- The UK Ministry of Defence will lean on qualified flying instructors (QFIs) from the Indian Air Force (IAF) to teach fast jet training at RAF Valley
- These three instructors will educate Royal Air Force (RAF) trainee pilots to fly the Hawk T2 or Texan T1 aircraft
- The move will help the UK overcome its dire shortage of qualified instructors
Three QFIs from the IAF will deploy to RAF Valley, on the island of Anglesey, to train British student pilots to fly the Hawk T2 or Texan T1.
During their tenure, the trio will remain under IAF command while working for RAF commanders on instructional duties.
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The decision to lean on Indian counterparts stems from a dire shortage of QFIs in the UK while, conversely, the IAF have accrued a wealth of experience operating the Hawk trainer aircraft and have many educators.
While the IAF do not publicly disclose its total number of QFIs, the service did reveal that 53 Armed Forces personnel (41 of whom operate in the IAF) graduated from its 153rd QFI Course in November 2022.
Airforce Technology contacted the UK Ministry of Defence to find out how many UK QFIs there are at present, but the department declined to comment in the moment.
Hawk in India, no Texan
According to intelligence from the analytics firm GlobalData, the IAF and Navy collectively operate 113 Hawk Mk 132s, a British-origin trainer platform, with early units procured from 2007.
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By GlobalDataThe fleet is split between 96 and 17 units between the two forces respectively.
GlobalData also says that the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited built 96 of these while BAE Systems built the remaining 19 units.
While both feature glass cockpits, BAE designed the T2 specifically for the UK Ministry of Defence to mirror the Eurofighter Typhoon cockpit. The Hawk 132 was customised for India, which may feature a different arrangement of multi-function displays and mission systems tailored to Indian requirements.
The three IAF instructors will need time to adapt to these features before instructing British pilots. But their onboarding does not end there.
While India has substantial experience on a Hawk platform, the nation does not operate the Texan T1 at all. Instead, India’s Armed Forces operate the Pilatus PC-7 Mk II, an older trainer aircraft that still shares a common ancestor in the PC-9; whereas the Texan is a significantly more modern, heavier, and more powerful aircraft.
UK face a fast jet training crisis
For years, the UK government and industry have been torn with the next steps for its Military Flying Training System (MFTS). There is a lot of consternation over what fast jet training will look like as the modern battlespace changes.
The main trainer – the Hawk T2, of which GlobalData says there are 28 aircraft – is due to leave service by 2040. While the RAF leadership have long praised the adoption of synthetic training tools, such as the versatile Gladiator simulation system, there is deep concern among Parliamentarians that there is no plan for a successor aircraft for real world training.
In March 2025, a House of Commons Committee Special Report expressed consternation, writing:
“We recognise that innovative training solutions, including modular aircraft and synthetics, may offer new opportunities for industry; but we find the failure to capitalise on the success of Hawk remarkably short-sighted and deeply regrettable.”
Three months later, in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), laying out the government’s desires for defence, the government agreed to action the authors’ recommendation that the RAF replace the Hawk fleet with a cost-effective successor.
“The current flying training arrangements for fast jets,” the three SDR authors determined, “must be urgently revised to optimise capacity, building in maximum use of contractors and provision for training overseas students.”
No action has yet been taken in this regard. While the government keeps its head buried in the sand, pushing the release of the Defence Investment Plan indefinitely, industry have taken up the mantle, coming together with plans to partner on a fast jet trainer programme based around the modern T-7A Red Hawk.
BAE Systems, Boeing and Saab signed a letter of intent to this effect in November 2025. The joint effort will focus on delivering a training solution that combines live and synthetic elements, along with associated mission systems tailored for advanced pilot training.
