ROYAL AUXILIARY AIR FORCE I 100 th ANNIVERSARY
Air ’ s systems for vulnerabilities which hostile actors might exploit . The squadron trains others in these skills too – including specialists from the Regular RAF – and routinely gives briefings and advice to partners across the civil service and Defence , some up to Ministerial level . Other roles include developing software and equipment for DCO support . The squadron also makes cyber threat assessments for the RAF and sister Services on deployed ops , most recently for SHADER , BILOXI and AZOTIZE . Away from the front-end delivery of DCO effect , CRs have refined their skills on major exercises in Britain , the United States and elsewhere .
These diverse tasks are perfectly fitted to reservists whose civilian jobs centre upon challenges of this kind : people for whom the RAF ’ s cyber needs add a fresh area in which to apply hard-won expertise . No two bring identical skills .
Some have a police background . Others have served in the armed forces before . Still more come from industry , where they work in software development , digital forensics , coding , and allied areas . Rather few fit the stereotype of the ‘ hackerin-a-hoodie ’ widely anticipated when the Cyber Reserves were launched a decade ago , though it is true that the squadron has its share of unorthodox types .
Although embodied for barely a tenth of the RAuxAF ’ s century-long existence , the Cyber Reserves have already proved their worth . Multiple commendations for teams and individuals testify to that . As yet , the RAuxAF ’ s newest squadron has neither a motto nor an ( official ) badge . But it does have a strong identity , and the 2021 decision to elevate the unit from a flight to a squadron set the scene for a growing capability in the coming decade .
Joint Services Signals Unit ( Reserves )
Initially purely an Army unit , it comprised Royal Signals and Intelligence Corps personnel drawn from former members of the Y Services , particularly linguists and Electronic Warfare specialists
The Joint Services Signals Unit ( Reserves ) is a specialist unit supporting national strategic priorities , based out of Lincolnshire . Formed of personnel from all three services , JSSU ( R ) is part of UK Strategic Command and undertakes specialised operational tasking in support of decision makers at all levels . It remains amongst the most sensitive of UK Reserve Forces units , and its personnel have worked supported nearly every operation the UK has been involved in since its formation .
The Unit was initially formed as 5 Communications Company ( Volunteers ) on 1 Oct 1990 at Garats Hay near Loughborough .
The squadron also makes cyber threat assessments for the RAF and sister Services on deployed ops , most recently for SHADER , BILOXI and AZOTIZE . Away from the front-end delivery of DCO effect , CRs have refined their skills on major exercises in Britain , the United States and elsewhere . Initially purely an Army unit , it comprised Royal Signals and Intelligence Corps personnel drawn from former members of the Y Services , particularly linguists and Electronic Warfare specialists .
On 9 Mar 2005 , 5 Communications Company ( Volunteers ) moved to RAF Digby , where it was renamed the Joint Services Signals Unit ( Volunteers ), known as the JSSU ( V ) or , to many , simply “ The Vs ”. In this case , the V also being a nod to the roman numeral 5 , and the unit ’ s roots in the Army . The move to Digby also brought the addition of RAuxAF personnel to the unit , drawn from the ranks of former Intelligence Analyst ( Linguists ). These initial three volunteers served as the vanguard for the transformation of the unit into a genuinely tri-service endeavour .
JSSU ( V ) provided extensive support to operations across the globe throughout this period and continued to grow , welcoming Royal Navy personnel into the fold . Personnel have deployed in support of Ops HERRICK , TELIC and SHADER , and the unit continues to provide niche skills in support of contemporary operations across several continents .
On 1 Apr 2023 , the unit was re-named as the Joint Services Signals Unit ( Reserves ), to better reflect the professional makeup of the unit , and to bring it into line with the wider re-branding of the Armed Forces Reserves .
JSSU ( R ) regularly deploys overseas as a Formed Unit , including to Cyprus and the United States , and continues to conduct outreach with allies and partners across the globe .
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