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s with a further 7 to complete training by august 2023 163 however in 2025 the national audit office nao reported that a consistent shortage of pilots remained along with other shortages including of f 35 engineers 164 pilot to aircraft ratios were reported at about 1 1 which were argued by some to be far below the 1 3 to 1 5 considered healthy in most air forces 165 rotary wing aircraft edit today the largest section of the faa is the rotary wing section pilots designated for rotary wing service train under no 1 flying training school at raf shawbury 166 the school is a tri service organisation consisting of civilian and military instructors including naval instructors and a naval air squadron that take the student from basic flying through to more advanced flying such as instrument flying navigation formation and captaincy within the school 705 naval air squadron provides helicopter flight training the curriculum encompasses non procedural instrument flying fundamental night flying low level and formation flying winching and mountain flying since april 2018 705 nas has been training pilots and aircrew from all three branches of the military under the 2 maritime air wing 167 its aviators fly one of four types of helicopters merlin hm2 edit a merlin hm2 aircraft of 824 nas the agustawestland merlin hm2 is the fleet air arm s principal anti submarine warfare asw helicopter operated by the merlin helicopter force from royal naval air station culdrose it uses sonobuoys dipping sonar and other sensors to locate and track submarines and can employ sting ray torpedoes against underwater targets merlin hm2 also provides maritime surveillance and airborne early warning and control including the crowsnest system used to provide the carrier strike group with an extended radar picture beyond the horizon 168 merlin with crowsnest replaced the asac7 variant of the sea king with the first merlin hm2 test flight equipped with crowsnest was completed in april 2019 169 while crowsnest was deployed with the uk carrier strike group in 2021 it experienced operating challenges finally achieving initial operating capability in july 2023 and full operating capability in 2025 170 while all merlins in the royal navy will be equipped to operate crowsnest only ten kits for the system are being acquired it has been reported that initially five merlins will be equipped with crowsnest three of these being normally assigned to the high readiness aircraft carrier 171 in 2025 nine merlin hm2s from 820 squadron were specifically assigned to embark on hms prince of wales as part of the royal navy s carrier strike group deployment to the indo pacific region six of the merlins deployed in the asw role and three in the aew role 170 the merlin hm2 forms an important part of the air group embarked aboard the queen elizabeth class aircraft carrier where its anti submarine and airborne surveillance roles complement the f 35b merlin helicopters also operate from other royal navy ships and undertake maritime security search and rescue and other supporting tasks as required 172 merlin hc4 4a edit a merlin hc4 of commando helicopter force the merlin hc4 and hc4a are the fleet air arm s commando transport helicopters and are operated by the commando helicopter force in support of the royal marines and united kingdom commando force the aircraft provide tactical mobility between ships and shore air assault littoral ship to shore movement and the insertion and extraction of personnel and equipment they can also undertake joint personnel recovery deployed search and rescue non combatant evacuation counter narcotics and maritime intra theatre lift missions 173 845 and 846 naval air squadrons operate the merlin mk4 as frontline elements of the commando helicopter force with the aircraft designed to support amphibious operations and the royal marines developing littoral warfare capability 846 nas also houses the operational conversion flight responsible for training pilots aircrewmen and engineers to operate the merlin mk4 174 the faa received the merlin hc3 hc3a fleet from the raf replacing the commando sea king in september 2014 these have been marinised and updated to hc4s hc4as under the merlin life sustainment programme mlsp that was placed on contract in december 2013 175 wildcat hma2 edit a wildcat hma2 of 700 w nas conducting trials off hms monmouth the wildcat hma2 is the fleet air arm s principal maritime attack and reconnaissance helicopter operated by 815 naval air squadron and its shipborne flights it is designed to operate from the relatively small flight decks of royal navy frigates and destroyers and extends the surveillance and targeting capabilities of the ships from which it operates 176 the wildcat hma2 can conduct anti surface warfare asuw and maritime security operations using weapons including the martlet and sea venom missiles and m3m heavy machine gun while its sensors support reconnaissance and surveillance it can also employ the sting ray torpedo and undertake secondary roles including search and rescue load lifting troop movement and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief 176 wildcat ah1 edit the wildcat ah1 battlefield reconnaissance helicopter brh used by 847 nas the wildcat ah1 is the battlefield reconnaissance and utility variant operated by the commando helicopter force 847 naval air squadron employs the type in support of royal marines and wider uk commando force operations providing battlefield reconnaissance intelligence surveillance and target acquisition fire control support troop movement and other battlefield tasks the aircraft can also undertake winching casualty evacuation and disaster relief missions 177 under the 2026 defence investment plan dip these helicopters are projected to be retired from 2027 with no confirmed timeline for their replacement by autonomous systems 178 training aircraft edit grob tutor t1 fleet air arm aircrew undergo training through the united kingdom s integrated military flying training system with royal navy personnel training alongside personnel from the other armed services initial pilot assessment is conducted by 727 naval air squadron at royal naval air station yeovilton where students undergo pilot grading and assessment using the grob 115e tutor t1 the squadron assesses students suitability for further flying training and their potential for different aviation streams including fast jets and helicopters 179 grob prefect t1 elementary flying training is provided through no 3 flying training school including 703 naval air squadron using the grob prefect t1 the course develops basic flying skills navigation instrument flying and emergency handling before students progress to specialist military flying training 180 airbus juno ht1 royal navy helicopter pilots subsequently undergo basic rotary wing training with 705 naval air squadron at raf shawbury part of no 1 flying training school flying the airbus juno ht1 the training includes instrument night low level and formation flying as well as winching and mountain flying before fleet air arm students progress to type specific training 181 beechcraft avenger t1 specialist training for royal navy observers is provided by 750 naval air squadron at royal naval air station culdrose using beechcraft avenger t1 aircraft as airborne training platforms the squadron trains observers in navigation sensor operation maritime operations and the management of airborne missions before they specialise on operational aircraft such as merlin and wildcat 182 type specific operational conversion is subsequently conducted by specialist fleet air arm squadrons including 824 naval air squadron for merlin hm2 825 naval air squadron for wildcat hma2 and 846 naval air squadron s operational conversion flight for merlin hc4 hc4a 183 184 174 uncrewed aircraft edit the fleet air arm is increasingly integrating remotely piloted and autonomous aircraft with its crewed aviation forces 700x naval air squadron is the royal navy s specialist uncrewed aircraft unit and provides training operational support research and evaluation of remotely piloted air systems and other emerging technologies 185 current systems edit peregrine schiebel camcopter s 100 aboard hms lancaster as of 2024 the royal navy operated a number of small unmanned aerial vehicles uav including the aerovironment puma ae and ebee vision 186 187 188 189 in 2024 the navy reported that there were a total of nine qualified puma teams six of which were dedicated to supporting the royal marines in 40 and 45 commando 190 as of 2024 a total of 75 puma ae 15 puma le long endurance and 39 aerovironment wasp iii uavs were in the uk inventory 191 192 the faa s inventory was further boosted with the addition of the peregrine rotary wing uav which started trials on hms lancaster in august 2024 193 194 195 in 2025 it was announced that as part of its deployment east of suez hms prince of wales will carry a small fleet of malloy aeronautics t150 uavs the drone is designed to provide lightweight logistics transport support for royal navy deployments nine t 150 drones are operated by 700x naval air squadron 196 in august 2026 trials were carried out deploying the t 150b heavy lift uav from the river class patrol vessel trent 197 future development edit a number of unmanned systems are under development for the fleet air arm including fixed wing uavs envisaged for potential operation from the queen elizabeth class carriers these programs are in the conceptual or planning stages under a program known as project vixen 198 the 2026 defence investment plan dip envisages the establishment of hybrid carrier air wings through the investment of about 240m investment in project pantheon the development of autonomous systems as part of the hybrid carrier air wing early trials are anticipated for jet powered drones to operate alongside the f 35b force under project vanquish 199 future autonomous helicopters may be based on the prototype developed under project proteus the dip noted that proteus has demonstrated the potential of large uncrewed air systems operating alongside crewed aircraft in future hybrid air wings to play a key role in anti submarine operations under the atlantic bastion concept 200 squadrons and flights edit main article list of fleet air arm aircraft squadrons a fleet air arm flying squadron is formally titled naval air squadron nas 201 a title used as a suffix to the squadron number the faa assigns numbers in the 700 799 range to training and operational conversion squadrons and numbers in the 800 899 range to operational squadrons exceptions to the 700 799 include operational conversion squadrons which also hold some form of operational commitment where they are then titled 800 899 during wwii the 1700 and 1800 ranges were also used for operational squadrons active faa squadrons 201 unit type aircraft base role notes flying squadrons 700x naval air squadron uav aerovironment wasp iii aerovironment puma ae le peregrine isr 202 t 150 logistics support uavs 196 rnas culdrose remotely piloted aircraft system shipborne flights 203 provides hq function for puma ae le and other uav flights serves as evaluation unit for any future uav systems selected by the royal navy 194 rpas future trials unit 203 703 naval air squadron fixed wing grob prefect raf barkston heath elementary flying training part of the joint elementary flying training school jefts 705 naval air squadron rotary eurocopter juno ht1 raf shawbury basic and advanced multi engine helicopter training part of 2 maritime air wing within 1 fts alongside 660 squadron aac and 202 squadron raf 727 naval air squadron fixed wing grob tutor t1 rnas yeovilton pilot grading and air experience elementary flying training 204 elevation of the royal naval flying training flight to squadron status 744 naval air squadron uav stalker peregrine and autonomous collaborative platform programmes mod boscombe down joint uncrewed air system test and evaluation squadron juas tes 205 tri service part of the air and space warfare centre role transfer from no 216 squadron raf 206 750 naval air squadron fixed wing beechcraft avenger t1 rnas culdrose rn observer and raf weapon system operator training 207 operates within ukmfts 208 809 naval air squadron fixed wing f 35b lightning raf marham carrier strike operates as part of no 1 group raf under raf air command 814 naval air squadron rotary merlin hm2 rnas culdrose anti submarine warfare small ship flights merged with 829 nas in 2018 209 815 naval air squadron rotary wildcat hma2 210 211 212 rnas yeovilton attack asw small ship flights 820 naval air squadron rotary merlin hm2 rnas culdrose anti submarine warfare carrier air group attached to both hms queen elizabeth and hms prince of wales s air groups 213 merged with 849 nas in april 2020 214 215 merlin hm2 crowsnest 216 217 airborne surveillance 824 naval air squadron rotary merlin hm2 rnas culdrose conversion training merlin asw will have responsibility for all conversion training for merlin hm2 217 conversion training merlin crowsnest 825 naval air squadron rotary wildcat hma2 rnas yeovilton conversion training wildcat formed by merger of 700w nas and 702 nas in august 2014 210 845 naval air squadron rotary merlin hc4 hc4a rnas yeovilton very high readiness medium lift part of chf 846 naval air squadron rotary merlin hc4 rnas yeovilton extremely high readiness medium lift conversion training merlin commando 847 naval air squadron rotary wildcat ah1 218 rnas yeovilton battlefield reconnaissance and support non flying squadrons 1700 naval air squadron rotary and fixed wing rnas culdrose flight deck activities logistic and catering support operations engineering support even medical assistance technical support formerly maritime aviation support force masf 1710 naval air squadron rotary and fixed wing hmnb portsmouth specialist aircraft repair modification and scientific support technical support an additional flying unit of the royal navy is the fost helicopter support unit based at hms raleigh in cornwall this unit is not part of the fleet air arm but is directly under the control of fleet operational sea training operated by british international helicopters bih 219 bih also support various royal navy and nato exercises with passenger and freight transfer services and transfers by hoist for ships exercising both in the atlantic and the north sea the royal navy share both operational and training duties on the lightning ii with the raf under a banner organisation called the lightning force which will operate in the same manner as joint force harrier 220 traditions and insignia edit for more information see aircrew brevet fleet air arm pilot wings fleet air arm captain and pilot the faa is known for its use of the fleet air arm zig zag a light blue zig zag on a dark blue background the pattern is thought to have belonged to the perch club membership of which was restricted to those who had...
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