he Royal International
Air Tattoo (RIAT) in
Gloucestershire is no
longer just about aircraft or family
entertainment over the mid-July
weekend. This year 28 aerospace
companies – the largest
number ever at RIAT – took up
chalets over a half-mile stretch
overlooking the runway. This is
the place where, once a year, the
Royal Air Force talks business
in a relaxed environment.
High-ranking officers at RIAT
included the RAF Chief of the
Air Staff (CAS), Air Chief Marshal
Sir Stephen Hillier. And there
was no shortage of senior
executives from the corporate
world at a time when the UK
Ministry of Defence (MOD) is
outsourcing so much of its work.All three of the MOD’s new fixed-
wing trainers – which form part
of the Military Flying Training
System (MFTS) – were on display.
The Grob 120TP Prefect, Embraer
Phenom 100 and Beechcraft
T-6 Texan II were parked
together in the static display
for the first time. The MOD has
worked with training design and
delivery organisation Ascent to
manage the MFTS programme.
Meanwhile, Affinity Flying
Training Services (a consortium
comprising KBR and Elbit
Systems) takes care of the fleets.A new era of
training support
The MOD’s 15-year Air Support
to Defence Operational Training
(ASDOT) deal will start on January1, 2020, and is said to be worth
around £1.2bn. ASDOT comprises
a complex set of aggressor-
type training requirements
for all three of the UK’s armed
services and has attracted
much attention from industry.
The Royal Navy (RN) will use
ASDOT to support Flag Officer
Sea Training (FOST) for the fleet,
covering electronic warfare (EW)
and the simulation of missile
attacks. Much of this already
happens during the RN’s weekly
‘Thursday War’ exercises on
the south coast. For the British
Army, ASDOT will be used to train
Joint Terminal Attack Controllers
(JTACs). Ultimately, it will take
over the RAF’s aggressor training,
currently provided by No 100
Squadronat RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire.
First, however, the MOD will
define its requirements by
listening to the bidders, coming
up with a flexible solution that
can be fine-tuned if required.
Cobham Aviation, which is based
at Bournemouth Airport and
flies Dassault Falcon 20s with
podded EW systems, fulfils much
of current aggressor training
requirements under a contract
known as ‘020’. The company
works alongside the RN’s 736
Naval Air Squadron at RNAS
Culdrose, Cornwall, and the RAF’s
No 100 Squadron, which both fly
Hawk T1s. Cobham and the
Hawks fly constantly
throughout the
year on various
exercises. WhileRED AIR, BLUE AIR
T
32 // SEPTEMBER 2017 #354 http://www.airforcesmonthly.comINTEL REPORT