The Royal Air Force (sometimes called RAF, its acronym), is the air force of the United Kingdom. The RAF began in 1918 when the Royal Flying Corps (spoken as 'core') and the Royal Naval Air Service joined together. It is the oldest air force in the world. The first man to lead the RAF was Hugh Trenchard. The RAF has many bases across the world, including the UK, Falkland Islands, Cyprus and Gibraltar. Some examples of the UK bases are RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, RAF Valley in Wales, RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland and RAF Linton-on Ouse in England. The RAF has very new planes including the Eurofighter Typhoon, Panavia Tornado and the BAe Systems Hawk. The Hawk is used to train fast-jet pilots.