No. XVII Squadron RAF | |
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Active | 1 February 1915 – 1 April 1918 (RFC) 1 April 1918 – 14 November 1919 (RAF) 1 April 1924 – 23 February 1948 11 February 1949 – 13 March 1951 1 June 1956 – 31 December 1969 1 September 1970 – 31 March 1999 1 September 2002 – 12 April 2013 12 April 2013 – present |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Royal Air Force |
Type | Flying squadron |
Role | Test and evaluation |
Home station | Edwards AFB, California |
Motto(s) | Excellere Contende (Latin for 'Strive to excel')[1] |
Aircraft | Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning |
Battle honours | * Honours marked with an asterisk may be emblazoned on the Squadron Standard |
Insignia | |
Squadron badge heraldry | A Gauntlet symbolizing armed strength and previous operation of the Gloster Gauntlet fighter in the 1930s. Approved by Edward VIII in October 1936.[2] |
Squadron roundel | |
Squadron Codes | UV Nov 1938 – Sep 1939 YB Sep 1939 – Feb 1948 UT Feb 1949 – Mar 1951 B (Carried on Jaguars) CA–CZ Aug 1985 – Mar 1999 |
Number 17 Squadron (sometimes written as No. XVII Squadron), currently No. 17 Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES), is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was reformed on 12 April 2013 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, as the Operational Evaluation Unit (OEU) for the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning.