487 kilometers north of Brunei is Saranei, an island nation a little smaller than Wales. After it was liberated at the end of WW2, and the last British vessel, the escort carrier HMS Thruster, removed the last of the garrison, the Sultan wrote a new law.
This law stated that no other nation would ever be allowed to station regular military on Saranei again. Friendly nations would be allowed three days R+R for no more than 72 hours, for up to 100 personnel.
This peaceful island was rather a technology backwater although it did have a small police air wing including a search & rescue unit, but this was mostly contracted out.
All was well until late 1976 when natural gas and oil reared their ugly heads, in Territorial waters.
Relations with Britain had always been strong, and it was a British company that found the gas and oil, so it was that Britain was asked to assist in guarding the new wealth of the nation of Saranei.
Group Captain P Rune, a successful WW2 fighter pilot, suggested that to get around the law of foreign regular troops on Saranei, the Royal auxiliary air force be re constituted, so that with a little admin, personnel could be routed to the auxiliaries and attached to SEAC, to provide the new defence requirement.
Initially, the Royal navy covered the job until, with a little work, RAF Lightning F3's were used to re create 609 sqn, the first number out of the hat. Number one servicing unit (auxiliary) and 1,000 sqn RAF Regiment (aux) joined them, under the newly promoted Air Commodore Rune, and they all set up shop on a reworked strip made by the Japanese in WW2.
The F3 was of course very limited, but fortunately Kuwait, in 1977, returned it's F53 and T55 models, which BAC managed to improve even more.
So, with three of the earlier F52's, fifteen F10 and two much less modified T9 Lightnings were issued to 609, complete with proper SEAC markings.
Full operations with the latest models began in January 1979, and a second runway provided for emergencies.
