Vigilance can confirm that the RAF today is announcing the two Tornado squadrons which will be disbanded. They are XIII Squadron, based at Royal Air Force Marham, and 14 Squadron, based at Royal Air Force Lossiemouth. These Squadrons have been selected by the Air Force Board Standing Committee, taking into account operational commitments and the relative seniority of the Squadrons at each base. The Squadrons will be formally stood down on 1 June. The RAF will retain 5 frontline Tornado squadrons with a total fleet of 136 GR4 aircraft.
According to an authoritative source at the RAF the disbandment of these Squadrons does not mean that their personnel will automatically be made redundant. In the short term they will be found alternative employment. The Royal Air Force anticipates that the majority will be found other permanent roles, although not necessarily in their current location. Those personnel working in areas which the Royal Air Force has identified as containing surplus will of course be able to apply for, and be considered for, redundancy, alongside exploring other options within the Service.
Vigilance learnt that the last Government announced in December 2009 that moving forward the RAF would need to reduce the number of Tornado or Harrier squadrons, but left the detail of the reductions to the Strategic Defence and Security Review. In the event the SDSR had to consider how best to make these reductions against the background of the dire fiscal situation.