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UK military aircraft
callsign reference.

Search reviewed aircraft callsign roots or official Military AIP airfield and ATC service callsigns. This page does not identify live sorties.

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Records checked 4 September 2026. Reviewed aircraft roots only; no live or tactical activity.

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Aircraft roots identify a published service, unit or organisation; they do not identify a live sortie.

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59 published military aircraft callsign roots

Showing 59 of 59 reviewed published aircraft roots.

Published UK military aviation aircraft callsign roots
OrganisationSpoken callsignThree-letter rootService or sectorType
Army Air CorpsARMYAIRAACArmy Air CorpsService designator
84 SQN RAF AkrotiriGRIFTERAKGRoyal Air ForceUnit
Boscombe Down DERAGAUNTLETBDNDefence aviationDefence flight test
Barkston Heath FTU (MIL)BARKSTONBKHRoyal Air ForceTraining unit
Coningsby FTUTYPHOONCBYRoyal Air ForceTraining unit
Church Fenton FTUCHURCH FENTONCFNRoyal Air ForceTraining unit
Cranwell FTUCRANWELLCWLRoyal Air ForceTraining unit
Red Devils Parachute Display TeamRED DEVILSDEVBritish ArmyDisplay team
Empire Test Pilots SchoolTESTERETPDefence aviationDefence flight test
RAF Gliding Squadron (Conventional)SEDBURGHGLSRoyal Air ForceTraining unit
Kinloss FTUKINLOSSKINRoyal Air ForceTraining unit
Kenley (RAF)KENLEYKNYRoyal Air ForcePublished site root
UK Royal/vip Flights (In Military Aircraft)KITTYHAWKKRFUK official/VIP aviationOfficial / VIP military transport
Kirknewton (RAF)KIRKNEWTONKRTRoyal Air ForcePublished site root
LeucharsLEUCHARSLCSRoyal Air ForceUnit
Leeming FTUJAVELINLEERoyal Air ForceTraining unit
Linton-on-ouse FTULINTONLOPRoyal Air ForceTraining unit
Lossiemouth FTULOSSIELOSRoyal Air ForceTraining unit
Marham FTUMARHAMMRHRoyal Air ForceTraining unit
32 (TR) Squadron, RAF NortholtNORTHOLTNOHRoyal Air ForceUnit
Royal NavyNAVYNVYRoyal NavyService designator
Northwood Headquarters (RAF)No telephony publishedNWOUK DefenceDefence headquarters
Predannack (RNAS)PREDANNACKPDKRoyal NavyPublished site root
Royal Air ForceRAFAIRRFRRoyal Air ForceService designator
Little Rissington (RAF)RISSINGTONRINRoyal Air ForcePublished site root
UK Royal Positioning Flights (In Military Aircraft)KITTYRRFUK official/VIP aviationOfficial positioning flight
Rolls Royce Ltd. (Military Aviation)MERLINRRLDefence aviationDefence flight test
RAF-HQSTC (Air Transport)ASCOTRRRRoyal Air ForceService designator
Boscombe Down DERA (Formation)BLACKBOXRRSDefence aviationDefence flight test
Red Arrows Display SquadronRED ARROWSSAKRoyal Air ForceDisplay team
Support Helicopter ForceVORTEXSHFRoyal Air ForceOperational force
Swanton Morley (RAF)SWANTONSMXRoyal Air ForcePublished site root
RAF ScamptonSCAMPTONSMZRoyal Air ForceUnit
Syerston FTUSYERSTONSYORoyal Air ForceTraining unit
Shawbury FTUSHAWBURYSYSRoyal Air ForceTraining unit
West Freugh DTEOTEEBIRDTEEDefence aviationDefence flight test
Ternhill (RAF)TERNHILLTHLRoyal Air ForcePublished site root
Topcliffe FTUTOPCLIFFETOFRoyal Air ForceTraining unit
UAS/AEF LeucharsNo telephony publishedUAARoyal Air ForceUniversity air squadron / AEF
UAS/AEF ColerneNo telephony publishedUADRoyal Air ForceUniversity air squadron / AEF
AEF CranwellNo telephony publishedUAHRoyal Air ForceUniversity air squadron / AEF
NIUAS/13 AEFNo telephony publishedUAIRoyal Air ForceUniversity air squadron / AEF
UAS/AEF GlasgowNo telephony publishedUAJRoyal Air ForceUniversity air squadron / AEF
UAS/AEF WoodvaleNo telephony publishedUAMRoyal Air ForceUniversity air squadron / AEF
UAS/AEF BensonNo telephony publishedUAORoyal Air ForceUniversity air squadron / AEF
UAS/AEF LeemingNo telephony publishedUAQRoyal Air ForceUniversity air squadron / AEF
UAS CranwellNo telephony publishedUASRoyal Air ForceUniversity air squadron / AEF
UAS/AEF Boscombe DownNo telephony publishedUAURoyal Air ForceUniversity air squadron / AEF
UAS/AEF WytonNo telephony publishedUAVRoyal Air ForceUniversity air squadron / AEF
UAS/AEF St AthanNo telephony publishedUAWRoyal Air ForceUniversity air squadron / AEF
UAS/AEF Church FentonNo telephony publishedUAXRoyal Air ForceUniversity air squadron / AEF
UAS/AEF CosfordNo telephony publishedUAYRoyal Air ForceUniversity air squadron / AEF
RAF Gliding Squadron (SLG)PREFECTVGLRoyal Air ForceTraining unit
Valley SAR Training UnitNo telephony publishedVLLRoyal Air ForceTraining unit
Valley FTUANGLESEYVYTRoyal Air ForceTraining unit
Waddington FTUVULCANWADRoyal Air ForceTraining unit
Wittering FTUSTRIKERWITRoyal Air ForceTraining unit
Warton Military Flight OpsTARNISHWTNDefence aviationDefence flight test
2 SQN, No 1 Elementary Flying Training SchoolWYTONWYTRoyal Air ForceTraining unit
59 records in this referenceChecked 4 September 2026Manually reviewed FAA allowlist

Read the reference correctly

Stable roots are not the same as live missions.

Military radio identities include both aircraft roots and ground-service callsigns. The lookup separates them so an airfield service is never mistaken for a live aircraft identity.

01

Service designators

Published roots such as RFR / RAFAIR, NVY / NAVY and AAC / ARMYAIR identify a service before a flight or task suffix is added.

02

Airfield and ATC services

Official Military AIP tables publish station callsigns for services such as Tower, Approach, Radar, Director and Talkdown. Each result retains its site, service, frequencies or channel values, hours and direct source link.

03

Mission callsigns stay out

Non-ICAO mission trigraphs, temporary tactical identities, formation-word callsigns and live task suffixes are variable and can be operationally sensitive. They are not collected, inferred or presented here.

Aircraft roots are reviewed against FAA Order JO 7340.2. Airfield and ATC callsigns come from the UK Military AIP under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Tactical and live activity lists are not included.

Continue exploring:UK military mapCivil callsign lookup

Military callsign questions

What is a UK military aircraft callsign root?

It is the stable published part of an aviation identity, often a three-letter designator with a spoken telephony name. A pilot or task number may be added for a particular flight.

Does this page identify aircraft flying now?

No. It does not track aircraft, monitor transmissions or connect a callsign to a current sortie. A listed root is not evidence that a unit or flight is active today.

What are airfield and ATC service callsigns?

These are published station identities such as Tower, Approach, Radar, Director, Talkdown and Swanwick Military services. They identify an official communications service, not an aircraft or evidence that the service is active at this moment.

Explore published channels

See military airfield frequencies on the separate UK map.

Browse static published airfield references without mixing them with live aircraft activity.

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