Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the area of operations is for Texan T1 trainer aircraft operating out of RAF Valley.

The airspace around Wales is crowded and has developed over many years to deconflict safely the competing requirements of both civil and military users. The areas immediately to the north of RAF Valley over the Irish Sea contain some of the busiest civil airways, with stringent civil air traffic control procedures. The Texan Course is split between two primary requirements; roughly half of the course is training in general aircraft handling and military tactics; while the other half of the course concentrates on air traffic control procedures, instrument flying and navigation.

The primary areas of operation for the general aircraft handling phase include the RAF Valley and RAF Mona Military Aerodrome Traffic Zones, the Valley Aerial Tactics Area and the North Wales Military Training Area as these areas offer the best training advantage in this phase and safe deconfliction from the civil airways. The Texan fleet looks to distribute training as much as is practicable within those airspace constraints and will also occasionally use the Aberporth Danger Area complex D201 in Cardigan Bay/Bae Ceredigion when it is available.

In the navigation phase of the course, training is routinely distributed farther afield to other areas of the United Kingdom, often using civil airways and landing at another aerodrome to refuel. The airways of the Holyhead Control Area (CTA) in the Irish Sea immediately north of RAF Valley can also be used during this phase by Texan aircraft to enable these transits.