completed, allowing full flight operations to resume, with a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III of the 21st Airlift Squadron being the first aircraft of that size to use the improved runway on 31 August 2022.[15] Earlier that month, an RAF A400M aircraft flying from Ascension Island was refueled for the first time by a Voyager KC.2 aircraft flying out of RAF Mount Pleasant.[33] The repairs to the western side of the runway were fully completed in April 2023.[34] [32]

Based units

Units based at Ascension Island:[35] [36]

Strategic Command

Director of Overseas Bases

United States Space Force

Space Operations Command (SpOC)

Airlines and destinations

On 18 November 2017, SA Airlink started a scheduled weekly charter from Longwood, Saint Helena to the island.[37]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ascension Island Base . 2022-12-26 . . en-gb.
  2. Web site: 13 August 2020 . UK MIL AIP Ascension / Wideawake AD-2 FHAW . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20201029153538/https://www.aidu.mod.uk/aip/pdf/ad/FHAW-Ascension-Wideawake-Combined.pdf . 2020-10-29 . 8 May 2021 . UK Military AIP . No. 1 Aeronautical Information Documents Unit.
  3. Web site: Travel by Air – Ascension Island Government.
  4. Book: Headrick, Daniel R. . The Invisible Weapon: Telecommunications and International Politics, 1851-1945. Oxford University Press. 2012. 978-0199930333.
  5. Web site: Ascension Island - The Wide-Awake News. www.les-smith.com.
  6. Web site: Wideawake Airfield, Ascension Island; Fortfinder.
  7. Web site: Ascension History. mysterra.org. Mysterra Magazine. 3 January 2011. 27 October 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101027190438/http://www.mysterra.org/webmag/ascension-island/history.html. dead.
  8. Web site: Newdick . Thomas . 2020-11-12 . The Amazing Story Of How This Nazi Recon Plane Ended Up Being Tested In The U.S. During WWII . 2023-01-05 . The Drive . en.
  9. Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. Mueller. Robert. Office of Air Force History. I. 464. 0-912799-53-6. 15 May 2018. 1989.
  10. Web site: Falklands Conflict Gallery. www.bbc.co.uk.
  11. Book: White, Rowland . Rowland White (British writer) . 2012 . Vulcan 607 . London . Bantam Press . 978-0-593-07126-7 . 941503520 . 35 .
  12. Web site: Ascension Island's Wideawake Airfield. Matt. Kent. 2 August 2016.
  13. Web site: Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament. questions-statements.parliament.uk.
  14. Web site: Ascension Island airport to reopen to wide-body traffic by 2022. MercoPress.
  15. Web site: Cisneros . Mila . 2022-09-08 . Atlantic runway reopens, increases U.S., British military capabilities . 2022-10-05 . . en-US.
  16. Web site: Chugach wins 9m USAF contract to support RAF Ascension Island. George. Allison. 7 July 2020.
  17. Web site: 45th Mission Support Group – Fact Sheet. July 2017. 45th Space Wing. 15 May 2018.
  18. Web site: Avis Part Nineteen - A Time For Change. Ascension Island Heritage Society. 10 May 2020.
  19. Web site: Troops in South Atlantic 'for long term' | British Forces News . 2013-12-03 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131203012525/http://www.bfbs.com/news/troops-south-atlantic-long-term-64980.html . 3 December 2013 . dmy-all .
  20. Web site: Royal Navy commodore new Commander of BFSAI at MPC in Falklands. 2021-09-18. MercoPress. en.
  21. Eklund. Dylan. A rock and a hard place. The Official Royal Air Force Review 2015. 2015. 118. 1758-9681.
  22. Web site: Airlink-Ascension Island Government. Ascension Island Government. 15 October 2017. 5 October 2017. 14 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171014183603/http://www.ascension-island.gov.ac/government/travel-shipping/flights/airlink/. dead.
  23. Web site: RMS St Helena Brochure. AW Ship Management. 18. 2020-01-06. 13 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200113105249/http://rms-st-helena.com/manage/wp-content/uploads/RMS_St-Helena_Main_Brochure_MAR2015_web.pdf. dead.
  24. Web site: RAF Flights Fly with the RAF and meet the RMS en route. AW Ship Management. 2020-01-06. 26 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191226091228/http://rms-st-helena.com/raf-flights/. dead.
  25. Web site: Incident: Delta B772 over Atlantic on Jan 9th 2013, engine trouble. Aviation Herald. Simon. Hradecky. 10 January 2013. 11 January 2013.
  26. Web site: Defence High Frequency Communications Service. 5 September 2012. High Frequency Industry Association. Babcock International Group. 1 October 2017. 1 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171001213609/http://www.hfindustry.com/meetings_presentations/presentation_materials/2012_sept_hfia/presentations/Babcock_DHFCS_NCS_Forest_Moor_Visit.pdf. dead.
  27. News: Ascension: The increasingly unreachable island. Alastair. Leithead. BBC News . 4 July 2017. 19 October 2017.
  28. Web site: South Atlantic Airbridge ops at Ascension Island suspended. 19 October 2017.
  29. Web site: Runway potholes halt regular Ascension Island flights . Patrick . Wintour . 2 May 2017 . The Guardian.
  30. Web site: 2021-02-19 . RAF transport Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine to Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean . 2022-12-26 . . en-gb.
  31. Haff, Capt. Dana . M.V. Ascension . December 17, 1998 . The Islander . 1414 . The Islander Newspaper . Ascension Island . May 5, 2008 . 20 March 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190320005711/http://www.the-islander.org.ac/oldsite/1414.htm . dead .
  32. Web site: Cisneros . Mila . 2022-03-02 . Atlantic runway repair reaches halfway point . 2022-10-05 . . en-US.
  33. News: RAF Atlas C1 aircraft refuelled over South Atlantic for first time. Aviation Source. 1 August 2022. Len. Varley. 26 February 2023. 25 December 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221225202602/https://aviationsourcenews.com/news/raf-atlas-c1-aircraft-refuelled-over-south-atlantic-for-first-time/. dead.
  34. Web site: Cisneros . Mila . 2023-05-10 . AFIMSC completes largest runway construction project in years . 2023-05-14 . . en-US.
  35. Web site: 18 December 2019. Director of Overseas Bases. 8 May 2021. GOV.UK. Ministry of Defence. en.
  36. Web site: Williams. Airman 1st Class Dalton. 6 February 2019. Small island, big mission – Ascension Island supports 45 SW. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200803135240/https://www.patrick.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1749916/small-island-big-mission-ascension-island-supports-45-sw/. 3 August 2020. 15 January 2020. 45th Space Wing. US Air Force. en-US.
  37. Web site: (HLE Departures) Saint Helena Airport Departures. FlightStats. en-US. 2018-08-21.