The UK defence company Inzpire has delivered its GECO mission support system to the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, in time for the 2026 display season, the company has said.
Inzpire, part of the QinetiQ Group, describes GECO as a modern digital enhancement to the team’s Hawk aircraft, designed to improve aircrew situational awareness and enable safer and more efficient operations. The end-to-end capability delivers data directly to the pilot to assist with pre-flight planning, transit sorties and flypasts, as well as post-flight debriefs, the company says.
On the ground, the system provides access to the latest airspace information, including an integrated Notice to Air Mission service for up-to-date flight hazards and restrictions, helping pilots verify the safety and accuracy of their plans and flagging potential issues before they fly. The airborne element, a tablet, has been specifically adapted and cockpit-mounted so that Red Arrows pilots can maximise their heads-up time and view the interface in their natural forward field of vision rather than looking down. After each flight, GPS data recorded on the tablet allows a comprehensive debrief and replay of the sortie, letting the team synchronise recorded flight data against video footage for detailed analysis.
John Sweet, Director of Mission Systems at Inzpire, said GECO had “helped improve the safety and efficiency of flight operations and training for many years”, and that it was good to see the Red Arrows benefiting from the technology. The company, he said, was pleased to support the team to “plan and deliver their iconic displays to crowds all over the country”.
Inzpire worked alongside BAE Systems, which provides support to the Red Arrows’ fleet, to integrate the system, and is now working to bring an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast data feed into the cockpit-mounted tablet. The current ADS-B capability requires pilots to look down at a device on their knee, but engineers are working to install an upgrade later this year that would enhance situational awareness and reduce the risk of mid-air collision, a consideration that has come into sharper focus given the close-formation flying at the heart of the team’s displays.
More than a thousand GECO systems have been delivered across over 22 platforms worldwide, ranging from Apache and Chinook helicopters to F-16 fast jets, and the Red Arrows now join a growing UK user community that includes the UK Military Flying Training System and UK Joint Aviation Command.
