Two students have become the first RAF pilots to fly solo at the International Flight Training School (IFTS) in Italy.

Having graduated from basic flying training on the Texan T1 aircraft under the United Kingdom Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) earlier this year, the two pilots have started their Lead In Fighter Training (LIFT) at the ITFS in Decimomannu, Sardinia. Launched in 2020, the NATO Flight Training Europe (NFTE) High Visibility Project is a multinational initiative to link up and coordinate military flying training resources across member states.

“Access to alternate flying training systems across Europe, which NFTE membership gives us, not only enables us to address periodic fluctuations in demand but also delivers the flexibility for us to increase our support to NATO. Crucially this will deliver greater resilience to the RAF frontline, UK defence, and all of our NATO partners. It is essential that we work together to get the very best out of the assets we have,” said Air Commodore Sharrocks, Head of UK Military Flying Training.

The UK joined NFTE at the NATO Defence Ministers’ meeting in Brussels on 11 October 2023 when the Secretary of State for Defence, the Rt Hon Grant Shapps, signed an amendment to an existing Memorandum of Understanding. The IFTS training is a joint enterprise between the Italian Air Force, Leonardo and CAE utilising the twin engine Aermacchi T-346 Master aircraft. Following their first solo flights on the T-346 the first two trainees have now progressed to flying air-to-air and air-to-ground combat training sorties.

On successful completion of the course in May 2024 the trainees will be posted to the Typhoon or Lightning front line Operational Conversion Units. A total of 12 RAF pilots will train over a three year period. Becoming a participant in NFTE will balance out demand across NATO, increase efficiency of training systems, and deliver costs savings. Membership will also bolster opportunities for NATO partners to train in the UK when spare capacity allows. Training overseas is however, nothing new for RAF pilots; for a number of years students have trained at the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Programme in Texas.