Flying is just for wars says the RAF as they tell pilots to swap the skies for simulators
- Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston was addressing a conference in London
- In future, RAF pilots will do the majority of their training in advanced simulators
- Pilots will be able to fly missions in the simulator to prepare for action
RAF pilots will spend most of their time training in advanced simulators on the ground rather than accumulating hours in the cockpit of advanced jets.
Under current training rules, RAF pilots spend 70 per cent of their time in the air with 30 per cent in simulators.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston said he wants this ratio reversed, with the majority of training to take place on the ground – saving flight hours for fighting wars or demonstrations of power.
RAF Typhoon pilots could soon see themselves doing much of their training in advanced simulators rather than behind the controls of mulit-million pound aircraft
Instead of spending most of their time inside the high performance aircraft, pilots will continue their training in simulators
According to The Times, pilots will be able to use some of the hours accumulated in the simulator to count towards their qualification as pilots.
He told a conference in London: ‘I can see a future where almost all training, force generation and mission planning and rehearsal is done in a synthetic environment.’
New highly realistic simulators, such as the £36m Gladiator, will allow US and UK pilots to face real-life scenarios that would be impossible or impractical in the real world.
Typhoon pilots have been using the Gladiator system, but drone pilots will also be able to hone their skills on the machine.
Ultimately, Wigston would like to integrate the Royal Navy into the system, allowing both branches to operate inside the same simulation allowing to train together.
A naval source told The Times: ‘People go online and fight with their friends in Call of Duty. This is like a big, complex version of that, where real airmen operate in a synthetic war without having to leave the ground. You can record and play it back, you can press pause. The enemy can’t watch what you are doing and what your tactics are.’
Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston said the 70-30 ratio between flying and simulator could be reversed with the development of more advanced machines