Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to address delays in the Forces flying training programme.

The Royal Air Force manages the UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) on behalf of Defence and constantly reviews flying training pipeline performance. Measures are introduced as and when required in order to strike the best balance between pipeline supply and the frontline demand for new pilots. In addressing training delays, end-to-end training pipeline measures are considered, as well as working with allies and partners to examine whether UK pilots could be trained overseas and where we might pool our resources to mutual benefit.

To this end, in the last 12-months improvements across the UKMFTS flying training pipelines have included: increasing UKMFTS trainee throughput by improving syllabi, training delivery and course sequencing; while also maximising use of pilots being trained on the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training programme in the USA, and a three year agreement with the International Flight Training School in Italy for provision of some training places.