Royal Air Force exploits new technology to improve training

French Air Force personnel use an upgraded RAF mixed and virtual reality simulator for both Texan and Hawk in October 2025. (Ascent Flight Training)

The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) is trying to improve its exercises, according to the commander of its training organisation. Speaking at Clarion Defence's 2026 International Training Technology Exhibition and Conference (ITEC 26) held in London in April, Air Vice Marshall Ian Sharrocks, commander of the RAF's 22 Group, said that the global strategic context has not been “this uncertain, this dangerous, and changing so rapidly for generations.”

The introduction of virtual and mixed reality devices for the Hawk T2 and Texan aircraft is shifting the emphasis of training devices from procedural trainers to high-fidelity mission rehearsal systems, AVM Sharrocks said. As a result students are no longer learning only how to handle an aircraft but are “rehearsing their techniques and increasingly the missions they're going to fly in the future.” The UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) is managed by Ascent Flight Training (a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Babcock).

The challenge is not to invent new technologies but to exploit them to deliver better training for the whole force, both regular and reserve, he said. “We're definitely moving from training as preparation to training as operational advantage”, he added, noting that in the UK Military Flying Training System, the heart of this transformation is the Combat Edge programme.

Combat Edge provides virtual, mixed and extended reality, biometric tools, psychological skills training, conditioning and coaching to build a much fuller understanding of the individual under training and providing data which can then be used to shape bespoke development, particularly by using artificial intelligence (AI) AVM Sharrocks said.