BAE Wins Typhoon Synthetic Training Contract from Ministry of Defence

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has awarded BAE Systems contracts valued at more than £220m to deliver advanced synthetic training for pilots training to fly combat aircraft Typhoon.

Under the Typhoon Future Synthetic Training (TFST) contracts, BAE Systems is leading work to deliver 10 high fidelity, immersive simulators, together with highly-secure training facilities at Royal Air Force (RAF) Coningsby in Lincolnshire and RAF Lossiemouth in Moray.

The new training environments will be linked together providing an integrated environment for pilots to train and carry out complex combined training exercises using real world mission software and tactics.

The investment by Defence Equipment and Support, the MOD’s procurement arm, reflects the RAF’s ambition to increase its use of synthetic training, delivering cost, time and sustainability benefits over live training. This technology will also provide students with a more complex and secure training experience tailored to the individual which are often difficult to achieve in live training environments.

Richard Hamilton, Typhoon Programme Director, Europe – BAE Systems Air, said: “This contract builds on existing work to deliver synthetic training to the RAF’s Typhoon Force, which will eventually enable pilots from different locations to fly virtual missions together and provide the ability to ‘plug into’ other assets across air, land and sea.

“The investment will deliver a number of valuable operational benefits for the RAF, alongside the positive impact that the increased use of synthetic training will make to reduce carbon emissions. With 9.6 tonnes of carbon saved by every synthetic flight, it will help reduce the current carbon footprint of live training, supporting the net zero ambitions held by our customers and ourselves.”

The contract will support approximately 120 jobs in the delivery of new infrastructure at two RAF bases with a further 60 engineering jobs sustained at BAE Systems and many more with a number of specialist UK companies throughout its supply chain.