Early years The island of Unst has played an important part in the defence of the UK since the outbreak of the Second World War. By 1945, there were two radar sites on the island; one on Saxa Vord hill, and the other at
Skaw on the east coast. This latter is the older, being built in 1941, and was part of the
Chain Home radar network as part of the defences of the
RAF Sullom Voe flying boat base. Skaw closed in 1947, with
Historic Environment Scotland describing its remains as
"a remarkably well-preserved military complex... [with]
an important part to play in the story of the defence of the United Kingdom during World War Two." ROTOR era As part of the post-war
ROTOR radar network, Saxa Vord was selected as the site to host a new long-range radar as the northernmost point in a network of radars covering the entirety of the British Isles. As part of upgrades carried out for ROTOR, Saxa received new radars, the
AMES Type 14 medium-range search radar, and associated
AMES Type 13 height finders. While these were being built, a dramatically more powerful system was entering prototype use, the
AMES Type 80. The Type 80 had an effective range over , covering the entire Shetland Islands and a significant portion of the
Norwegian Sea. The coverage was so vast that there was much less need to tie together multiple stations to provide a wide-area view, and the ROTOR system began to be progressively downgraded to individual Master Radar Stations. Installation of Saxa's Type 80 began in 1955, but was blown off its mountings by winds gusting to in January 1956. No. 91 Signals Unit officially formed up at Saxa Vord on 27 September 1957, was declared operational on 5 October 1957, and in 1960 was visited by Queen
Elizabeth II. During this period the Type 14 was retained as a backup system until September 1964, whilst the Type 13 remained the primary height finder until 1978/79. The Type 80 was lost when it was blown away on 26 January 1961 and rebuilt inside a new
radome. At the time, Saxa Vord consisted of three sites: the domestic site, the technical site (with the radars) and the married quarters called Setters Hill Estate (SHE). In the early days, the site was shared with the
Royal Navy. In 1984 the station was renamed from No. 91 Signals Unit to Royal Air Force Saxa Vord. The signals
unit badge was adopted by the station and it continued with the motto of
Praemoneo de periculis (Latin for
I give advanced warning about danger).
IUKADGE era By the time Linesman was operational it was considered outdated; much of the equipment was based on decades-old designs, and built using components that were no longer available. Even before it was declared operational the decision had been made to replace it as soon as possible, A new system,
IUKADGE, emerged during a several-year definition process. The system was implemented at Saxa Vord in 1993. This was part of
NATO-wide upgrades and the funding for the new radar was provided from the NATO funding pool. This led to one of the six IUKADGE
AMES Type 93s being earmarked for Saxa.
Downgrading to Remote Radar Head While the upgrades were taking place, the
Warsaw Pact was dissolving and the
Soviet Union ceased to exist. The number of intruder flights collapsed and there was no sign they would be returning. From around 2000 until 2 April 2004, the station operated as
Remote Radar Head (RRH) Saxa Vord, operated from parent station
RAF Buchan. On 2 April 2004, RAF Saxa Vord was upgraded from a Remote Radar Head to a fully staffed station, taking over control of the radar defences in the area. RRH Saxa Vord closed in April 2006 with the site being placed on programme of care and maintenance and the radar being dismantled and used for spares in other Type 93 radars.
Reactivation as RRH In September 2017, the
Ministry of Defence confirmed that £10 million would be invested in Saxa Vord to reactivate the site as a
Remote Radar Head. The move will provide better coverage of the airspace to the north of the UK, in response to
increased Russian military activity. Work began in October 2017 to move a
Lockheed Martin AN/TPS-77 L-band radar from
RRH Staxton Wold in North Yorkshire to Saxa Vord. During January 2018,
Chief of the Air Staff,
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier visited the site to inspect progress and the new radar reached
initial operational capability. It was expected to reach
full operational capability by the end of 2018. As part of a major upgrade of RRH sites around the UK the MOD began a programme titled HYDRA in 2020 to install new communications buildings, radar towers and perimeter security. Nobody will be permanently based at Saxa Vord, but regular visits will take place for maintenance purposes. Some of the former base facilities have now been redeveloped into new roles. Planning permission for the
SaxaVord Spaceport was initially denied by Historic Environment Scotland citing the damage to the surviving World War Two structures;{{cite web |title=Space centre to 'vigorously contest' project's refusal|url=https://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2021/03/30/space-centre-to-vigorously-contest-projects-refusal|newspaper=Shetland Times|date=30 March 2021 ==See also==