Warfighting from home: 10 years of Reaper drone operations at RAF Waddington

For 10 years the RAF has been conducting Reaper drone missions from RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.

The changing character of warfare means that increasingly personnel are based in a different location to the military operation that they are working on.

Since 2014, the UK has taken a leading role in the counter-Daesh Global Coalition, flying daily missions over Iraq and Syria, using the RAF's 10 Reapers based in the Middle East as part of Operation Shader.

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The crews flying these drones are thousands of miles away at Ground Control Station, including at RAF Waddington.

Flight Lieutenant Ollie, a Reaper pilot from XIII Squadron, described the setup, saying "it's essentially a large shipping container... [with] a cockpit as in any other aircraft".

"You've got the same control inputs, it's just that it's a box, on the ground, and you're 3,000 miles away from where the aircraft is."

He added: "Yes, there is physical distance but, actually mentally, in terms of what you are looking at, what you're experiencing, that is Iraq and Syria for that time."

The distance may not affect operational performance, but there are some challenges to warfighting from home.

It can be difficult to disconnect from the frontline at the end of the shift, an issue that has not gone unnoticed.

Flt Lt Ollie went on: "When you've seen something, witnessed something, especially in the early days of Daesh, that... wasn't a nice thing to experience and, all of a sudden, you're back in the 'real world', whereby you're sitting with your mates having a coffee – that can be quite disconcerting."

This has led to additional welfare support being introduced, explains Wing Commander Stuart Mcadam, OC of XIII Squadron.

"You're trying as best you can to do your core role day to day here, and then separate that from your family life.

"We have a great network here... not only to give additional support to my crews here on XIII Squadron but also the families."

As RAF Waddington marks 10 years of Reaper operations from the base – and 155,000 hours in the sky – it is also looking to next year when the new Protector drone will enter service.