Yesterday’s Defence Committee session included a guest panel of Andrew Kinniburgh, Director-General of Make UK; Julian David OBE, CEO of techUK; and Kevin Craven, CEO of ADS Group Ltd.

Committee member, Calvin Bailey MBE MP, asked the panel: “What is NATO’s role in the UK defence industrial base?”

Andew Kinniburgh responded with the example of the Europe-wide crisis in fast jet pilot training: “The UK MOD just alone is spending £50m a year alone on outsourcing fast jet pilot training, which beggars belief.”

“We’re sending dozens of pilots over to the US and to Italy and other places to train our fast jet pilots because there is no availability for Hawk jets at RAF Valley. So, we are in crisis in the UK. So are many other countries in Europe and they’re all thinking: “So what are we going to do?”

There’s a company in the UK called AERALIS, and they’ve redesigned the whole concept of a fast jet trainer. UK business, UK design and manufacture.

Andrew Kinniburgh, Director-General Make UK

“That would be a classic example of where NATO could really generate incredible cost savings, economies of scale. There’s a company in the UK called AERALIS, and they’ve redesigned the whole concept of a fast jet trainer. UK business, UK design and manufacture.

“That’s the kind of thing NATO could say: “Right we’re going to provide a NATO-wide resource for fast jet training – we’re going to use the same jet right across it. The UK can step up from an industrial perspective, with the MOD’s backing, and we can establish an entire fleet of fast jet trainers that can be used across NATO. The RAF don’t need to own them, nor do any other countries; they can simply contract for availability, so there’s not that big capital expenditure, there’s not the worries about maintenance, repair and overhaul, which is the big challenge at the moment with Hawk.

“So, for me, NATO could really play a huge part in something like that: a big enabler that almost fixes the fast jet pilot challenge that we have today quite quickly, within three or four years.”

The AERALIS solution meets the Europe and NATO-wide requirement for increased fast jet trainer capacity, with a civil-certified advanced jet trainer, delivered commercially as a service, without constraint, across Europe. Developed here in the UK, AERALIS will stimulate economic growth, attract inward investment, strengthen Britain’s defence capabilities on home soil and enhance its NATO collaboration.