Prime Minister visits Ascent facilities at RAF Valley

Ascent MD, Tim James was delighted to welcome Prime Minister, Boris Johnson and Anglesey MP, Virginia Crosbie to the Ascent facilities during a visit to RAF Valley yesterday. Ascent is a proud local Anglesey employer, investing in the local economy through the growth of our business and provision of new employment opportunities.

The Prime Minister said: “RAF Valley is training the UK’s next generation of world-class fighter pilots, and a recent boost of £175 million will provide further opportunities to more students – along with supporting new facilities and creating local jobs.
He went on to say: “It was fantastic to see the aircraft and meet staff at one of Anglesey’s biggest employers, as we continue to invest in skills and deliver on this Government’s central mission to level up all parts of the UK.”

This new investment will create additional capacity with four new Texan TMk1 aircraft, supported by our sub-contractor Affinity Flying Services; a new high fidelity flight simulator and state of the art mission planning systems from Lockheed Martin; and with new facilities provided by Babcock International. UK MOD trainees and instructors will benefit from truly modern training facilities creating the next generation of military aviators. 
The broader UK MFTS enterprise at RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales will also benefit from this significant investment as new long-term skilled jobs will be created including flying instructors, operations staff and a range of engineering roles.

After looking around the Texan and Hawk T2 aircraft and speaking to some of the trainee pilots – as well as civilian engineers and technicians, the Prime Minister was able to view the training facilities that is training front-line pilots that are second to none. 

Virginia Crosbie, MP said:
“It is a pleasure to showcase to our Prime Minister businesses like Ascent who have become a key part of our local drive to provide high tech, highly skilled roles here in Anglesey.  
Thank you to Tim and the Ascent team for supporting today’s visit, providing the opportunity for the Prime Minister to experience first-hand these state of the art facilities which will be key in training the next generation of UK MOD aviators.”