UK Ministry of Defence Announces £100M Redevelopment Project at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose

Published on: October 26, 2024 at 10:42 PM
Merlin HM2 helicopters in a hangar at RNAS Culdrose. Inset: Rendering of the proposed design for the base’s new air engineering training school. (Image credit: Crown Copyright)

A new hangar and air engineering training school will be constructed at the base, home of the Royal Navy’s Merlin HM2 helicopters, alongside refurbishment of existing facilities.

In the first phase of a £100 million redevelopment project, RNAS Culdrose will receive a brand new air engineering training school to facilitate the instruction of future generations of Fleet Air Arm aircraft maintainers. 820 Naval Air Squadron, one of the base’s two frontline Merlin HM2 units, will see an extensive overhaul of their existing facilities, some of which have been in place for many decades. The unit will also receive a new hangar.

Culdrose is home to the Fleet Air Arm’s entire force of Merlin HM2 helicopters, which provide the Royal Navy with anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, airborne early warning and general utility capabilities. The base also hosts 700X Naval Air Squadron, a dedicated unit for maritime unmanned air systems. 700X NAS operates a varied range of UAVs for both operational use and trials.

Part of the existing Engineering Training School at RNAS Culdrose, which will be replaced as part of a £100m redevelopment plan. (Image: Crown Copyright)

Captain Stuart Irwin is the current Commanding Officer of RNAS Culdrose, and commented on the project: “This project marks the start of an exciting regeneration and investment in RNAS Culdrose with new, modern facilities. The Engineering Training School is at the heart of our operations to maintain the Merlin helicopter fleet. Our young people, many of whom are just at the start of their naval careers, will learn how to maintain aircraft in a high-tech and modern teaching environment.

“The refurbishment of aircraft hangars and buildings at 820 Naval Air Squadron is another significant investment. It will provide us with more suitable and sustainable places to operate Merlin Helicopter Force now, and into the future.”

The announcement of this investment comes following another large project at the base – the replacement of all nine miles of security fencing around the site. The existing fencing had served beyond its useful life and regularly had to be repaired and strengthened after collapses. Construction work for this fence upgrade began in January 2024 and concluded in October 2024.

The new fence incorporates high visibility red and white panels to mark the location of the base’s runways, as well as sections composed of a different type of mesh which reduces interference with radar.

Towards the end of the project, RNAS Culdrose were able to place Hawk T1 XX280 back in its earmarked position as a display airframe or ‘gate guard’ in a prominent corner of the station. The aircraft has been stored for future display use at the base since the disbandment of 736 Naval Air Squadron in 2022. It was briefly placed on display in 2023, but could not remain in position while the fence was being replaced as it would obstruct construction work.

Hawk T1s of 736 Naval Air Squadron operated from the base in an aggressor role, working in conjunction with Falcon 20s from Draken Europe (formerly Cobham) to play ‘Red Air’ in exercises with NATO forces across the south west UK region. The squadron stood down in 2022 after nine years in commission (the Hawks had previously been operated at Culdrose by the Fleet Requirements and Direction Unit or FRADU since 1995).

No direct replacement was fielded for 736 NAS’ Hawk T1s, though Draken continues to provide their Falcon 20s for exercises. Some Royal Navy Banshee target drones, now operated by 700X NAS, which could fulfil at least some roles previously covered by the Hawks, notably though have been seen with lightning bolt tail markings very similar to the emblem used by 736 NAS.

Banshee 80 jet-powered target drone on the deck of HMS Prince of Wales sporting a 736 NAS style lightning bolt marking. A number of Banshees are now operated by 700X NAS at RNAS Culdrose. [Image credit: POPhot JJ Massey/Crown Copyright)
750 Naval Air Squadron, which has been based at RNAS Culdrose providing instruction for Royal Navy observers and, more recently, Royal Air Force mission crew since 1972, is also in the midst of modernisation. The squadron’s four Beechcraft 350ER Avenger T1 airframes will undergo a refurbishment and upgrade program. The first two airframes are in the upgrade process at present, with the remaining two projected to be complete by the middle of 2026. Added to the aircraft will be an electro-optical camera system alongside an electronically scanned radar.

Avenger T1 of 750 Naval Air Squadron landing at RNAS Culdrose in 2018. (Image credit: author)

The extended contract with service provider Ascent Flight Training will additionally include upgraded electronic training equipment that will be able to better reflect new technologies that are entering service with the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as well as the improved capabilities of the Avenger aircraft. This ranges from specific mission training equipment through to basic computing equipment. Following a recent upgrade of computer monitors used in the squadron’s facilities, surplus monitors were donated to local schools.

In 2026, the existing contract will transform into the new Future ISTAR and Rear Crew Training System (FIRCTS) program. This program, split between RNAS Culdrose and RAF Cranwell, will form the training pipeline for mission crews not only for Fleet Air Arm Merlin and Wildcat helicopters but also for Royal Air Force RC-135, Poseidon, Shadow, Wedgetail and Protector aircraft.

RNAS Culdrose

Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, or RNAS Culdrose, is one of the Royal Navy’s two Fleet Air Arm bases, and is located near Helston, Cornwall, approximately eight miles from mainland Britain’s most southerly point. Construction began in 1942 as a wartime airfield, though was not completed until 1947. This makes RNAS Culdrose the most recent military airfield to be constructed in the UK.

The base is home to three squadrons of Merlin HM2s (814 NAS, 820 NAS, 824 NAS), one squadron of Avenger T1 (750 NAS) and one UAV unit (700X NAS). Also at the base is 1700 Naval Air Squadron, an aviation, engineering and logistics squadron that provides support to Royal Navy operations worldwide. Until 2016, Culdrose was well known as the home of 771 Naval Air Squadron, a search and rescue unit with many famous rescues to their name. A number of their former Sea King HU5 aircraft now serve with the Ukrainian armed forces.

The Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations (SFDO) uses several sites on the airfield, including a replica aircraft carrier deck, to instruct Fleet Air Arm aircraft handlers on safe ground handling procedures. SFDO has a selection of aircraft to use as part of this training, alongside four F-35 replica ground training aids. Until recent years, the unit operated a number of Sea Harrier FA2 airframes in running condition, able to taxi under their own power to add an ultra-realistic carrier deck experience for crews undergoing instruction.

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Kai is an aviation enthusiast and freelance photographer and writer based in Cornwall, UK. They are a graduate of BA (Hons) Press & Editorial Photography at Falmouth University. Their photographic work has been featured by a number of nationally and internationally recognised organisations and news publications, and in 2022 they self-published a book focused on the history of Cornwall. They are passionate about all aspects of aviation, alongside military operations/history, international relations, politics, intelligence and space.
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