The UK urgently needs a new fast-jet training aircraft and for the first time in more than a century of British military flying, all the serious contenders come from outside the country.
That has created a wide-open field for international defence companies and given a complex task to UK procurement officials, who must balance the operational needs of a military under pressure against the political imperative for local engineering jobs – and perhaps even secure the future of the Red Arrows, the Royal Air Force’s iconic aerobatic team.
The UK’s new training aircraft will fill a critical capability gap. The 2025 Strategic Defence Review, published a year ago last week, found that “current arrangements for fast jet training are inadequate, meaning UK pilots are currently sent abroad to train”. It called for training to be “urgently revised”, including through the procurement of a “cost-effective fast jet trainer”.
The Royal Air Force and Royal Navy currently use the BAE Systems Hawk T2 to train their pilots for their frontline fleet of Typhoon and F-35 fighters. But the Hawk has been beset by technical issues, leading to poor rates of availability for student pilots, and is expected to leave service in 2033 or 2034.
The replacement aircraft will likely also need to carry out secondary tasks such as “red air” training for the wider armed forces – simulating enemy tactics and procedures – and for use as a cheaper alternative than the Typhoons or F-35s for basic air-policing tasks like intercepting wayward civilian light aircraft.
British Involvement
Justin Bronk, senior research fellow at the Royal United Service Institute (RUSI), has identified three prime contenders: the Leonardo M-346A from Italy, the Korea Aerospace Industries TA-50, and the joint US/Swedish Boeing/Saab T-7A which also includes the UK’s BAE Systems in its consortium.
Bronk noted that all three candidates were capable in the core training role, and that the competition would therefore come down to political, industrial and secondary operational considerations.
“They all have different strengths and weaknesses on different political and operational calculus points”, he said. “If you’re looking seriously at secondary roles, like red air and light fighter stuff, plus the speed of delivery with the lowest technical risk, then Korea’s TA-50 is the standout.”
“If what you’re prioritizing is UK industrial benefits then the T-7 is probably the standout because of the BAE Systems partnership option,” he continued. “And if you’re trying to chart a middle ground and also consolidate towards closer cooperation with Europe, then M-346 is probably the standout.”
Nick Baird, a procurement specialist and director of aerospace and defence consultancy AVIARM, said industrial policy is likely to outweigh the other factors and deliver the contract to the Boeing/Saab T-7, which can maintain key workforce skills in the UK.
Because the procurement won’t be big enough to justify setting up a new production line, a T-7 order could help sustain BAE’s facility at Wharton, in Northwest England, during the production gap between the current Typhoon jets and the future Global Combat Air Program (GCAP).
“You’ve got to keep Wharton busy until the future [GCAP] comes online, which is going to be 2035 in theory,” said Baird. “The alternative is that Wharton runs out of work, it lays off people, you lose the skills, and then to try and switch production back on down the line would mean big problems.”
Neither the M-346 nor the TA-50 bids include any proposals to involve British industry. But both are already in mass production and are flying with several air forces around the world, making them a faster and less risky proposition. The UK government and military will have to weigh local manufacturing against operational urgency.
Red Alert
There is one more complicating factor, however – the Red Arrows. They use an older variant of the Hawk, the T1, which needs replacing even more urgently.
“The Red Arrows’ Hawks are old aeroplanes, they’re fatigued, and we only have three-and-a-half years to source a replacement before they are due out of service in 2030,” said Mike Bowden, a former Red Arrows pilot and RAF fast-jet instructor.
The nine red jets trailing red, white and blue smoke are a symbolic fixture at British state occasions. Any decision that put them out of action would be a gift to right-wing opponents of the Labour government, who would jump at the chance to label it as unpatriotic.
Bowden argued that the display team must be supported as they promote UK interests, provide economic stimulus, and boost recruitment to the UK armed forces. Given their symbolic status, the Red Arrows should also use an aircraft with UK industrial involvement, he said.
But RUSI’s Bronk believes that time is running out for the Red Arrows.
“If you tried to make the justification for creating the Red Arrows today, it would never be adopted,” Bronk said. “It might make sense if you didn’t have an imminent risk of a major war over the coming couple of years – and if we were ready for that – but we do, and we’re not.”
Baird from AVIARM believes there might be a third way. “There must certainly be the option somewhere out there of leasing some aircraft for a few years for the Red Arrows if necessary,” he said.
As the government urgently tries to plug gaps in operational readiness, “I don’t think they’ll let the Red Arrows drive this procurement.”
Jonathan Singh is a journalist covering global affairs stories. He is a former international development professional and has worked in conflict and crisis affected regions across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He served from 2002 to 2012 as a Royal Air Force officer and helicopter pilot, including four combat deployments to Afghanistan flying the Ch-47 Chinook.
Originally published in The Sentinel. Reproduced with permission.
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