Norfolk air crew at home of 1,200mph jet given 15mph e-scooters

Now personnel at RAF Marham have been issued with 15mph e-scooters, to travel from their living quarters to their work on the base.

An aerial view of RAF Marham, here personnel have been issued with e-scooters (Image: Mike Page)

A spokesman said the fleet of 90 machines had been bought as part of a green travel initiative under Project Astra, a 10-year plan to modernise the RAF. Its aims including making the air force more energy efficient and sustainable and reducing waste.

She said using them meant that staff did not have to rely on a 52-seater diesel shuttle bus to take them to and from their work. They include trainee engineers based at Marham's integrated training centre, where they are learning to maintain the F-35 Lightning and staff who need to attend meetings in different areas of the 1,600-acre station, who would otherwise have to rely on their own private cars to make the trip.

Group Capt James Beck, commanding officer at the base which is the home of the F-35 Lightning force, said: “As part of Project Astra which is striving to create a better and more efficient RAF of the future, RAF Marham has introduced e-scooters for our personnel to reduce carbon vehicle use, this has enabled greener and more flexible transport with the added bonus of saving money."

F35 Lightning jets at RAF Marham will be equipped with a new missile which can hit its target from 85 miles away (Image: Archant 2018)

Staff are given special training before being allowed to use the machines, which are not permitted to travel on public roads outside of the station. Riders have been issued with hi-vis vests and a helmet.

It is estimated the machines will deliver a carbon saving of almost 30 tonnes over two years. They will also help to ease the strain on car parks at the base and mean extra parking capacity, which would have cost in the region of £500,000 will no longer be needed.