as soon as the Harriers were retired and has not merely helped to maintain a kernel of jet pilots in the Fleet Air Arm, but given them unparalleled combat and embarked big flight deck maritime aviation experience. All of which will be of immense benefit when the Queen Elizabeth class carriers are fully operational. Across in the States there are 28 RN pilots, from those at the cutting edge of the F-35B in Edwards and Beaufort, to pilots undergoing advanced fast-jet training at Meridian in Mississippi. At any one time, around ten British naval aviators are serving on frontline US Navy squadrons, for some this has resulted in ninemonth operational combat deployments, flying F-18s on and off the decks of US Navy carriers. “It’s gone far beyond merely giving pilots experience of operating from aircraft
carriers,” Cdr Blackmore says. “It means there is massive combat and embarked experience in theatres such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria. “Ten officers have completed deployments to the Middle East, with many more having operated globally with the US Navy and Marine Corps; this vast experience will significantly eliminate the risk of delivering carrier strike over the next decade.”
FOR the past five years, since the Jetstream was retired, the King Air Avenger, its instructors and support staff have continued to ensure that aircrew of the future are well grounded and prepared to join a frontline conversion unit. Since the introduction of the Avenger and UK Military Flying Training System, the squadron has continued in its core roll to conduct Basic Flying Training (BFT) for observers, with 62 graduates from a course which now spans 16 weeks. During that time, they are taught the fundamentals of navigation, aviation and tactical decision making. Up to 16 students a year pass through 750 NAS on basic flying training – around four per course, sometimes only two... “so there are no places to hide,” as instructor Lt Ross Hill points out. Training consists of ‘synthetic sorties’ in a newly-refurbished simulator complex; in addition, students spend around 30 hours airborne, introducing them to the real dynamics of aviation. When students do climb into an Avenger for a sortie, there’s one-to-one instruction for the next couple of hours as the aircraft reaches heights of up to 10,000ft and down to 700ft, heading as far east as Yeovilton, west into the Atlantic and south to the border of French airspace. It’s an area rich in contacts and ideal for training these budding aviators who are put through their paces from homing in on shipping to low-level navigation. Following successful graduation, personnel move to Merlin and Wildcat conversion units where they will learn how to use helicopter-specific weapons and sensors to earn their wings. www.navynews.co.uk
LT CDR Peter Whitehead commands both the largest and smallest squadron in the Fleet Air Arm. Largest? More airframes than any other unit. Smallest? You can fit all of them in a small office. No need for a hangar. These aircraft fit in boxes. 700X (X for ’xperimental) is the RN’s only drone squadron (Remotely Piloted Air Systems (RPAS) is the preferred official term). It’s overseen the use of ScanEagle in the Gulf and Indian Ocean for more than four years. But more and more the specialist unit is looking at downsizing, picking drones off the shelf (literally – they’re stored in boxes stacks of shelves; metaphorically because this is tech well within the budget of gadget enthusiasts). So among its inventory are the DJI Inspire, the Phantom 4 (controlled via an iPad), and the wonderfully-named Parrot Bebop (you can pick one up for under £180). ScanEagle flies for hours; the smaller quad copter drones (despite coming under the fixed-wing banner, the bulk of 700X’s machines are rotary wing...) have a battery life of just 20-30 minutes in most cases – long enough to support the beginning of a boarding operation or conduct a survey of a ship’s mast. It’s the squadron’s job to evaluate these systems and train personnel to operate them in a military or naval environment; you can’t just pick up a drone and fly it in the direction of a warship. “These are part of the future,” says Peter. “And we’re just scratching the surface of what they can do. There’s tremendous potential. “But they also pose a threat – one question we are looking at is
how to stop them flying in our airspace.” There have been numerous instances of drones flying into the Heathrow and Gatwick flight paths and ISIS forces have been looking to put weapons on to small drones. The RN is not looking at weapon-carrying drones, but it is investigating beyond the realms of just surveillance. Top of the list at present is the life-saving drone: launched from HMS Queen Elizabeth if someone falls overboard, the device would follow the carrier’s wake, using the same technology as on Hawkeye in tennis/cricket to locate a body in the water, before releasing a life raft for the sailor to climb into while a rescue boat arrives (which could take up to 30 minutes). Although Peter has designed it with QE in mind, it has potential in Civvy Street if developed for cruise ships, the RNLI or ferries. And internet giant Amazon is looking at drones to deliver parcels. Why not do the same on the battlefield, delivering food, ammunition and other supplies to Royal Marines – without risking their comrades or vehicles?
WHILE aircraft like the F-35 provide the Navy with revolutionary technical potential, that potential can only be unlocked by the people who operate it. Since the early 1950s, the Royal Navy has screened its pilot candidates during officer training. This intense 13-hour ‘flying grading’ selection course reduces the risk of failures during the more expensive flying training courses that are to come, and is a key part of maintaining the high standard of trainee Royal Navy pilots. Since 2001 the job has fallen to 727 Naval Air Squadron – ‘the front door of Naval aviation’ – now based at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset. With the Navy pilot cadre growing, so has the job of 727. Now responsible for delivering up to 12 Elementary Flying Training graduates per year, the squadron provides the foundation training for the next generation of Royal Navy aviators, adding to the capacity of the wider flying training system. “727 has always been a rich seam of flying experience,” says CO Lt Cdr Jim Ashlin. “As well as using it to select entrants to flying training, we are getting even more value now by using it to impart the fundamentals that will prepare our young pilots for their future on the front-line, whether that is flying F-35 from the carriers or as Merlin pilots deployed alongside the Royal Marines.” FEBRUARY 2018 : 17