UK MoD awards Future ISTAR and Rear Crew Training System contract

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded a GBP 300 million (EUR 356 million) contract to Ascent Flight Training for the Future Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) and Rear Crew Training System (FIRCTS) programme, the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) announced on 19 May 2025.

The programme has been designed to meet the RAF’s growing frontline ISTAR and uncrewed aerial system (UAS) demands and provides the final pillar of the UK’s Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS). It is intended to result in a four-fold increase in critically important mission aircrew trainees to 140 per year for the RAF and Royal Navy (RN).

Ascent Flight Training is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Babcock International that delivers training to pilots and aircrew from the RAF, RN and Army Air Corps as part of a public-private partnership under an UKMFTS contract that runs until 2033.

The FIRCTS programme will deliver advances in the flying training delivered at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall and RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire. The programme will rely on state-of-the-art synthetic and simulated environments, allowing for realistic training in a safe and cost-effective manner as a key investment in UKMFTS infrastructure.

RAF and RN students will benefit from highly realistic and technologically advanced training to ensure that they are prepared to meet the growing demands of modern ISTAR operations. This will help to reinforce the UK’s key ISTAR and UAS capabilities.

The FIRCTS programme will prepare personnel to operate a large variety of RAF and RN aircraft, such as P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, RC-135W Rivet Joint electronic surveillance aircraft, and Merlin HM2 and Wildcat HMA2 helicopters, along with unmanned aerial vehicles such as the Protector RG1, to protect the UK and deploy on worldwide operations.

“Today’s air systems require aircrew who can exploit the electromagnetic spectrum and assist in decision making as we seek to outpace our adversaries in complex battlespace,” stated Air Vice Marshal Ian Townsend, Air Officer Commanding the RAF’s 22 Group. “FIRCTS reflects another training transformation within the UK Military Flying Training System and has been enabled by superb collaboration between the frontline commands, DE&S [the UK MoD’s Defence Equipment and Support organisation] and industry.”

Around 85% of FIRCTS training will be delivered in the classroom or synthetically using a new state-of-the-art mission simulator. This, according to the RAF, enables a more cost-effective, digitised training system that keeps pace with the rapidly evolving landscape of modern warfare and enables a sustainable reduction in both flying hours and the armed forces’ carbon footprint.

All airborne training will use an upgraded fleet of four twin-engined Beechcraft King Air Avenger T1s. Modifications to the aircraft will accommodate the rise in training numbers and the onboard mission computer will use the same software as the ground-based mission simulator, enabling a seamless transition for students.

The first trainees will be able to use the new training system in 2027.