royal aircraft establishment

The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) in Farnborough, Hampshire was created in 1908 and has undergone a number of name changes over the years:

1908 - founded as the HM Balloon Factory
???? - renamed the Royal Aircraft Factory (RAF)
1918 - renamed the Royal Aircraft Establishment to avoid confusion with the Royal Air Force, which was formed on April 1, 1918.
1991 - April 1 - renamed as the Defence Research Agency (DRA), reflecting the organisation's wider remit beyond aircraft.
1995 - April 1 - the DRA and other MOD agencies merged to form the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA).
2001 - the Agency was part-privatised by the MOD, resulting in two separate organisations, the state-owned Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), and the privatised QinetiQ, forming the DERA PPP.

Functions

The site is currently home to Qinetiq, DSTL, the Air Accident Investigation Branch and the British National Space Centre. Many aircraft have been developed or tested at the RAE including the Hawker Siddeley Harrier and Concorde. The wind tunnel is now a listed building.

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