The role of the Royal Air Force (RAF) Regiment is to provide highly specialised Air-minded, ground combat forces to enable the delivery of Air and Space power.

As specialists in Air Force Protection, who are optimised for operations in the Complex Air Ground Environment, the RAF Regiment contributes to the defence of RAF air assets and their bases in the UK Homeland and overseas. Additionally, the RAF Regiment delivers offensive air and space capabilities, leads on the delivery of RAF State and ceremonial duties and is responsible for the provision of fixed-site counter-uncrewed air systems. The RAF Regiment also delivers all initial and continuation force protection training to the wider RAF. The RAF Regiment constitutes a Regular and an Auxiliary Reserve Force.

The RAF Regiment has been involved in operations across the globe since its inception in 1942, where more recent examples include the Falklands, the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan and broader Middle East. Most recently they have supported non-combatant evacuations from Sudan and the Middle East.

The Ministry of Defence deploys the appropriate unit to each operation dependent on a number of factors. These include readiness, capability and the required task, as well taking into account current commitments. Consequently, elements from the RAF Regiment were deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation PITTING.

The RAF Regiment provides force protection for airfields and counter Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) capability. It also acts as the RAF's ceremonial unit. As at 1 December 2016 its trained strength was 1,920 Regular and 570 Reserve personnel.

The table below provides the RAF Regiment’s Order of Battle including component units, locations and tasks.

The information is not held in the format requested as data is collected by Financial Year, not calendar year.

The table below provides the figures for the RAF Regiment Regular and Reserves Gunner and Officer Intake into Training targets, numbers of individuals recruited and the shortfall of recruitment numbers for the current Financial Year (2016-17), note there are three months of the Financial Year remaining.

The projection for the target strength of the Royal Air Force Regiment of the Royal Air Force for the current and subsequent four financial years is as follows:

The Royal Air Force Regiment is established for 354 Officers, up to and including Group Captain rank, and 2,206 Airmen, up to and including Warrant Officer rank. The RAF Regiment requires all personnel to be capable of dismounted close combat; hence—unlike all other RAF branches and trades—female personnel may not serve in the specialisation.

The RAF Regiment is a fully integral part of the RAF, providing air-related force protection in the UK and on operations abroad. The annual cost of the core RAF Regiment force is around £120 million.

Specific roles include force protection for airfields and the surrounding ground defence areas in operational theatres in order to prevent stand-off attack against airfields and aircraft on approach and departure; provision of a very high readiness, defence-wide, specialist chemical, biological radiological and nuclear (CBRN) capability and providing protection for the helicopters that undertake the medical emergency response team (MERT) role. Additionally, the RAF Regiment’s Queen’s Colour Squadron is the RAF’s principal ceremonial unit for public duties, alongside its other role as a field squadron.

In the context of Army 2020, in addition to its other roles, the RAF Regiment will contribute to air-land integration by providing a significant proportion of high readiness forward air controllers and tactical air control parties and all specialist CBRN capabilities.