Royal Air Force (RAF) Air Marshal Harv Smyth, a former combat pilot on multiple aircraft types who has also led UK space commands, is to be appointed as Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) and Aide-de-Camp to His Majesty in the rank of air chief marshal, the RAF announced on 16 July 2025.
AM Smyth will take up his CAS post in August 2025 to succeed Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton, who is being promoted to Chief of the Defence Staff: a role he will take up in September.
The Chief of the Air Staff is responsible for the strategic planning and delivery of all RAF operations, people and capability. The position is accountable to the UK defence secretary for the fighting effectiveness, efficiency and morale of the RAF as well as the service’s development and sustainment.
Joining the RAF in 1991 as a direct entrant, AM Smyth then spent 15 years as a frontline Harrier pilot and weapons instructor, which included flying hundreds of operational missions over Bosnia, Kosovo, Serbia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
In early staff roles Smyth worked in the UK Air & Space Warfare Centre and spent two tours in the F-35 Lightning programme, the latter based in Washington, DC, as the UK’s F-35 National Director.
In 2013 Smyth retrained as a Tornado pilot and became the Station Commander of RAF Marham, transitioning the base for F-35 integration. On promotion to air commodore in 2015, he became the Tornado Force Commander and, in parallel, the UK’s first F-35 Lightning Force Commander. He followed this with a short appointment in the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) as the Head of Carrier Enabled Power Projection before deploying to Qatar as director of the 609th Combined Air and Space Operations Centre during the height of the Counter-Daesh (Islamic State) campaign.
Promoted to air vice-marshal in 2018, Smyth retrained as a Typhoon pilot and became Air Officer Commanding Number 1 Group, where he was responsible for the Air Combat Group of the RAF. In 2020, Smyth then became UK MoD’s inaugural Director Space, setting the foundation for UK Space Command, building the Defence Space Programme and producing UK’s foundational National and Defence Space Strategies.
Promoted to air marshal in 2022, AM Smyth was appointed as the RAF’s Deputy Commander (Operations): a role that was transitioned to become the UK Air and Space Commander in 2023, responsible for all RAF air and space operations globally.
In April 2024 AM Smyth became the first RAF officer to hold the role of Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Military Strategy and Operations), responsible for the provision of military advice to senior leadership across government including the UK prime minister, the development of UK military strategy and its integration with partners across government and allies, and the commissioning of UK military operations at home and across the globe.
On AM Smyth’s CAS appointment the current UK defence secretary, John Healey, was quoted as stating, “I warmly congratulate Air Marshal Harv Smyth on his appointment as Chief of the Air Staff. His previous roles have equipped him well to lead the RAF in a crucial period of transformation for the force.
“I would also like to recognise Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton’s superb leadership of the RAF over the last two years,” Healey added. “I know he and Air Marshal Smyth will work together to deliver a landmark shift in our deterrence and defence.”
In a press release the RAF noted that AM Smyth’s appointment as the UK air chief comes at a transformative time for the service as it moves to warfighting readiness following the publication of the UK Strategic Defence Review on 2 June 2025, including the subsequent announcement that the UK will purchase 12 conventional take-off and landing F-35A Joint Strike Fighters to (JSFs) join the UK’s current fleet of F-35B short take-off/vertical landing JSF variants. While the F-35As will in reality be mostly used for training, they are ostensibly being acquired to allow the UK to contribute to NATO’s Dual-Capable Aircraft nuclear mission.
AM Smyth himself was quoted as saying, “I am deeply honoured to have been selected as the next Chief of the Air Staff at such an important time for the Royal Air Force. The Strategic Defence Review makes clear the need for us to rapidly evolve and modernise to meet current and future threats and I am enormously proud to lead the service at such a crucial point in our history.
“I take over from Sir Rich Knighton, who has achieved so much over the past two years, preparing the Royal Air Force for the challenges that we currently face and developing the operational mindset that we need, should we transition to conflict. I share in his unwavering support for our people and am delighted to have this opportunity to lead our Whole Force as we deliver outstanding air and space power for the UK and NATO.”
