RAF Tain

The closure was a direct result of the post-World War II military drawdown. With the end of the war, the need for a large number of training airfields diminished significantly. RAF Tain, like many other temporary wartime bases, was deemed surplus to the requirements of the downsized Royal Air Force.

The site is an active and strategically important military facility known as the Tain Air Weapons Range. It is the primary air-to-ground bombing and gunnery range in the United Kingdom and is used extensively by the RAF, Royal Navy, Army Air Corps, and other NATO air forces for live and practice weapons training. Modern combat aircraft, including the Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35 Lightning II, regularly use the range. While the original runways are gone, some of the old perimeter tracks, building foundations, and hangars are still visible, alongside modern observation towers, target arrays, and a small support complex.

Opened in 1941, RAF Tain was a vital airfield for RAF Coastal Command during World War II. Its primary role was as an advanced training base, specializing in torpedo bomber operations. Crews flying aircraft such as the Bristol Beaufort, Bristol Beaufighter, and Lockheed Hudson were trained here for perilous anti-shipping and patrol missions over the North Sea. Several operational squadrons, including No. 144 Squadron and No. 404 Squadron RCAF, were based at Tain. From July 1942 to December 1944, the station was also commissioned by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm as RNAS Tain (HMS Fearn), continuing its function as a torpedo training school. Its contribution to training skilled aircrews was critical to the Allied war effort in the maritime theatre.

There are no plans or prospects for reopening RAF Tain as a conventional airport. Its current, ongoing use as a critical live-fire military weapons range for UK and NATO forces makes any conversion to a civilian or full-scale military airfield unfeasible.