The UK & Ireland Aerosol Society notes with concern the recent announcement by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), communicated through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), that funding for the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) aircraft laboratory will cease. While we recognise the need to review national research infrastructure and to invest in emerging technologies, we believe that the proposed withdrawal of FAAM risks creating a significant gap in the United Kingdom’s capability to observe and understand atmospheric aerosol processes.
The Aerosol Society represents a community of more than 1000 scientists from academia, government and industry working across the full breadth of aerosol science, including atmospheric processes, air pollution, climate modelling, nanotechnology and inhaled therapeutics. A central aim of the Society is to promote aerosol research, support interdisciplinary collaboration and encourage the training of scientists working in aerosol medicine and atmospheric science. Many members of this community rely directly on airborne atmospheric measurements to understand the behaviour and impacts of aerosol particles in the atmosphere and the FAAM represents a significant UK capability.
Airborne platforms such as FAAM provide a uniquely capable environment for these measurements. The aircraft can carry complex instrumentation and trained operators, enabling simultaneous measurement of aerosol properties, cloud microphysics and atmospheric dynamics. Aerosol cloud interactions represent one of the largest remaining uncertainties in projections of climate change. Uncertainty in how clouds will respond to a warming climate can lead to as much as a factor-of-two difference in estimates of future global warming. Aerosol particles play a central role in this uncertainty because they influence the formation, phase and evolution of clouds. Understanding these processes requires in situ observations within clouds and across different atmospheric layers, often in remote regions, which cannot be achieved solely through ground-based measurements, drones or satellite observations.
This capability has been essential to advances in understanding ice-nucleating particles, a class of aerosol that strongly influences the formation and behaviour of mixed-phase clouds. Members of the UK aerosol science community have demonstrated that these particles play a critical role in determining cloud properties and precipitation processes. Measurements conducted using instruments flown onboard FAAM have allowed scientists to quantify the vertical distribution of these particles and investigate how they initiate ice formation in clouds.
Observational evidence obtained from airborne campaigns has also contributed directly to the development and testing of atmospheric models used for weather forecasting and climate prediction. For example, the Met Office’s advanced cloud microphysics scheme, CASIM, which explicitly links aerosol populations to cloud formation processes, has recently been incorporated into operational forecasting models. The scientific understanding underpinning such modelling developments has been strongly informed by measurements made using FAAM and its predecessor research aircraft.
Beyond its contribution to climate science, FAAM provides capabilities that are relevant to several national policy priorities. The transition to cleaner aviation fuels and the development of low-carbon aviation technologies require robust measurement of emissions from aircraft in flight. Aircraft-based atmospheric measurements provide the only practical method for directly sampling aircraft exhaust plumes under realistic operating conditions. Such work is directly relevant to the UK Government’s Jet Zero ambitions to decarbonise aviation.
Maintaining airborne atmospheric measurement capability also contributes to national resilience. In the event of natural or industrial incidents, such as volcanic eruptions or accidental releases of hazardous materials, research aircraft provide the ability to rapidly sample atmospheric plumes and generate evidence to support government response and risk assessment. The loss of FAAM would therefore reduce the UK’s ability to mobilise scientific expertise in response to emerging environmental hazards.
The Society also wishes to highlight the role of FAAM in training the next generation of atmospheric scientists. Access to airborne measurement campaigns provides early-career researchers with practical experience in instrumentation, atmospheric observation and collaborative field science. Recent doctoral research investigating ice-nucleating particles and mixed-phase clouds has relied directly on FAAM flights to obtain measurements from the free troposphere that cannot be replicated using other UK platforms.
While the UKRI statement highlights increasing operational costs and relatively low planned utilisation of the aircraft, it is important that the value of research infrastructure is considered in terms of the scientific capability it provides rather than solely its annual operating hours. Over recent years, UK universities have made considerable investments in developing new state-of-the-art instrumentation and measurement technologies intended to operate on FAAM, ensuring that the facility remains at the cutting edge of atmospheric observation. However, preparing large collaborative research proposals and integrating new instruments into an airborne platform requires substantial lead time and planning. Delays associated with aircraft upgrades and uncertainty regarding the timeline for returning the aircraft to full operational capability have made it difficult for research teams to confidently develop proposals. As a result, some potential projects may not yet be visible within current utilisation metrics, even though there remains strong interest within the community.
In addition, the process for integrating and certifying new instrumentation for flight has become increasingly complex, creating further uncertainty for research groups seeking to develop new measurement capabilities. Several innovative instruments developed within UK laboratories are awaiting deployment on the aircraft, representing opportunities for significant new scientific advances. Greater clarity around future operational timelines and mechanisms for instrument integration would likely enable the community to bring forward a new generation of proposals and fully realise the scientific potential of these investments.
The UK & Ireland Aerosol Society therefore encourages continued dialogue between UKRI, NERC and the wider atmospheric science community regarding the long-term future of airborne atmospheric measurement capability in the United Kingdom. Investment in new technologies, including autonomous platforms and advanced remote sensing systems, is both welcome and necessary. However, these developments should complement existing observational capabilities rather than replace them prematurely.
Maintaining a balanced atmospheric observation system, integrating satellites, surface networks, modelling frameworks and airborne measurement platforms, will remain essential if the UK is to sustain its leadership in atmospheric science and provide the robust evidence base required to inform climate policy, environmental management and national resilience.
UK & Ireland Aerosol Society
March 2026
