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Boscombe Down is an airfield located south of Amesbury, Wiltshire. The base is at the centre of the Ministry of Defence's aviation research.
The airfield is home to a vast and varied number of types, with examples of almost all fixed wing and rotary aircraft presently in service with the Royal Air Force.
Units operating from the base include the RAF Strike Attack Operational Evaluation unit (SAOEU) with their Harriers and Tornados undertaking a variety of trials of systems and ordnance. Also flying from Boscombe is the QinetiQ unit operating types such as Hawks, Jaguars, Tornados and many different helicopters. The status of Boscombe results in a steady flow of visitors from both the RAF, Royal Navy and NATO.
Home of the Aircraft and Armament Experimental Establishment, the RAF presence at Boscombe Down also includes the Empire Test Pilots School and the Southampton University Air Squadron. Boscombe Down also has the longest runway in the UK, at 3,212 metres, with rotary hydraulic arrestor gear and barriers at each end..
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