Forty-eight of the 119 trainee fast jet pilots currently in the Royal Air Force’s training pipeline are in some form of holding pattern, either parked on a holdover between courses or waiting in line to begin their front-line operational conversion unit, in figures that suggest the long-running bottleneck in British fast jet training has yet to be cleared.

The numbers came in a pair of written answers issued on Monday by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, Louise Sandher-Jones, replying to questions from the Conservative MP for Huntingdon, Ben Obese-Jecty.

As of the first of June there were 119 trainees in the pipeline between officer training at RAF Cranwell and the point at which they would join a front-line operational conversion unit, with 36 of those “on a holdover between UK Military Flying Training System courses” and a further 12 waiting to commence their OCU.

A holdover is the term used by the RAF for a trainee pilot who has finished one stage of the syllabus but is not yet able to start the next, usually because there is no aircraft, instructor or course place available, with those pilots often filling time on ground tours and other duties while losing flying currency and costing the service money.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

35 COMMENTS

    • It’s been a hot topic in my work this morning. But following the Dassault CEO’s comments about not needing Airbus and that they don’t bring anything meaningful to the table. I think the writing was on the wall from then. France have a habit of burning their bridges, when it comes to collaboration projects. Just this one is going to cost them significantly more than when they binned out of the Eurofighter programme, if they choose to go ahead alone. I think Spain will stay, as they publicly seemed happy with the work share.

        • I’ve gained $17,240 only within four weeks by comfortably working part-time from home. Immediately when I had lost my last business, I was very troubled and thankfully I’ve located this project now in this way I’m in a position to receive thousand USD directly from home. Each individual certainly can do this easy work & make more greenbacks online by visiting

          following website—.,.,.,.,.,.,.,—>>> P­a­y­A­t­H­o­m­e­1.C­o­m

    • The UK/Japan/Italy one is in equal mess, with Japan indicating it’s considering walking away because of lack of commitment by the UK.

      • I’ll take your word for it but what strikes me is the percentage of the number in training. I could understand a handful but having over 40% of trainees not actually training needs to be sorted.

        • It does. It’s a good number coming through the training pipeline. But those gaps need to be shorter. Back in the day, many new pilots would have become instructors on the Hawk, before heading off to a OCU a couple of years later.

          • I’ve gained $17,240 only within four weeks by comfortably working part-time from home. Immediately when I had lost my last business, I was very troubled and thankfully I’ve located this project now in this way I’m in a position to receive thousand USD directly from home. Each individual certainly can do this easy work & make more greenbacks online by visiting

            following website—.,.,.,.,.—>>> J­o­b­a­t­Ho­m­e­1.C­o­m

      • Officers who are aircrew used to be called “General Service” and could expect to be given ground tours at any time … are they still? I don’t buy the “costing service money” bit… if they’re doing ground tours they are are earning their keep doing a real job and it’s actually good for their general grasp of the complexity of the RAF. The pilot is at the apex of dozens of airmen and women and officers who get their aircraft and them ready for a mission.. they need to understand the whole picture. Despite the jokes pilots are not just drivers! I’m sure it’s frustrating to wait… but not as frustrating as being told you’re not fit enough to fly… which was me! Of course, the reason for the backlog is another thing altogether… and needs sorting asap.

  3. 12 waiting at the OCUs doesn’t seem too bad, given the lack of aircraft and QFIs. They’ve gone through the system from Elementary, to Basic, to Advanced.
    We keep hearing that simulators are now the big thing, shouldn’t they aleviate things somewhat? I guess it doesn’t beat the real thing.
    I think the Central Flying School that trained the trainers was also shafted by HMG long ago as well.
    The other 36, well. Maybe if the wonderful privatised MFTS which took an established RAF training organisation and closed its FTS and threw away most of it’s assets, hadn’t existed maybe there’d be less of a problem?
    I’ll have to look back in time for the recriminations to see which of the imbecile uni parties was to blame for this one….
    A few raw facts. Hundreds of Tucano originally bought, exact number off my head I don’t recall, 170 something? Had reduced to 70 odd I think in more recent times.
    Then….👏 👏 👏 👏 RAF Linton on Ouse and an entire Flying Training School ( 1 FTS ) and it’s dedicated airspace was closed and “replaced” and “modernised” by a single Sqn using Texan T1s as part of the existing 4 FTS at RAF Valley, which is the advanced segment with Hawk.
    A whole NINE aircraft, which I think has now risen to the lofty heights of 13?
    With the cutting of 1 FTS, I would imagine many of the experienced flying instructors went as well.
    And I believe the civilian companies now involved recruit ex military pilots in the same role?
    That’s just the “Basic” level of the system.
    Further along, the problems with Hawk T2 will have impacted, and the Typhoons at OCU getting fewer with front line commitments.
    👏 👏 👏

    • It’s really a pitiful state of affairs, when you consider when it was RAF run, Countries would send their trainee pilots to the UK. Now its the other way round. I have a feeling this was one of those jobs for the boys, when some ex-RAF pilots said they could deliver as a good a service but cost less. It’s gone down hill ever since. But I can’t understand why it has been left to rot for so long?

      • No idea. Maybe there are a lot of areas where rot needs stopping?
        More assets, less holdup. Same with all areas, our lack of mass hamstrings us everywhere, while for HMG, it was all about being more flexible and agile.
        As Robert says above, you’ll still get hold ups, but in a bigger RAF maybe it didn’t impact the way it does now?

      • It is simply easier to cheesepair subcontracted costs.

        Keep telling yourself that the private sector can step in when a wand is waved.

        • Indian instructors came to the UK to help us out, or at least that was what was under the recent UK / India deal. May be they haven’t arrived yet..?

          It’s a shambles.

          Privatisation doesn’t always work, but since the ’80’s every government has indulged in selling public assets off. Some were justified, but many have cost the country dearly it seems.

          Cheers CR

          Cheers CR

          • Its a strange one that. We always here about the privatisation of everything, but we also know the Civil Service now employs 100,000 more people than 2019.
            500,000 Civil Servants in total but productivity has gone down in recent years.
            Productivity going down is a scandal in this day and age.
            What do they all do?

            • There was a considerable increase in Civil Service during the Covid Pandemic which at the time was understandable. However, it seems that numbers have not returned to pre pandemic levels which is what should have happened.

              As for productivity, the Civil Service will forever be hampered by ever changing political policies, but they should be trained and equipped to respond such changes and be able to do so efficiently.

              Cheer CR

              • 100,000 extra people is alot of bodies to be getting falling output out the other end. Would never happen in the private sector. No wonder debt is 100% of GDP! Cheers.

                • It’s all the extra committees they need so they can talk about everything but do nothing. It needs a lot of people to organise all that.

          • Rarely get better service from Privatisation..too many brown envelopes to fill.
            Still its only the countrys defence, nothing important, when the crap hits the fan, the mineys safe

    • Hello mate,

      It wasn’t hard to see this coming when they first cut the training fleet back to the bone decades ago. I remember talking about at the time and saying it wouldn’t work.

      The thing is cut the fleet back and you have to wonder what the experienced fast jet pilot instructors are going to do. Hang around doing boring ground posts or put their papers in and be bored sitting in a airliner cockpit that mostly flies itself straight and level. At least the latter pays well and you could buy your family a decent home to live in..!

      Might have saved the contractors a few bob to start with but the cost in capability is really serious in the current geopolitical situation and putting things right in time to fight a war that might be closer than anyone thinks is going to be huge. As we know this isn’t the only area where the services are struggling to train and retain people. How often do we hear that the RN is struggling to generate enough crews for the few ships it has left. That is not down to overall numbers from what I have read, but to a lack of certain key specialists, and they don’t come any more specialist than fast jet pilots.

      Cheers CR

  4. The irony that the conservatives are complaining about this isn’t lost on me, their austerity of the 2010’s promulgated this and now they’re the ones complaining?

    • The MFTS started in 2008, I just checked.
      Another at Labour’s door, and there are many
      The Tories just run with it then saved more money by closing RAF Linton on Ouse.
      But yes, they have not a leg to stand on regards Defence.

    • This has nothing to do with “austerity” which is another word to not have big deficits and consequent big debt.

      This has everything to do with political-media-education complex that wants the huge pile of taxpayer money for other proposes.

  7. We could at least have British pilots in the main article photograph. They appear to be Qatari pilots at Leeming

  9. I’ve gained $17,240 only within four weeks by comfortably working part-time from home. Immediately when I had lost my last business, I was very troubled and thankfully I’ve located this project now in this way I’m in a position to receive thousand USD directly from home. Each individual certainly can do this easy work & make more greenbacks online by visiting

    following website—.,.,.,.,.—>>> J­o­b­a­t­Ho­m­e­1.C­o­m

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here