The Royal Air Force of Great Britain will move aircraft to regional airports from bases of permanent deployment as Russia tensions mount. For this, a special Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concept was developed.

The ACE concept has been in the works for more than a year and was primarily intended to be used in potential hotspots around the globe, such as the Indo-Pacific, Middle East or Nato’s Eastern flanks in Europe.

But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have now seen ACE extended to within the UK.

Express reported this citing senior sources.

It will be the first time since 1939 that the RAF has drawn up plans to disperse fighter aircraft to different parts of the country.

The aim is to ensure elements of the RAF’s Quick Reaction Force will survive direct attacks on their bases.

Eurofighter Typhoons based at RAF Lossiemouth in Moray protect the northern sector of the UK, while those at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire look after the southern sector. However other combat jets and larger aircraft will also be re-based in times of “imminent crisis”.

A trial in September will see Typhoons and F-35s based in Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Scotland scattered in small groupings and based discreetly on the outskirts of a select number of regional airports.

ACE will also be used another way, by ensuring that regional airports are equipped with enough fuel and supplies to maintain fighter jets.

The ACE concept was first made public in December by Air Vice-Marshal Ian Duguid who, as commanding officer of №1 Group, is responsible for coordinating air assets to defend the UK in times of crisis.

He noted that over the past 30 years, the Royal Air Force has consolidated our main operating bases and reduced the number we have. While concentrating our forces is more efficient, it also provides potential vulnerabilities.

Therefore, negotiations are currently underway with regional airports to ensure the possibility of transfer.

“We are also working with some of the commercial regional airports to see if, in times of crisis, we could utilise their airfields or use them for refuelling and operational turnarounds,” Ian Duguid said.

According to sources, negotiations have been “complex” and have involved financial inducements to private airport operators.

At the same time, deploying fast jets and other types of aircraft to regional airports makes sense because it makes the problem of targeting these aircraft more difficult.

As previously reported, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared the allocation of a new £54 million military aid package to Ukraine during his unannounced visit to Kyiv on August 24.