Fleet Requirements Air Direction Unit FRADU

FRADU operates 14 Hawk jets providing airborne threat simulations against Royal Navy or foreign ships undergoing realistic training at sea. These missions simulate enemy fighter aircraft attacking the ships, or high-speed sea-skimming missiles which are fired against the ships, allowing the crew to train in their procedures to avoid and reduce the damage caused.

The pilots also fly missions for the students of the Royal Navy School of Fighter Control. Fighter controllers are responsible for controlling and guiding the friendly fighter assets assigned to a group of ships. In a similar role, the aircraft are also tasked to support the training of RN Observers in the Airborne Early warning role on 849, 854, and 857 Squadrons. These missions may involve airborne fighter control, as well as the identification of ground targets.

Although flying military aircraft from a military base, all the pilots are civilians, employed by Serco under contract to the Royal Navy. All the pilots have an extensive military fast jet background - as a group, their flying hours total over 52 000!