Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing domestic Remotely Piloted Aircraft System pilot training capability.

Mike Penning

The Armed Forces continually assesses aircrew training requirements and the efficacy of its training capability to ensure it is fit for purpose.

Specialist flying training for RAF Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) pilots who are not previously qualified and experienced military pilots starts with a bespoke version of Elementary Flying Training on the Tutor aircraft. All pilots then conduct MQ-9 Reaper-specific conversion training and qualifications in the USA. Once this training is completed pilots in the RPAS Pilot branch are awarded their wings. MQ-9 Reaper conversion training is currently conducted at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico and Creech Air Force Base, Nevada using a mix of US and UK facilities and instructors.

Watchkeeper training is conducted in both the UK mainland and at the British base on the British Overseas Territory of Ascension Island. All basic manned flying training, theory training and simulator training is conducted in mainland UK, students then deploy to Ascension Island for the live flying elements of their course.

Desert Hawk 3 training is conducted in both the UK and USA. All theory training is conducted in the UK but some live flying is conducted in Camp Roberts California.