UK Military Flying Training System

The UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) takes UK armed forces aircrew from initial training through, elementary, basic and advanced flying training phases preparing them for their arrival at their designated operational aircraft units. It is operated by Ascent Flight Training, a consortium of Lockheed Martin and Babcock International under a 25 year Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract for the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD). Apart from the overall contract, the main elements of the system include fixed-wing elementary, basic, multi-engine and fast-jet pilot training, rear crew training and rotary-wing (helicopter) training.

Stuctural and contractual arrangements
Contractually, the Directorate of Flight Training of No. 22 Group RAF (DFT) is the user, Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) is the customer and Ascent Flight Training is the training service provider. Organisationally, the RAF's DFT is in charge of:
 * Headquarters Central Flying School at RAF Cranwell
 * No.1 Flying Training School at RAF Linton-on-Ouse
 * Defence Helicopter Flying School at RAF Shawbury
 * No.3 Flying Training School at RAF Cranwell
 * No.4 Flying Training School at RAF Valley

Background
Contractorisation of flying training was discussed in 2000. Bombardier Aerospace (Bombardier) had been given a PFI contract in July 1998 to replace Bulldog aircraft with the Grob ‘Tutor’ and also maintain them at the University Air Squadrons. 132 Bulldog primary trainers were ordered for delivery in 1973 and 1974 for use in Air Experience Flights but mostly for the University Air Squadrons. 90 Grob Tutor basic trainer aircraft were supplied on a 10-year supply and maintenance contract for university air squadrons and air cadets, from 1999.

The MoD expected to consider similar PFI contracts when Tucano and Hawk aircraft were replaced. 130 Tucano two seat, tandem, fully aerobatic turboprops, were on order in February 1989. The Hawk T1 advanced jet trainer entered RAF service in 1977, with 116 aircraft ordered

The Defence Costs Study had recommended that initial pilot training for multi-engine pilots should be civilianised. In February 1999, the Department had invited proposals for a restructured and civilianised multi-engine initial pilot training system, based on a long term PFI contract. The MoD had not progressed these proposals as they were then reviewing options for closer industry involvement in the delivery of flying training.

Main contract
In December 2002, £39m was approved for assessment of the UKMFTS, £2m of this related to the Advanced Jet Trainer and it was assumed that a PFI would be the method of funding.

Four consortia were in competition for the 25 year MFTS programme in 2004. Proposals had to include the financing and provision of new aircraft and training facilities. The four groups were:
 * BAE Systems (BAES), Serco and Bombardier.
 * Rolls-Royce, Lockheed Martin and VT Group.
 * Boeing and Thales.
 * Kellogg Brown & Root, EG&G and Lear Siegler.

BAES pulled out of the bidding in April 2004, citing a conflict of interest as it was supplying the Hawks for the fast-jet training program. BAES, had been part of a consortium that included Serco and Bombardier. At the close of 2006, the MFTS contract was awarded to the Ascent consortium which included VT Group and Lockheed Martin. The 25-year PFI contract, to outsource training of military pilots and air crew of all three UK armed forces to the private sector,  was valued at £6 billion. The system was expected to be fully operational by 2012.

The MoD reported, in 2008, that the proposed UKMFTS would deliver a coherent, flexible and integrated flying training capability catering for the needs of the Royal Navy, RAF and AAC. The system was judged, at the time, to be at risk of being unable to deliver the required quantity and quality of aircrew to meet the input standard for the operational conversion units. The existing training platforms were approaching the end of their useful lives and included outdated systems that were unable to prepare trainees for current and future frontline aircraft. The system was based on a number of separate contractual arrangements for the provision of equipment and support. Consequently the system was piecemeal, difficult to manage and inefficient. It also introduced significant delays due to lengthy training programmes and gaps between courses. The focus was to achieve a holistic system based on capability and service delivery and not solely about the provision of aircraft platforms. It was to offer an opportunity to modernise the flying-training processes for all three services, realise efficiencies and, since training was then spread across several organisations, take advantage of potential economies of scale. £39 million was allocated for assessment of a Public Private Partnership Contactual Partnering model, utilising a mix of Private Finance Initiative and conventional procurement. This envisaged the appointment of a Training System Partner to work with the MoD over the life of the project to deliver incrementally the total aircrew training requirement.

In February 2011, the Ascent Flight Training consortium was in in the final stages of selecting and introducing new equipment and infrastructure, including ground-based training systems. Royal Navy basic training courses would use new Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350ERs and BAE Systems Hawk T2 advanced jet trainers would be introduced for RAF training.

Elementary, basic and multi-engine pilot training
At the close of 2012, the Lockheed Martin-Babcock consortium running the MFTS re-launched a competition for a contractor to supply and support fixed-wing elementary aircraft. This part of the project had been on hold because of the UK's strategic defence and security review. As of July 2014, delayed by reviews and uncertainty over future numbers. Competitors were:

Royal Navy
This covers Royal Navy observer training for aircrew destined for Lynx, Sea King and Merlin helicopter squadrons. Stage 1 training for Royal Navy rear aircrew was established, in late 2011, at RAF Barkston Heath using the MoD’s existing Grob 115Es, and at RNAS Culdrose, using four Ascent-owned King Air 350ERs.

Royal Air Force
The Hawker Siddeley Dominie was retired in 2011 after 45 years in service. It had been used in the training of Navigators, Weapons Systems Officers, Air Electronics Operators Air Engineers and Air Loadmasters. RAF rear crew training (RCT2) was, in July 2014, still delayed by reviews and uncertainty over future numbers.

Rotary-wing training (RWT)
In October 1996 a contract was placed with FBS, a company formed between Flight Refuelling Aviation, Bristows Helicopters Ltd and SERCo. This 15-year contract not only covered the engineering and supply aspects already in place, but also included the provision of the 35 Squirrel HT1 and Griffin HT1 helicopters for the Defence Helicopter Flying School at RAF Shawbury. In practice, FBS now sub-contracts the support of the DHFS and RAF Shawbury to FB Heli Services (formerly FR Aviation Services) thus maintaining the partnership between the company and RAF Shawbury forged over the 5 years previous to that contract. Also included in the contract was the provision of 40% of the helicopter instructors, Operations Support staff and Flight Systems Operators in the Central Air Traffic Control School.

The UKMFTS training helicopters acquisition program had been shelved by mid 2012, but a four-year extension was granted to the FB Heliservices contract to run the DHFS at RAF Shawbury. FB Heliservices, which had already run DHFS for 15 years, was a joint venture between Cobham and Bristow Helicopters.

In 2013, Ascent proposed modified versions of the bids originally provided by the two contestants for the requirement: AgustaWestland and Alphar (a Eurocopter, FB Heliservices and CAE consortium). The contract was for a ten year interim period rather than the full life of the MFTS PFI.

The Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) organisation announced, in September 2014,  that six companies had been invited to  bid on the new Rotary Wing Training Programme (RWTP) that will replace the old Defence Helicopter Flying School (DHFS) out-sourcing contract,  in place since 1997. The MoD anticipated selecting the winning bid in 2016, with the new service becoming operational in 2018.

Advanced Jet Trainer
The MoD required an Advanced Jet Trainer for pre-operational training of fast-jet pilots. It was then being carried out using the BAE Systems Hawk, which would need to be replaced in the tactical weapons training role from 2010 onwards. The full range of skills required for aircrew to fly front-line aircraft could not then be gained using the Hawk, so more training on operational aircraft had to be undertaken. The introduction of the Eurofighter Typhoon and the future Joint Combat Aircraft exacerbated this training gap such that the required standard for Typhoon aircrew was not achievable with the Hawk.

The Advanced Jet Trainer was to be the fast jet element of the UKMFTS programme, with a modern glass cockpit environment, modern avionics, front-line sensor simulation and weapons and a flexible and upgradeable mission system. The requirement included support, infrastructure and a ground based training environment. It was enisage that it could eventually be subsumed within the main UKMTS.

The £1bn deal to supply up 31 BAES Hawks was said to be at risk in early 2003 because the MoD wanted to compare the BAES bid with the Italian Aermacchi M-346. The MoD had wanted a leasing deal under the private finance initiative (PFI), to transfer risk to the contractor rather than buy aircraft outright,  with at least 11,000 flying hours a year being required. The upfront costs of developing and building the new aircraft, while waiting for lease payments, were not favoured by BAES, and the first PFI proposal that was submitted in March 2003 was considered too expensive by the Treasury.

By April 2003, UK ministers had rejected calls for full-scale international competition against manufacturers of the M-346 and the T-50 Golden Eagle. The future of the Brough site would have been in serious doubt had BAeS lost the contract. Although the Hawk had been designed in the 1970s, BAe had offered an updated version with advanced avionics plus an upgraded Rolls-Royce engine.

Gordon Brown tried to intervene but was over-ruled by Tony Blair in a dispute against Geoff Hoon. Brown had wanted to reduce costs by putting the contract out to competitive tender, but jobs and export orders were considered more important. The purchase cost of the 44 aircraft was expected to be around £800 million. The original proposal envisaged BAES providing both the new training system and the Hawk 128 jets in a PFI arrangement. But the BAES package was judged unaffordable by the Treasury. The remainder of UKMFTS contract, estimated to be worth about £9 billion at the time, would therefore be opened up to competition as a separate contract. Ministerial Direction was given to conventionally procure 20 Hawk 128s from BAES, with an option for a further 24 on 30 Jul 2003. The decision is reported to have saved at least 470 BAES jobs at Brough in east Yorkshire.

A £31m contract was placed with BAES to cover risk reduction activities to October 2003. In November 2004, approval was given for a combined assessment & development phase at up to £196m and completion by August 2008, with the assessment phase element being approximately £75m. The MoD awarded a Design and Development Contract to BAE Systems on 22 December 2004. The Hawk 128 Advanced Jet Trainer aircraft was expected to cost approximately £3.5 billion throughout 20 year lifetime. According to the National Audit Office (United Kingdom): in August 2006, approval was reached for a  figure of up to £497m with an estimated 80% confidence level of achieving this. This approval set the aircraft build standard, definition of in-service date, key system requirements and aircraft numbers''.

The RAF began receiving the first Hawk T2s in 2009, as the start of the long term replacement for the ageing T1s.Hawk T2 Advanced jet training was to be carried out at at RAF Valley. Training operations on the Hawk T2 began in April 2012.