The Ministry of Defence has confirmed a £360 million commitment to fully recapitalise the RAF’s Jet Training System, including new aircraft for the Red Arrows aerobatic display team, though the number of jets and their in-service dates have yet to be determined.
Ben Obese-Jecty, the Conservative MP for Huntingdon, asked how many training jets would enter service under the recapitalisation referenced in the Defence Investment Plan. Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard replied on 8 July:
“The Defence Investment Plan commits £360 million to the full recapitalisation of the Jet Training System, including the provision of new aircraft for the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows. The programme will deliver a modernised training capability for both UK and international fast-jet training requirements.”
He added that work is under way to define the detailed requirement, delivery approach and procurement strategy, with the government’s commitment at this stage limited to delivering a recapitalised system and new Red Arrows aircraft, and further details to be confirmed as the programme matures.
The Red Arrows have flown the BAE Hawk T1 since 1979, an airframe now approaching half a century old and long since out of production, while the RAF’s broader fast-jet training pipeline also relies on the Hawk T2 for advanced training ahead of the Typhoon and F-35.
A recapitalisation covering both the display team and the wider training system points towards a single replacement type or family serving both roles, though the answer does not name any candidate aircraft, confirm whether the Hawk succession will be met by a new-build jet or an adapted existing type, or state when the current fleet is due to retire.
With that amount of funding? Not many.
There are the 28 Hawk T2 currently, with 4 FTS, and the remaining Hawk T1 for the Reds.
The assets should be increasing to allow flex in the MFTS. As always, numbers continue to drop.
Hope I’m wrong, but with that budget??
To the MOD/HMG this just means we need to replace the 28 + a dozen for the red arrows. The treasury still wouldn’t pay for around 40 so expect cuts with the usual….