RAF Wyton

The closure to aviation was a result of the UK Ministry of Defence's (MoD) strategic defence reviews and estate rationalisation programme. This initiative aimed to consolidate military assets onto fewer, more efficient 'core' sites to reduce operating costs. The flying operations at Wyton were deemed surplus to requirements and were relocated to other active RAF stations, primarily RAF Wittering.

The site is no longer an active airfield but remains a critical military installation. It has been repurposed and is now known as Wyton Barracks, administered by the British Army. It serves as a major hub for the UK's Strategic Command and the Joint Forces Intelligence Group (JFIG). The legacy of its intelligence role continues, as it houses the National Centre for Geospatial Intelligence (NCGI), the successor to JARIC. The runways, taxiways, and hangars remain largely intact but are not maintained for aviation and are used for other military purposes, such as vehicle storage and training.

RAF Wyton has a long and distinguished history. It first opened in 1916 as a Royal Flying Corps training station during World War I. Its most famous and critical role was during World War II, when it became a key base for RAF Bomber Command's elite Pathfinder Force. Squadrons flying from Wyton in aircraft like the Vickers Wellington, Short Stirling, Avro Lancaster, and de Havilland Mosquito were tasked with the vital and perilous mission of flying ahead of the main bomber stream to mark targets with flares. During the Cold War, the station transitioned into a vital strategic reconnaissance and intelligence hub. It operated high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft such as the English Electric Canberra and Handley Page Victor. For many decades, it was home to the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre (JARIC), which was the UK's primary provider of imagery intelligence, cementing Wyton's role at the heart of UK defence intelligence.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening RAF Wyton as an airport for either military or civilian use. The site's future has been firmly established as a ground-based military intelligence and command hub. The Ministry of Defence is consolidating more units at the site, investing in its infrastructure as a barracks and intelligence centre, which makes a return to aviation activities extremely unlikely.