Spotter Magazine Spotter Magazine Issue 2 July 2016 | Page 11

JULY 2016 United Kingdom – Royal Air Force The largest Typhoon operator, the Royal Air Force operates no less than 160 examples, these being 53 Tranche 1s, 67 Tranche 2s and 40 Tranche 3s. RAF Typhoons have already seen combat over Libya, and have earned the respect of their adversaries in Red Flag exercises. The latest Tranche 3 versions are already prepared to accept conformal fuel tanks, currently being designed to remove the need for underwing drop tanks. Based at RAF Conningsby and RAF Lossiemouth, the Typhoon is principally tasked with interception and QRA duties, regularly being scrambled to shadow Russian aircraft flying at the periphery of British airspace. 11