DHFCS Crimond is a defence communications station which occupies the majority of the former RNAS Rattray, on the southwestern edge of the Loch of Strathbeg, a mile (1.8 km) northeast of the village of Crimond in Aberdeenshire. Its numerous transmitter masts provide a notable landmark, reaching a height of 274m (900 feet).
A Royal Naval Wireless Telegraphy Station was established here in 1978. The site is part of the Defence High Frequency Communications Service, operated commercially by Babcock International since 2004 to provide long-distance strategic communication links between army units, RAF aircraft, Royal Navy warships and headquarters in the UK.
RNAS Rattray (also known as HMS Merganser or Crimond Airfield) was built as a Royal Naval Air Station in 1943 and grew to comprise four intersecting paved runways with support facilities. Several squadrons were based here training on Fairey Barracuda aircraft. The base closed in 1946 but was retained for many years on a care and maintenance basis.
Crimond Raceway now operates on the southern edge of the former air base.
