RAF disperses transport and tanker fleets as Brize Norton upgraded

The Voyager (pictured) is one of the transport and tanker aircraft types that the RAF is temporarily relocating to other parts of the UK while runway resurfacing work takes place at their homebase of Brize Norton. (Crown Copyright)

The Royal Air Force (RAF) has dispersed its transport and tanker aircraft fleets to locations across the UK as modernisation work at RAF Brize Norton commences.

The service announced on 25 July 2026 that its Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, Airbus A400M Atlas, and Airbus Voyager fleets have been temporarily relocated through to late November, to accommodate the runway resurfacing work at the UK's sole transport and tanker hub.

“These works will mean that the [RAF Brize Norton] airfield [in southern England] will need to be temporarily closed for a period of time and all airfield operations and flights will be relocated to a number of alternative locations around the UK. The Atlas and Globemaster fleets will operate primarily out of MoD Boscombe Down [in southern England] with occasional use of Bournemouth Airport [on the south coast of England], while the A330 Voyager fleet will operate out of Prestwick [on the west coast of Scotland], East Midlands [in central England] and Stansted [on the outskirts of London] airports,” the RAF said.

With the dispersals now underway, the remainder of the 8 C-17s, 22 A400Ms, and 14 Voyagers in RAF service not already deployed overseas or in depot maintenance will be at their temporary operating locations by the end of July.

As noted in the announcement, while this dispersal is to accommodate infrastructure works, it is part of a wider plan by the RAF to decentralise its forces under the NATO Agile Combat Employment (ACE) doctrine.