National Audit Office publishes report into Military Flight Training

Today 4th September, the National Audit Office (NAO) has published a report following its investigation into Military Flying Training.

Ascent Management Limited, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Babcock International, was awarded a contract in 2008 to be the Ministry of Defence’s Training Service Partner as part of the UK’s Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS).

Ascent is responsible for designing the overall systems used for training the UK’s air crews and delivering that training capability.

Ascent is deploying every resource to support the military forces as we work toward full operations for the Military Flying Training System in April 2020. There are currently 102 aircraft across seven types in service, and the final 10 aircraft are planned to start student training shortly. We have delivered over 60 simulators (including high fidelity Full Mission Simulators) and are using the latest in virtual reality technology.

Responding to today’s report from the NAO, Tim James, Managing Director of Ascent Flight Training said:

“We are driving forward the biggest transformation in military flying training, re-designing the way that crews across all three Services learn to operate aircraft. From state-of-the-art simulators to brand new aircraft, students are using the latest innovative technology to prepare them for the frontline.

We acknowledge there have been challenges, many of which have been out of our control; and we continue to work closely with the Ministry of Defence to accelerate training, build upon the significant progress to date and deliver this critical flying training system capability”