The Queen to visit RAF Leeming base in North Yorkshire

The Honorary Air Commodore will visit RAF Leeming on Friday (September 6) to meet service personnel and their families and learn about the welfare support they are offered.

Her Majesty will be introduced to instructors who train RAF and Qatari pilots before being shown some of the cutting-edge Counter Uncrewed Air Systems.

Planes fly over RAF Leeming (Image: ANTH WHEELER)

Station Commander, Group Captain Paul Hamilton will greet Her Majesty on arrival and will introduce her to members of 11 Squadron QEAF who train RAF and Qatari pilots on Hawk jets.

The Queen will also meet members of the 90 Signals Unit, specialists in communications and cyber defence and No.2 CUAS who deliver training on Counter Uncrewed Air Systems.

Her Majesty will visit the Station’s ‘Wellness Area’ which is made up of allotments, a polytunnel, chicken coups and beehives, where she will meet the Polytunnel Committee, children from ‘RAFA Kidz’ nursery and those who tend the rare-breed chickens and bee hives.

The Queen during another engagement at Catterick Garrison earlier this year (Image: PA MEDIA)

The Royal will join members of the base who enjoy the ‘Wellness Area’ at a reception before watching a flypast of Hawk jets, piloted by the British and Qatari pilots who Her Majesty met at the beginning of the engagement.

Last visiting RAF Leeming in March 2017 to mark the Centenary of 100 Squadron, the Queen more recently met Leeming aviators at the RAF Club, in August 2023, when unveiling a portrait of Second World War Agent, Noor Inayat Khan.

In addition to its military infrastructure, RAF Leeming hosts 450 homes, a nursery, and a primary school. 

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The wellbeing hub at the North Yorkshire military base is part of Project Wellness, which focuses on the importance of preventative mental health strategies among military personnel, as well as finding ways to help improve patient recovery rates for personnel suffering from mental health problems.

RAF Leeming trains, delivers and supports UK and overseas Expeditionary Air Operations.

The Station is home to a range of squadrons and lodger units with broad expertise, and is the premier exercise location for UK and overseas militaries. 

The Counter Uncrewed Air System (C-UAS) team is spearheading a vital and defensive capability in support of UK Defence, NATO, and wider Allies and partners.

Deployed around the globe, personnel work tirelessly to ensure that operations continue free from adversarial interference.

RAF Leeming is also home to 607 and 609 reserve Squadrons.607 Squadron is one of the first RAF reserve units to recruit space specialists, broadening the opportunities available to reservists as space becomes an environment in which capabilities are increasingly contested.