VT Group,
Defence and support services company VT Group, through its Support Services Division, has been named preferred bidder to provide initial flying training for all three Armed Forces.
The programme is to provide Elementary Flying Training (EFT), University Air Squadron (UAS) and Air Experience Flights (AEF). VT currently provides a significant part of this activity through its Light Aircraft Flying Task (LAFT) contract. The new contract will extend and expand the scope of this programme and provide incremental growth in this sector.
EFT will be for a minimum period of five years, while UAS/AEF will run for a minimum of ten years. The total programme is valued at up to £150m, compared to the current LAFT contract which was valued at approximately £100m. VT expects the new contract to be signed later in the year and service provision to start from April next year.
The programme will embrace all the elementary and UAS/AEF flying training activities of the Armed Forces and will involve the provision of aircraft and support, enabling VT to deliver up to 60,000 hours of flying a year.
VT Group Chief Executive Paul Lester commented: “In addition to MFTS, this will further strengthen our role as the UK military’s leading provider of flying training by consolidating and extending the work that we currently carry out.”
