Inside RAF Fylingdales: The Ballistic Missile Warning Base | Forces TV

Read more about the work of RAF Fylingdales here 👉www.forces.net...
RAF Fylingdales may not be one of the most well-known Royal Air Force stations but its role in keeping the UK safe is vital. It forms part of the UK and US governments’ Ballistic Missile Early Warning System. Military personnel watch for incoming missiles and also track space objects, operating as a kind of air traffic control for space. We were given the chance to look inside 👀.
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#RoyalAirForce #RAF #RAFFylingdales

[@public.public]

It didn't detect one of my old teachers going balistic back in the day...

[@luke_likes_trains]

Lol

[@robam3801]

my dad was an electrician and RAF veteran and helped build this place!

[@conflict-tv]

Been in there many times as a cadet, walked the radar surface inside and pipes that run deep beneath the building. They did a drill missile launch from the East in which they intervened. The alarms, and speed at which they move is incredible. My girlfriend's father has also worked there for over 40 years till retirement. I've heard some good stories! The control room is slightly different than it used to be, but the systems at first glance were exactly the same. Thanks for this video!

[@somethingelse4878]

Passed them in 1980 on a school trip

[@luke_likes_trains]

Wow that sound amazing

[@leeholmes9962]

A big THANK YOU to all the men and women who work at the radar station I for one appreciate the work yous all do ✌️🇬🇧👍

[@jampie17]

The roads up there are awesome for our bikes, its wierd seeing that just sitting there in the middle of nothing when we go past

[@tommylawton6253]

I went past on the way to London, and to flamingo land never known what it was

[@ginggur17]

Amazing. I delivered to this base over 15yrs ago when they were building and installing drainage systems. Thankyou.

[@rppdfire]

I had the pleasure of visiting RAF Fylingdales in the mid 90's as part of a team from the Air Force Space Command. The team there is extremely professional, (and can definitely hold their beer)!

[@luke_likes_trains]

Cool that sounds amazing

[@Mirandorl]

I love the ICBM detection sheep at the beginning

[@peterfinucane8122]

Intercontinental Baaaaalistic missiles, Ram air power.

[@smeghead666]

Thought she was going to crack into a little rhyme "While you're sleeping in your bed we're watching space over your head" Also folk thinking the office looks 'dated' wtf do you want, ipads and hoverboards?

[@billbaynes3432]

🇬🇧 Awesome place! Thanks to all who work there! 🇬🇧

[@LewisMacdonaldMedia]

Pretty cool how at the bottom of the screens, it says 'Unclassified'.

[@J5HPO-pq5jh]

massive thankyou to these people

[@DeltaV3]

Office could do with a lick of paint.

[@conorturton]

For those interested in going to see it you can actually book a tour. My radio club has been twice now. It's a fairly lengthy wait as you can imagine it's quite popular but you're looking around 12-18 months. I'm lucky to have been as a cadet when it was still the golf balls and they put on a simulated attack for us. Interesting to see how the advances in technology have reduced the size of the base to what it is whilst increasing its capabilities.

[@andrewlavey6992]

You are doing excellent job guys, well done.

[@TheFlyingBusman]

Not showing the expanse of corridors and bunkers that sit underneath then? The radar is probably a tenth of what exists there.

[@danapussyone]

Intriguing. Is speculation or do you have 1st hand? I've always suspected.

[@JamesAlexander14]

Most of this would be covered under The Official Secrets Act. You are being given only the information you need to know. End of story.

[@Zyx946]

An amazing system!

[@SheerDrop]

Always surprises me when you see these places and they have old PCs and telephones. You'd think they'd be high tec and modern. This looks straight out of the early 2000s. But I suppose the saying is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

[@johngardner5636]

Billy Grahammer .....which are no longer there

[@1959twa]

John Gardner they’re not there anymore?? Was always a fun thing to drive by and know you were nearly there

[@johnniebj]

Thomas Ashworth yes. all gone. Replaced by the structure you can see at the top of this post. There are still golf balls at RAF Menwith Hill, which you can see off the A59 near Harrogate

[@scunnyboy12000]

For a start the golf balls havent been there since the early 90s! Keep up. Also that's a training room hence older stuff in there

[@somethingelse4878]

Remember windows xp and 7 are far better than 8 10 11 Older stuff can be better

[@williamrobinson7435]

I remember seeing Fylingdales (we called it The Golf Balls) when I was a kid.. We were all too aware of the important work going on there (those were the Cold War days).. Pray God its not going to get that serious now, and thanks to all personnel on site! 🇬🇧👍❤️

[@NonsensicalSpudz]

god forbid you wake to one of those early warning systems, especially if it was nuclear

[@CarlosFandandgo]

I live near the Golf Balls - that is actually called RAF Menwith Hill and is a listening station. Fylingdales is much further North as you approach Whitby etc and is just the single pyramid type building.

[@davepearce6359]

Very interesting video. Never knew this existed, thanks for enlightening me. 😊👍🏻

[@bencrofts578]

Isn't that 15 minutes away from whitby

[@jampie17]

It is yeah, along goathland

[@allisonpayne2097]

Always good to stay on top of things,planning always makes everything run smoothly😎

[@SgtSayWhat]

Well, we know what an invader's first target will be...

[@thewomble1509]

It was always on the Soviet target list from the time of the original "golf balls".

[@andydriffield101]

That beret by any chance?😂😂😂

[@mr_slidey]

@MercyReaper 6 billion in total, 1 billion for each one but I agree they need to get this capability.

[@public.public]

the second sheep from the left is the superbrain which runs the whole operation.

[@joelyth4018]

@MercyReaper The type 45 does have the ability to be armed with anti-ballistic missiles, however they are not armed with them currently. But as we all know no country has any complete defence against Nuclear weapons that's why they are so deadly. The only capable and reliable weapon is THAAD, which is operated by the US and still cannot shoot down every missile or stop a mass nuclear strike. Would be nice for the Type 45s to get this capability but the RN is increasing so maybe soon.

[@somethingelse4878]

I remember going past the golf balls in 1980 in a school transit van and the teacher saying look away lol

[@alexedwards1681]

The office looks a little dated now.

[@TheFreshSpam]

If it's not broken dint fix it. Curved OLED screens aren't needed with flashy graphics and a stylised room. War is war. Do you forget floppy disks are used for nuclear codes?

[@alexedwards1681]

I didn’t mean this as an insult, I love our Military here I Britain. Just expected to see a more modern outfitting.

[@streaky81]

It's been a long time since Sun ceased to exist - but it's solid, uncomplicated and it all works. As long as that true it's unlikely they'll upgrade any of it.

[@etherealhawk]

bro you need to have a look at the US nuclear system, they have hundreds of warheads and firing systems. Some of them are still from the late 40s-50s. They just never bother decommissioning or upgrading

[@alexedwards1681]

I'm sure it's more than enough to keep our great nations safe 👍

[@BOORAGG]

As has been mentioned, if there is ANY outfit that needs the fastest computing power, it would be these good people.

[@karatepirus]

Thank you for keeping watch over our sky

[@GdaySport]

I miss the old golf balls...

[@jamie9051]

they still exist :)

[@biffgrimes.8345]

They are different places . balls are still there

[@GdaySport]

@Billy Grahammer They were dismantled at Fylingdales and taken away before the new array went up. That new structure is the replacement array. I live nearby and remember the removal, it changed the landscape because they were such a well known structure locally.

[@johngardner5636]

Billy Grahammer No they are not. See other posts

[@AGTC009]

There is only one there to the south east of the perimeter of the site away from the main array ! & I remember it was documented on TV when they were dismantled & the new radar was close to operation !!

[@studinthemaking]

What does the blue, white and red patches on those clothing patches mean?

[@Me-dm8jn]

it is the RAF TRF (tactical recognition flash) it's basically to say that they are in the RAF and not the army

[@Padderrss]

It’s the LGBT patch

[@VanderlyndenJengold]

@@Padderrss haha. don't ask don't tell.

[@andrewcassidy7795]

That rooms a set up or have I gone back in time

[@jonnyshaw5319]

they do a brilliant job...

[@milaskilathelab]

Good to post this... world wide..!

[@AaronP108]

It's no secret how the system works. Anything you see was already public knowledge.

[@alistairevans4136]

They wouldn't be allowed to post this if it was secret

[@alanscoffins3148]

20 ish years ago as a dispatch rider I had to deliver to there I thought the place was deserted but having ridden 70+ miles before leaving I kicked this rusty door it took a few seconds but this huge steel door creaked open and was greater by a military type 20yrs ago brilliant camouflage rust and moss on the drive up to it

[@nixonsmateruby1]

Protecting the greatest country on Earth, well, if we get rid of poverty. Thanks to all our service personnel and Allie's.

[@Jeffybonbon]

They also watch for Santa on Xmas eve

[@401files4]

Hello, to the owner of this content could i please have your permission to use certain parts of this video in my documentary that i'm currently working on. Best regards Ben

[@edwinrobert7192]

Lol

[@melmo5218]

Couldn't you outsource this telephone work to New Delhi?

[@death_parade]

UK could outsource a lot more than that to New Delhi. Stuff like missiles that actually make this radar useful to the UK (and not just to the US), more such radars, their ground systems, satellites, rocket launches........oh wait, that last one already happened.

[@voxpopneverdies2025]

Is that it. Hilarious. That's a training room lol.

[@grahamfisher5436]

Hay guys. I've painted the outside of the building, with a good 3 coats of masonry paint. no need to thank me .???!!

[@antonycharnock2993]

That's why they're all laughing and smirking. The real control centre will be deep underground. Its like submarines. We know that they know that we know that they know...

[@petermclelland2181]

They get 4 minutes on the toilet before the rest of us !

[@Chazb5046]

Sorry.. why are we broadcasting our missile defense system?

[@idriscam]

Its probably a standard system known by many many countries. They dont show and tell everthing... im more interested in why is he not clean shaved?

[@fasthracing]

Don't worry the Russians will already know all about it.

[@idriscam]

@@fasthracing 😂😂😂 you believe any msm media story put in front of you ey? No question asked. Perfect civilian for psyops and following orders.

[@Highlaw]

@@idriscam Not sure what the problem was with his comment. He's factually correct. Every ally, neutral and hostile country knows about this system for sure.

[@idriscam]

@@Highlaw but why mention it? Absolutely no need to. Like I said in my first comment it's like a system known my many countries which is what you have just repeated now. Russias are awesome! If it went for them Germany would have won the war. 40 million they lost for us. We should be more friendly with them.

[@tomstravels520]

I think I saw something that if the air ambulance has to fly near it they switch the radar off or it can affect the systems or something

[@greggpasty8965]

No expert but the radars power might fry the air ambulances systems

[@lemmy6782]

Me dad worked on the three golf balls as they were known back in the day that used to be there before the pyramid. Often got snowed in up there .

[@robedmonds8450]

Tbf this video was mad proper interesting

[@mbak7801]

Sun displays and mice (probably plugged into a Ultra 60 or something). WOW that is old equipment. Very good but I would guess around 21 years old.

[@gerrimander]

In my day I would have been on Jankers with a seven o'clock shadow on duty!

[@Quantiad]

You're a bit out of the loop with current regs.

[@typhoon2827]

Leave her alone!

[@joshuacosker5073]

I’m fortunate to live near here and it’s always a site to see while driving near

[@scottishrover295]

Im from Glasgow and i love this road. What a fantastic road it is to drive. Has this always been the building? Im sure i remember as a young teenager there was a huge white ball type of thing. At least one but maybe two or three of them. Am i thinking of something different?

[@TYPLive]

@@scottishrover295 Your correct there used to be the Golf Ball things there (3 of them). They got switched over in the 90s to what is there today. Its still guarded today by a bunch of angry sheep that love been near it lol

[@TYPLive]

@@scottishrover295 There is also RAF Menwith Hill which is located near Harrogate which has got loads of the balls. RAF Menwith is more along the backbone of England pa say

[@scottishrover295]

@@TYPLive I loved seeing them. Seemed so mysterious. Passed by about a year ago and seen the new place but was never 100% sure if there was actually golf balls there lol. Thanks anyway man!

[@Jerry_from_analytics]

Are they still using Sun computers? User interface reminds Motif + some displays are by Sun.

[@tommylawton6253]

Iv been past here I had no idea what the place was

[@burtlangoustine1]

A British soldier is born with a heart, intelligence and soul. A US soldier is a hammer with loose RoE A British soldier travelled the world. Hearts and Minds. A US soldier cleans up a political criminal undertaking. I stand with Ben Griffin.

[@death_parade]

WTF are you talking about lol? UK is an American vassal state.

[@kenday4812]

Remember it when It Ground to air Bloodhound ground to Air Missiles in the Early Sixties

[@AndrewTubbiolo]

"They give us a 4 minute warning, so Christians have time to pray." Protect and Survive, by the Dubliners....... Great to see a song lyric explained in real life.

[@GertrudePerkins]

And time for the rest of us to kiss our arses goodbye! 😘

[@somethingelse4878]

We used to be told to boil an egg Though if you waited 3 mins you could microwave it

[@peteralfredwallis8417]

And they're doing all that with 90's tech? 😲

[@elonburgers5308]

this is such a dumb comment, nuclear weapons are 60s tech, the ISS was made in the 90s just because technology is old it doesn't mean it isn't still useful. It would be a huge waste of money (millions if not billions) to update the warning base with stupid modern trinkets like vr headsets and huge touch screen displays that would make no difference to the data the base gathers.

[@rob-123]

It was really well designed system. Atleast it didnt wipe out radio and tv like the russian system did. Look up the radio tracking system we built, it was nearly as accurate as todays gps which was amazing in the era it was made.

[@Warrior6504]

The old system used to turn off my immobiliser on my motorbike.

[@deanmarney7182]

Alright we can detect em but we can't stop em

[@billbaynes3432]

I remember when this was just balls?

[@danielsteel3487]

Bill Baynes different place

[@rooley123]

Do you mean menwith hill ?

[@bellkevan]

1960s 3 giant golf balls was always amazed by them

[@CanadairCL44]

@@rooley123 Shhhhhhh!

[@rooley123]

@@CanadairCL44 ?

[@notrut]

Excellent stuff ... So why does the BBC delete any reference to Fylingdales being part of American Defence?

[@death_parade]

Because BBC is a British propaganda machine?

[@wayneronnie7402]

We don't have an anti ballistic missile defence.. so whats the point in detecting them?

[@Mishn0]

US Navy destroyers with RIM-161 SM-3 missiles could be the point. A very fine point at that.

[@death_parade]

Well, it is part of the American BMD system, not UK's.

[@danapussyone]

What is the reporters name?

[@nathanbourke1333]

I just went past there

[@supasixfour]

Is this just for information/warning only? Do we actually have any defense system to intercept a missile? Am I right in thinking that only the US has that capability and that in reality it probably wouldn't be that useful? Is this really just to inform second strike / mutually assured disruption type strategy?

[@death_parade]

Not only the US, many other nations like Russia, China, India, France, Israel have developed their own systems to intercept ballistic missiles. US, Russia, China and India have even extended this capability to be able to shoot down satellites. Only the UK does not have this capability (yet). UK is planning to get a low-tier BMD capability from the French Aster-30 missile's upgrade. And although not planned yet, if UK ever wants, it could buy an American upper tier interceptor like SM-3 or THAAD.

[@arvont1]

I suspect it does indeed have an offensive capability. Concentrate the beams emitted and you could cook the target from the inside, like a kitchen microwave except in the form of an energy beam. Any information on its offensive capabilities remains highly classified, however.

[@davec5153]

So if someone fires a missile from a known see stack, they will write it off as coming from a known false reflection and ignore it?

[@thomasedwards4069]

Not when the sea stack starts moving at 5km/s

[@sanjay0196]

What happened to the 3 golf balls

[@user-pt1ok8rg1u]

Cool

[@charlessmith263]

The radar structure is not Air Force One, but like Air Force One, some of the stuff inside is top-secret. So anybody talking about this radar station out in the open has to keep some stuff hush-hush.

[@charlessmith263]

I am doing some research about nuclear war, nuclear missiles, and all that on my own, and getting a chance to see the inside of something that the general public never ever sees at all - is awe-inspiring.

[@mckinson]

Sometimes they get the nod that something very quick is coming into Radar and no further questions are asked.

[@GracesGarden80]

What is the UK’s defence capability in terms of an attack from a single or multiple ballistic missiles? We don’t have ABM’s and our Type 45 destroyers don’t have the Aegis system or similar. I know they are looking at modifying the Type 45 for that role, but we only have 6 ships.

[@ALX-mv6eb]

we dont look it up we have over 20 lmao

[@GracesGarden80]

AL3X 20 of what?

[@MrLeeleeeeeeee]

Sure most forces of the Brits have is American. Just think about if the Americans had a kill switch for their Allies equipment

[@TheBarnestah]

@@MrLeeleeeeeeee Most is quite a sweeping statement. Yes some indeed, but certainly not most. In fact much of it is jointly built & or designed by both US, UK & other partners.

[@MrLeeleeeeeeee]

Polaris the missile it need American authorisation to fire it in the event of retaliation.

[@honestmcgyver]

Respect to all involved but one of the first missiles would be going there. Nite nite - yes I know nite is night

[@BOOTYSLAYER_-le3di]

I’ve been here with the air cadets

[@robdegoyim4023]

So glad we've got "net technology" to catch those nasty satellites...

[@johnknow4097]

Trouble is the Russians have just announced they now have ballistic missiles that can't be tracked because they fly an unpredictable route to their target. It's all crazy anyway, if they can come to an agreement to have a ban on chemical and gas, why can't they come to a similar agreement with nuclear weapons.

[@death_parade]

What "net technology"?

[@lupahole]

Shouldn't the control room be underground and a few kilometers away so that the crew survives a nuclear blast?

[@cyanoticspore6785]

There probably is some kind of bunker complex underneath it

[@grahamfisher5436]

no point ... everyone dies in the event of a nuclear war ... it's about deterrent .. I grew up on the Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire border surrounded by RAFbases and slept soundly. May sense and sensibility lead and prevail..

[@death_parade]

Err.....this system is not meant to protect UK AFAIK. Its part of the American BMD system. Even if UK manages to detect something headed for UK using this radar, it doesn't have any BMD missiles to shoot down the incoming threat. Only if the Americans have a warship nearby will they be able to help.

[@newton18311]

but does it detect UFOs. 3000 miles up into space,

[@DAGO58]

If a Ballistic missile is launched at the UK we can all hide under that beret.

[@utubeballbag]

Whats the point , they have no way of stopping them and no bunkers left.

[@DanielRowe]

The from the screens looks some type of Unix?

[@Mishn0]

The UI used is not dependent on the operating system.

[@rztrzt]

It being Sun hardware it's most likely Solaris (Unix) with Common Desktop Environment (CDE).

[@Tyler.i.81]

What about ufos????

[@Back2TheBike]

Unlike Israel the UK doesn't have a missile shield, so whilst Fylingdales tech is impressive, it's rather futile.

[@Orbital_Inclination]

The sorts of weapons they're looking for can't be defeated with a missile shield, and would most likely incur a retaliation from a Vanguard submarine

[@kieranpenrose]

Dosnet this whole place serve the same purpose as a window?

[@kevin-l7r7p]

As a 'software bod/dev'.....there should be IT guys looks at these screens

[@nb2211]

Is this video not a threat to national security?

[@tylegreb9554]

but no way of shooting down the missiles in coming

[@TaccyLad]

I'd rather not know I was getting nuked if we didn't even try to shoot them out

[@G-o5t23]

The sheep are defo robots that watch out for people trespassing

[@28mouse85]

Ok

[@Gotze481]

Looks like cyber security could be a bit of a worry with all these legacy systems

[@alistairevans4136]

You may think that, but the military tend to hold on to things like operating systems for longer because the majority (an OS is never truely hacker proof) of the vulnerabilities have been patched and secured. A new OS comes with new vulnerabilities and therefore potential security issues.

[@iraq.sometimessunnisometim1981]

You could shorten it too BMEWS!.....

[@charlesking3920]

100 percent put there to look out for aliens

[@staytactical1045]

Why are there Americans it’s the UK’s air defence system not the US and the US have got there own and if a missile is coming towards the uk why would the US have a say in what happens next it’s not there call

[@davidhouseman4328]

It's a joint operation, both contribute, both get the benefit.

[@GertrudePerkins]

It is a joint operation and linked to BMEWS stations in the USA (Norad) and Canada.

[@glennpowell3444]

Historically we still owe the US big time. That's it right there unfortunately.Cheers.

[@davidhouseman4328]

@@glennpowell3444 For what, us having the same enemy?

[@glennpowell3444]

@@davidhouseman4328 I was going back to the last war.Let's face it despite Germany madly declaring war against the US ,the UK would have been stretched without them and the lend lease agreemement for food,fuel,hardware etc.That's why the US still operate airbases from the UK.Trump recently reminded Turkey that they did nothing nothing to aid waring factors 70 odd years ago! Its a mad world? Cheers.

[@Gollammeister]

The wouldn't ordinarily let civilians into a supposedly secure early warning system

Reaction to misslie alert 1change Underware,2 Put my head between my legs and kiss my arse goodbye ☹

[@bastogne315]

Plenty of downtime there, bonkin in the bunker an all dat.

[@JohnSmith-qq8ok]

RAF with 6 days of stuble! WTF. ridiculous and most certainly standards have dropped in the RAF.

[@johnknow4097]

I find it depressing that the country that invented radar has to rely on another county to provide the hardware.

[@lovelylukey18]

We don't, it's a joint operation,

[@johnknow4097]

@@lovelylukey18 I pleased to hear that but still as it said in the video the hardware is supplied by the USA and the manpower by the British.

[@lovelylukey18]

@@johnknow4097 which means we get a joint operation, at less cost to us.

[@johnknow4097]

@@lovelylukey18 Good and long may the five eyes continue.

[@paulfranciosi647]

Bet they get some UFO pick ups on radar.

[@BWPT.]

"On a visit to RAF Fylingdales in 1997, RSG members were told that the radar’s software is designed to ignore targets that do not behave like a rocket being launched or a satellite in orbit. It is little surprise, therefore, that the RAF says that the station has never detected a UFO in flight!"

[@hurleyflyer263]

So it's obsolete now.

[@jetsiomanuna3761]

such a vital defense installation and it's not that well defended ha ha ha ha

[@benc640]

Jetsio Manuna to be fair, who’s going to attack it?

[@dh1380]

Have you been to that part of Yorkshire? It doesn't need defending.

[@phaedracollins6051]

Try acting funny around there and see what happens. I was with a group of students on a field course and we stopped to dig a hole to look at soil structure. Within a few minutes we had a helo overhead watching us.

[@death_parade]

@@phaedracollins6051 Wow, the UK forces must be very idle if they can spare a helicopter for something like that despite the fact that UK has only 150 helicopters in their entire military.

[@braadpitt4838]

Well from 90s till today they are still using telephone

[@r.davis0239]

Braad Pitt ye....of course what’s your point

[@VanderlyndenJengold]

@@r.davis0239 What if no one picks up at the other end as they're on another call or they can't track down the PM at his latest lady friend's house?

[@r.davis0239]

Vanderlynden Jengold they will use other methods they use a variety not just phones🤦🏼‍♂️😂

[@Kevin-fj5oe]

@Muttley 69 unless physically

[@braadpitt4838]

@Muttley 69 yeah great they just need to cut main line not even need to touch keyboard just a scissor is enough

[@walterbatch5296]

MOST ABSORBING INSIGHT TO A VERY IMPORTANT NEED TO KEEP OUR NATION SAFE.

[@Bootneck-RMC]

@MercyReaper and you know this because?

[@kevinmason5350]

I bet they see quite a lot of U F O s but will they tell us. ? I guess NOT ?

[@majorclanger8997]

Sort that beret out

[@GI.Jared1984]

why are they wearing camouflage combats in an office

[@joshuacosker5073]

Nowhere man that’s just standard uniform in the British military

[@kierancriddle3315]

Nowhere man they’re the most comfortable, and if they become a target they can leg it and have more chance of making it to another base or civilisation! Plus why not?

[@24hoursago3]

No longer on duty

[@EsBeeQue]

Flt Lt definitely needs to go for a quick shave before taking part on this video. 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@jewell278]

We are allowed breads now 🤘

[@andrewvaughan3825]

@@jewell278 and beards :-p

[@jamesskeoch6562]

CREW chief sounds very american navy.