Talk:RAF Air Command

Air Command no longer exists

WP:BOLDLY copied over from Talk:2026 Iran war order of battle

Dear J.Weir3 I would invite you to examine the pages Air and Space Commander, Structure of the Royal Air Force and RAF Air Command. As of 2012 Air Command no longer exists - the three star in question has been the Air and Space Commander, reporting to CAS, for 5+ years. The ASC supervises 1 (+83 EAG inside it); 2; 22; and, as a further "group" at th two-star level, Space Command (thus the addition of "Space" Commander.) Buckshot06 (talk) 16:18, 20 March 2026 (UTC)

Strange - I’ve just read the articles and nowhere can I find a reference for Air Command no longer existing? Perhaps you could direct me to where it says that? It doesn’t take a genius to work out that the ASC is a role, not an organisation and therefore is invalid in an order of battle. Secondly, please look at more reliable sources (external to Wikipedia) to base your edits on. A 2 second look at the MOD website reveals ‘Air Command’ very quickly. J.Weir3 (talk) 16:39, 20 March 2026 (UTC)

Are you sure? Is it not that the RAF Air Command's former Commander in Chief position was abolished with the Air Command being put directly under the Chief of the Air Staff? The RAF website still lists the RAF Air Command as active and states that it controls frontline aircraft. ―Maltazarian ^{(talk$\lor$investigate)} 16:40, 20 March 2026 (UTC)

Look at the list of "Commander-in-Chief Air Command." The command cannot exist without a commander, yes? It was a four-star, and the last one disappeared in 2012. Thereafter, the post of Deputy Commander-in-Chief Operations, a three star, morphed through about two name changes and then became the Air and Space Commander. You will notice that *unlike* the missing-in-2026 "Commander-in-Chief Air Command" there is very much an Air and Space Commander listed. You will also find if you look the references to the "Chief of the Air Staff taking full command" upnon the demise of the last C-in-C; he now has among his subordinates the Air and Space Commander, the Asst Chief of the Air Staff, etc.

https://www.gov.uk/csv-preview/5e6a1cb6d3bf7f26918b7802/Air_Mar_19_senior_data.csv - have a look at this as of 2019, when the title "Deputy Commander Operations" was still being used. Or 2020 Can you see any mention of "Air Command?"

I cannot account for why the Air Command page has not been taken down; but none of the titles have been used since 2012.

Roles rather than organisations are now the norm at that levels accross the British Armed Forces - see Fleet Commander; Commander Field Army. What is *required* is a commander; there does not actually need to be a "Command". Another example is the UKMCC in Bahrain - very much in the chain of command for decades.

And oh yes I am absolutely sure, drawing on some other materials I cannot reference. Buckshot06 (talk) 17:14, 20 March 2026 (UTC)

Well this causes a bit of an annoyance. I have no badge to give the man's spot in the chain of command! I guess I will just have to settle for having the RAF ensign.
―Maltazarian ^{(talk$\lor$investigate)} 17:39, 20 March 2026 (UTC)

Apologies for the late reply. Air Command very much still exists, I am not sure where you are getting this from. There is no longer a C-in-C Air Command (since 2012 as you’ve mentioned), but the organisation absolutely still exists, now just under ASC. In the MOD, the ‘commands’ (Air Command, Navy Command etc) are bodies used to support and take responsibility for the TLB (top level budget) for each service branch. This is both organisational and tactical. The ASC is the head of both Air and Space Command, although de-jure for Space Command. It’s a bit of a weird thing to understand, but Air Command is the RAF, or at least most of it. It’s been mentioned here to distinguish those units under its control from those under Space Command, which are itself not completely part of the RAF (tri-service units organised under the RAF). If it is okay, I will reinstate Air Command now to temporarily reduce the risk of confusion at having a post in place of an organisation as you have currently left it. Again, people do not belong in orders of battle. Please feel free to discuss again, but I’m not sure there’s much to do. J.Weir3 (talk) 00:18, 24 March 2026 (UTC)

Er, no, it doesn't. Not as a "Command". The existence of a TLB for "Air Command" does not mean the *formation* exists; what it means is that there is one TLB for the entirety of the RAF. There is a *budget line* designated, possibly, "Air Command," that does not mean a *formation* exists. Check the comparable RN TLB.. is there a "Commander-in-Chief, Navy Command?" No; there's the Fleet Commander (and 2SL). The Air and Space Commander reports to the CAS and directs all the groups plus Space Command. People absolutely belong in orders of battle; did Eisenhower as commander-in-chief of Overlord have a "Command?" No. He had a headquarters, SHAEF, which directed land - Monty; Air - Tedder; and ANXF, - Ramsey. But there was no command. The headquarters exists - overground and underground at High Wycombe; the commander exists, ASC under CAS; but "Air Command" is restricted to a not-updated webpage and the TLB. Now, again, I have documents in my possession showing this, but I am not at liberty to elaborate.

PS. I was interested by this and started searching around to determine the most recent document listing the extant TLBs. The service-specific TLBs *may* have gone away

• see this National Audit Office report of January 2026, saying that there are now Dept of State, Military Strategic HQ (all uniformed activities), National Armaments Director, and Defence Nuclear Organisation.. https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/mod-2024-25.pdf
• also look at this - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/defence-departmental-resources-2025/mod-departmental-resources-2025, published the same day, 15 Jan 2026. Mentions the term "TLB" exactly once, and it has been removed from the gloassary. Does not mention either the long-standing single-service TLBs or the new four groupings. Watch this space, I think. Cheers Buckshot06 (talk) 16:01, 2 April 2026 (UTC)