Basic fast jet training hit

The RAF has confirmed to the Evening Standard that it is cutting the numbers of officers it puts through basic fast jet training by almost half as it prepares for massive cuts which will see the scrapping of Jaguar and Tornado jets and a dramatic reduction in the number of pilots.

Intakes for the basic fast jet training courses held at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire, which averaged 15 RAF students per course last year, are now being reduced to eight RAF and two Royal Navy students per course, the MoD confirmed last night. "Reducing the numbers entering training now is a sensible step to ensure that the RAF has the right number of pilots for its future needs," said a spokesman.

Basic fast jet training, using the Tucano propeller plane, is the second in a four-stage process for would-be fast jet pilots which begins with initial officer training at the RAF College at Cranwell, then moves to Linton-on-Ouse, then on to Hawk training jets at RAF Valley on Anglesey and finally to operational conversion training on actual fighters or bombers.

The MoD also confirmed that there would be a "reduction in numbers" - believed to be up to 40 per cent - on each of the initial officer training courses run by Cranwell. An entire session, Course 211, due to begin in August, has been cancelled "as a consequence of the manpower planning process," the spokesman said. About a hundred would-be RAF officers have been affected.

Cranwell courses beginning in October and November will have no potential fast jet pilots on them, although there will be a few potential fast jet navigators. The vast majority of the officers on those courses will be destined for the transport aircraft, helicopter or administration branches.

"The implications of this for the fast jet fleet are terrifying," said one senior Air Force officer. "Fast jet pilots are at the centre of what the RAF is about and they are being reduced by 50 per cent. That implies truly horrendous reductions in the RAF's fighter and bomber fleet." Confirming weekend reports, the Standard has also learned that the Jaguar fighterbomber squadrons based at RAF Coltishall in Norfolk have been told by their commanding officers within the last few weeks that they will be scrapped by the end of 2006.

The Jaguar is due to be replaced by the Eurofighter, but it will not be ready for a bomber role until about 2009, leaving what one Jaguar expert called a "major gap" in the RAF's strike force.

The RAF will be the biggest victim in a massive package of cuts being prepared for the armed forces by the Ministry of Defence. The MoD is certain to be one of the biggest losers in the Chancellor's spending review, due to be announced next month, with defence sources saying it can expect only a one per cent budget increase.