470 RAF Valley jobs secured by £370m MoD contracts

Training at RAF Valley currently uses Hawk T2 aircraft

Contracts worth £372m to help with the training of Typhoon and Tornado jet pilots will secure 470 jobs at RAF Valley on Anglesey.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) cash means in-service support for Hawk training aeroplanes will continue at the site until at least 2020.

These are used by the UK armed forces to prepare pilots before conversion to frontline jets.

The deals secure 700 UK jobs in total, with Anglesey the main services hub.

Engines

Five other sites around the UK will also benefit from the four contracts, with firms BAE Systems, Babcock and Rolls-Royce all winning contracts.

BAE will provide design advice and modifications for the Hawks at RAF Valley.

It and Babcock will also have staff on military bases in Yorkshire and Cornwall, and at BAE's plants in Brough, East Yorkshire, and Warton, Lancashire.

Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce's £79m contract to produce, test and repair Hawk engines will see 40 jobs sustained across two sites at RAF Valley and Bristol.

'World class'

The fleet of Hawk T1s and T2s are used for training, with pilots then graduating to Typhoons and a variety of Royal Navy and RAF aircraft.

They are also used by the RAF Aerobatic Team - the Red Arrows.

Minister for defence procurement Philip Dunne called it "a world-class training aircraft for our future fast jet aircrew".

He said: "Pilots currently flying Typhoons and Tornados with such precision targeting Daesh (so-called Islamic State) in Iraq and Syria to keep Britain safe, first learnt their skills in the Hawk."

They will also be used to train pilots for the new F-35 Lightning II - described by Mr Dunne as one of the most advanced aircraft in the world.

The news comes a month after the MoD awarded a contract to Ascent Flight Training to provide basic pilot training at RAF Valley until at least 2033.