British Military Aviation in 1963

February
The Hawker Siddeley Blue Steel stand-off nuclear air-to-surface missile is declared operational. The first squadron to be armed with Blue Steel was No.617 Squadron at RAF Scampton (Avro Vulcan B2).

31 March
RAF Fighter Command is reorganised. The Command's constituent Groups, No.11 and No.12 Groups, were disbanded and replaced by three Sectors.

April -August
The Indonesian Confrontation: following an unsuccessful attempt to depose the Sultan of Brunei on 8 December 1962, President Soekarno of Indonesia, driven by the desire to unite Malaya, the Phillipines and Indonesia within an Indonesian empire, begins to support insurgents in attacks across the 970 mile border between Kalimantan, Sarawak and Sabah on the island of Borneo. Between the declaration of the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963 and 1966, Indonesian insurgents and troops were also inserted into Singapore and Malaya by Lockheed Hercules of the Indonesian Air Force (AURI).

In response, the British armed forces mount an intensive counter-insurgency operation in order to guarantee the security of the states making up the new Malaysian Federation. The British Army presence in Sarawak and Sabah was supported by RAF transport aircraft and helicopters. An Air Defence Identification Zone was established over Sarawak and Sabah, policed by the Hawker Hunters of No.20 Squadron and the Gloster Javelins of No.60 and No.64 Squadrons from RAF Stations Kuching and Labuan. Eventually, hostilities came to end following the conclusion of a peace treaty on 11 August 1966.

23 May
Following the Nassau Conference of 18-22 December 1962, the RAF Medium Bomber Force (MBF), or 'V-force', was assigned to the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe for the targetting, planning, co-ordination and execution of nuclear strikes. However, Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Bomber Command retained day-to-day control of the force and the Air Ministry continued to be responsible for the MBF's efficiency and war readiness. Moreover, the British Government reserved the right to withdraw the MBF where United Kingdom supreme national interests were judged to be at stake.

1 June
A unified command structure, Far East Command, is introduced in the Far East. Far East Air Force became the primary air element within this new tri-Service command.

6 June
Three standards (a record for one occasion) are presented to Nos. 203, 204 and 210 Squadrons by Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret at RAF Ballykelly.

1 September
Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Elworthy succeeds Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Thomas Pike as Chief of the Air Staff.

17 September
The Ballistic Missile Early Warning Station at RAF Fylingdales in Yorkshire is declared operational. The station subsequently commenced sustained operations on 15 January 1964.

19 September
The formation of the state of Malaysia on 16 September 1963 results in an upsurge in hostility towards the United Kingdom nationals living and working in Indonesia. Three Armstrong Whitworth Argosys of No.215 Squadron, together with a Handley Page Hastings of No.48 Squadron begin to airlift any British citizens that wish to leave Indonesia to Singapore . Some four hundred passengers were flown out over the next few days.