MOD announces £48 million Apache training contract

An Apache helicopter training contract, worth £48 million, is one of the new measures announced by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in a bid to tackle global threats.

The new Apache contract with Aviation Training International Ltd will support around 70 air and ground crew jobs in Dorset, Hampshire and Suffolk.

Around 700 Army personnel including 50 pilots and 400 ground crew will go through the helicopter training scheme every year.

Defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon, who announced the programme at the annual Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Land Warfare Conference, hailed the Apache as “a vital part of the British Army’s fighting force that is helping to keep this country safe”.

He added: “We are preparing our forces for the battlefields of tomorrow in an era of complex global challenges by ensuring our formidable Signals and Intelligence Corps are ready for the information warfare of the 21st Century.”

Also announced during the conference were new measures to meet global information and cyber threats by bolstering and reorganising the Army’s Royal Corps of Signals and Intelligence Corps.

The Royal Signals will receive an additional regiment to enhance its cyber capabilities, enabling it to distribute information rapidly and effectively. Meanwhile, the Intelligence Corps will be organised to focus on counter-intelligence, security, and cultural understanding.