Opened in May 1940 as a Royal Naval Aircraft Repair Yard, near Foxbury Point on the opposite bank from the Naval Dockyard at
Portsmouth. The site is an industrial complex with 7 heli-pads. Its name has reflected changes in the management arrangements for military aircraft in the UK. It became RNAY (Royal Naval Aircraft Yard) Fleetlands, then with the drive to cut down big government, it became NARO (
Naval Aircraft Repair Organisation) Fleetlands. In April 1999 it was renamed DARA (Defence Aviation Repair Agency) Fleetlands, in line with the increasingly common handling of aviation matters across the three UK services.
During February 2008, the
DARA Rotary Wing maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility at Fleetlands was acquired by
Vector Aerospace, which began trading on 1 Apr 2008. It continued to support Chinook, Lynx and Sea King helicopters.
Fareham Creek, England
