RAF Saxa Vord to Reopen

BBC Radio Shetland and Shetland News report that the British Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the Royal Air Force radar station at Saxa Vord shall be reopened. Readers of this blog may remember that I saw RAF Saxa Vord during my ill-fated geocaching adventure in the adjacent Hermaness wildlife refuge. As terrifying as that particular debacle ought to have been, I enjoy fond memories of looking across the little harbor to see the disused radar station.

I've lost track of the number of times that British interceptors have been scrambled to "escort" Russian military aircraft in the last eight or nine years. RAF Saxa Vord was disestablished in 2006, and the MoD cancelled the procurement of the BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol aircraft in 2010. It stands to reason that with Russia flying sporadic bomber patrols adjacent to British air space, and generally attempting a post-Cold War strategic resurgence, the current coalition government's decision to reverse the Blair era decision to close RAF Saxa Vord makes strategic and economic sense.

I can't guarantee that the Shetland Ponies will refrain from comment on this topic in the coming days.