Aerospace Systems Operator Specialisations:
The primary mission of RAF Fylingdales is to provide a ballistic missile early warning
service to both the United Kingdom and the United States governments. The
secondary mission is to detect, track and identify satellites that come within field of
view of the Solid State Phased Array RADAR (SSPAR). With such a huge strategic
responsibility comes a set of stringent criteria that each operator must demonstrate
and meet. It is my job to ensure that the operators meet this criterion.
I am qualified as both an operator and a supervisor at Fylingdales. I can expect to
track space objects of high importance such as the International Space Station. I can
also expect to track objects such as foreign intelligence gathering satellites and
objects that have broken up in orbit: (reminiscent of the blockbuster movie, "Gravity"!) In addition, I often
track satellites that are due to re-enter the earth's atmosphere and I also monitor recent space launches
made by a host of countries.
I work inside a gigantic SSPAR which is a truncated tetrahedron shape. The RADAR can "see" in a 360degree field of view out to great distances. The electromagnetic energy emitted, provides a "blanket" that
ensures the United Kingdom would not be caught off guard by a ballistic missile attack.
My current job role is designated as "Mission Support Flight (MSF) Senior Aircraftsman". To explain, I am
employed as an evaluator at RAF Fylingdales; which involves ensuring that the on-duty crews can
effectively execute their primary and secondary missions. I would have liked to have started this narrative
off with a breakdown of my daily working routine however; my current role in MSF doesn’t allow a routine
to develop due to the ever changing and constantly evolving status of the space and missile domain.
Part of my role is to design and implement challenging evaluation scenarios to ensure that the operators do
not become "rusty". In this case, I often conjure scenarios which see the operations personnel at
Fylingdales prepare for a missile attack against the defended areas: the UK, Europe, Continental United
States, Canada and Alaska.
Another of my duties includes being a part of the outreach team. I often deliver briefings to various
organisations and brief audiences anywhere from 5 to 40 people. This helps raise the awareness of this
little-known unit of the Royal Air Force and its on-going contribution to peace through deterrence. I often
set up challenging injects for air cadets and other youth organisations to introduce them to RAF life. I also
mentor and supervise work experience students if the need
arises.
It is without question that this post offers an increased level of
responsibility and authority, and I feel my work has a direct
impact on the day to day running of Space Operations at
Fylingdales. With human and critical infrastructure reliance of
the space domain increasing, I am certain that the need for
space minded Airman/Airwomen is going to grow with it.