We were delighted to have our UK Strategy Director, Archie Neill, address the Royal Aeronautical Society in Prestwick, Scotland on Monday, emphasising why it’s the “Right Place, Right Time for a New Scottish-Built Fast Jet Trainer” and showcasing how AERALIS is poised to have a major impact on the region’s aerospace sector.

At the event, Archie outlined how AERALIS will work with Scotland’s existing strengths – its skilled workforce, industrial heritage, and innovation hubs – to reintroduce complete aircraft production for the first time in 25 years.

AERALIS will:
• Rank in the top 3 industrial exporters in Scotland
• Create high-value jobs and apprenticeships in Central Ayrshire
• Position Scotland as the builder of the next generation of Red Arrows aircraft
• Establish Scotland’s first new high-value manufacturing export line in two decades
• Open the door to a new Scotland–France aerospace bilateral

A proud Scot, Archie brings decades of experience in defence aviation, starting his career as an RAF Tornado F3 pilot and later holding senior roles at BAE Systems, including Typhoon Entry-into-Service Manager and Director of Operational Training. With over 1,500 hours as a Hawk instructor, serving as Chief Flying Instructor and the first Qualified Flying Instructor on Typhoon, he offers a unique perspective on the utility and potential of the AERALIS platform.

Archie closed his speech with a powerful statement:
“We know this is the right time, we have the right place, now we just need the UK Government to make the right decision.”

And as one attendee, former RAF Test Pilot with 47 years in aviation and Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Craig Penrice, summed up:

Aeralis represents the “last chance saloon” to retain an aerospace capability in the UK. By that I am not ignoring the multitude of smaller projects and programmes currently in progress, but what UK plc loses if there is no Aeralis is the ability to design, develop and produce an aircraft system with the potential to sell/export significant numbers of units around the globe. Even if there are no such programmes after Aeralis, why give up such hard learnt skills to foreign alternatives.

Strikes me as a complete “no-brainer” when the government is effectively being offered a shot at a new trainer with absolutely zero cost to the tax payer for its development… I came away truly believing the fact that this modular approach is indeed going to be a game changer, but I fear that the opportunity may well be lost if action is not taken soon.”

With a powerful network of suppliers and strategic partners across the UK and France, AERALIS is ready to deliver as a proud part of the UK’s aerospace sector.

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