Fixing chronic problems with flying training was RAF chief’s ‘only priority’ and could take years to resolve

Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, instructed the head of the Royal Air Force to fix chronic problems with flying training for new pilots as “his only priority”, a defence source has said.

That was more than two-and-a-half years ago.

On Friday, Sky News revealed that the RAF’s flying training is still in crisis, including an “emerging” issue with the Hawk aircraft used by fast jet trainees and concerns about a “damaging drain” of qualified pilots quitting the service for better-paid jobs in industry rather than staying on to fly on operations and instruct new recruits.

The impact of the various challenges means dozens of recruits are stuck in limbo waiting for months – sometimes years – for training slots to open up on fast jet courses as well as those earmarked to fly military transport, spy planes and helicopters.

The ongoing “shambles” raise difficult questions for Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, the chief of the air staff, and other senior RAF leaders as threats from Russia and China rise, according to defence sources. Royal Navy and army trainee aviators are also affected by the situation.

Leaked documents, seen by Sky News, offer a sense of how an increase in demand on frontline fighter squadrons reduces the RAF’s ability to train new recruits because there is an insufficient pool of qualified pilots.

One file said there had been a 65% drop in demand for trainees to learn how to fly the Typhoon fast jet this year, due “predominately to operational tempo”.

This was largely caused by a UK decision to send more fast jets to help defend NATO allies in the east of the alliance following Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February.

Another factor impacting training was the seven-month, maiden deployment of HMS Queen Elizabeth, the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier, to Asia and back last year, a defence source said.

The flagship took with it eight of the UK’s next generation F-35 jets – one of the most expensive defence programmes in history, worth billions of pounds. It also needed qualified RAF and Royal Navy pilots to fly them, impacting on the availability of instructors in the UK.

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“The carrier task forces delayed many months of training,” the defence source said.

Calling on flying instructors to help on operations temporarily when the demand from the frontline grows – such as during the first and second Iraq wars – is nothing new.

Cost-saving cuts mean the size of the RAF has been slashed

The problem the RAF faces now though is because the size of the air force has been slashed so deeply following decades of cost-saving cuts, the need for instructors to take time out from training is happening for relatively small deployments.

Also, because the RAF and its pool of recruits are fewer in number, the effect of any delay in training is more damaging than it would be in a larger force, better suited to absorb shocks.

The air force had around 30 frontline fighter squadrons in 1990. It now has seven. Back then, each warplane in a squadron had two pilots to ensure maximum utility of the jet. That is not the case now, according to a former senior RAF source.

In a sign that problems with training will persist, commanders have warned that resolving delays in the fast jet training pipeline is set to be “incredibly challenging” for the next four to five years, according to one of the leaked files.

Commanders have yet to fully understand the impact of a problem with the compressor blades inside the Rolls Royce-made engines on the Hawk training jets, which appear to have more than halved the length of time the engines can be used.

The note said that the RAF is looking at “every option, some radical,” to tackle the crisis.

Hawk training for recruits takes place at RAF Valley, an air base in Anglesey.

The new pilots then move to the final stage in their training – learning to fly a Typhoon or an F-35.

In a further complication, the drop in demand for recruits to convert onto the Typhoon or the F-35 means that they will need to take refresher courses on the Hawk – further adding pressure on already limited capacity.

“Managing a solution in order to maintain OCU [Operational Conversion Unit] throughput this year and for the next four-to-five years is incredibly challenging given the many variables we face,” the leaked note said.

An RAF spokesperson, responding to questions about the overall problems faced by flying training, said on Friday: “Our people are our greatest asset, and we’re committed to ensuring we attract and retain the best and brightest talent to meet current and future threats.

The spokesperson, in an extra comment on Sunday, said: There is no operational impact and all frontline forces are fully crewed or still growing, such as the F35.”

“Whilst we acknowledge there are challenges with the training pipeline, we are working across defence, with industry and our international partners to improve the training experience and results for our personnel, including recruiting more instructors and actively managing timeframes for training. We continue to have sufficient aircrew to meet our operational commitments.”