No. 216 Squadron RAF

No. 216 Squadron RAF
Squadron badge
Active	5 October 1917 – 1 April 1918 (RNAS) 1 April 1918 – 27 June 1975 (RAF) 1 July 1979 – 20 March 2014 1 April 2020 – present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Type	Drone swarm technology
Role	Test & Evaluation
Home station	RAF Waddington
Motto(s)	CCXVI dona ferens (Latin for '216 bearing gifts')[1]
Battle honours	Independent Force and Germany (1917–1918)* Egypt and Libya (1940–1942)* Greece (1940–1941)* Syria (1941)* El Alamein (1942)* El Hamma (1943) North Africa (1943)* Mediterranean (1943) Manipur (1944) North Burma (1944)* South East Europe (1944–1945)* Kosovo (1999) Afghanistan (2001–2014) Iraq (2003) Iraq (2003–2011) Libya (2011) * Honours marked with an asterisk may be emblazoned on the Squadron Standard
Insignia
Squadron badge	An eagle, wings elevated, holding a bomb in its claws. Approved by King Edward VIII in May 1936.[2]
Squadron codes	VT (Apr 1939 – Sep 1939) SH (Sep 1939 – Sep 1941)

Number 216 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, since reforming on 1 April 2020 and is tasked with testing future drone swarm technology. It had previously operated Lockheed TriStar K1, KC1 and C2s from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, between November 1984 and March 2014.