RAF Intelligence

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The Royal Air Force Intelligence Branch is an organisation within the Royal Air Force that maintains intelligence staff and equipment. Intelligence officers and airmen of the branch and trade are involved in many duties including:

  • Air Intelligence Analysis
  • Imagery Analysis
  • Signals Analysis
  • Human Intelligence
  • Briefing duties for aircrew, politicians and commanders
  • Targeting
  • Operational Intelligence (OPINTEL)

The Branch has around 300 officers (up to the Rank of Air Commodore) and members are posted throughout the operational stations and headquarters of the British Armed Forces.

Contents

[edit] Training

Air intelligence training is carried out at the Joint Services School of Intelligence at Chicksands in Bedfordshire, by Horus Training Delivery Wing. The Joint Air Intelligence Course (JAIC) lasts 22 weeks and qualifies students as Air Intelligence Officers. Other ranks start by completing the Operational Air Intelligence Course (Op A I) before specialising in either Imagery or Signals Analysis after their first tour. A further 4 months at Chicksands at the Medmenham TDW (Joint School of Photographic Interpretation) qualifies those specialising in imagery analysis and a longer course at Bletchley TDW for those specialising in Signals.

[edit] History

The RAF Intelligence Branch dates back to World War II, however officers have been employed in intelligence duties since the formation of the RAF in 1918. At the time, officers of the General Duties Branch (mainly pilots on a ground tour or who could no longer fly due to medical reasons) performed the duty of Squadron Intelligence Officer, or aircrew on ground tours in the Air Ministry Intelligence Department. By the late 1930s there was a dedicated Intelligence Branch (Administrative and Special Duties Branch (for Intelligence duties)). In 1939, the Secret Intelligence Service established a dedicated Air Intelligence Section under the command of Group Captain F W Winterbottom (Chief of Air Intelligence, MI6). During World War II, the Intelligence Branch became larger to encompass the Signals Intelligence staff at Bletchley Park and the Imagery Intelligence staff at Medmenham.

Following the war, the Branch split up into Administrative and Special Duties Branch (Photography) and Administrative and Special Duties Branch (Signals), with no dedicated Air Intelligence section. In the 1970s the Photographic Interpretation (PI) Branch was formed for commissioned officers to be employed at the reconnaissance intelligence centres attached to aircraft units, and also to work at the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre (JARIC) at RAF Brampton. By the start of the 1990s, the RAF could see the benefit of an independent Intelligence Branch, creating the General Duties (Intelligence) branch. They required more information and warning on the potential enemies around the world in order to maintain the diminishing RAF's ability to react. In 1997 GD (INT) became the Operations Support (Intelligence) Specialisation that is in existence today.

[edit] Staff roles and trades

The RAF Intelligence trades currently consist of Intelligence Analyst (Imagery), (Communications) and (Voice). Essentially, these three areas comprise photographic interpretation, signals analysis and linguistics analysis respectively. The trades are soon to be merged into a generic trade group, where individuals can specialise in one or more fields as well as generalist intelligence duties.

[edit] Officer roles

  • Station Intelligence Officer - Strike Command flying stations
  • HQ Intelligence Staff - J2/A2 (PJHQ, JFACHQ, NATO, Army)
  • Targeteer - Targets Staff (DTIO, PJHQ, JFHQ, JFACHQ)
  • Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Operator - Defence Humint Unit
  • Squadron Intelligence Officer (SQINTO) - attached to each flying squadron
  • Air Warfare Centre Intelligence Staff
  • Defence Intelligence Staff
  • Flight/Squadron Commander - Intelligence Units (Joint and RAF)
  • Information Operations
  • Special Forces Air Intelligence
  • Instructor - Recruit Training, Intelligence Training, Specialist Training

[edit] Airmen/Non-Commissioned Officer trades

  • Strategic Imagery Analysis - JARIC
  • Tactical Imagery Analysis - TIW
  • Signals Analysis
  • Translation/Transcription
  • Air Warfare Centre
  • Squadron Intelligence
  • Station Intelligence
  • Instructor Duties
  • HQ Intelligence Staff

[edit] University Air Squadron

Within the University Air Squadrons, intelligence sponsored students have the opportunity to work with real time intelligence material, in conjunction with a "mentor" responsible for the students vocational training during their time with the UAS. In addition to the vocational aspect of the branch, intelligence students participate in a wide variety of the squadron's other activities.

[edit] Notable former members of RAF Intelligence

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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