Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to improve the capacity of RAF fighter pilot training.

The RAF constantly reviews its training pipeline and introduces measures as and when required in order to strike the best balance between pipeline supply and the frontline demand for new pilots. Such measures currently include a small number of pilots being trained on the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training programme in the USA as part of a 5-year commitment completing in FY 2024/25, with additional training capacity being requested through this programme. Other measures to increase capacity include reducing the length of Operational Conversion Unit syllabuses and making greater use of synthetic training. We are also working with allies and partners to examine whether UK pilots could be trained overseas, or where we might pool our resources to mutual benefit.

The RAF remains able to meet its frontline operational commitments and has sufficient trained aircrew to do so.