Navy News
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Curiosity takes Flight as engineers inspire the next generation
6 March 2026
Royal Navy engineers and technicians epitomise the theme of this year’s British Science Week theme – Curiosity: What’s Your Question?
Home to both the Marine Engineering Training Group (METG) and the Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival Equipment School (RNAESS), HMS Sultan trains the engineers and technicians who keep Royal Navy ships, submarines and aircraft operational anywhere in the world, and curiosity has been at the heart of everything achieved here.
The Royal Navy offers multiple routes into engineering open whether straight from school, via university, or later in life, and regardless of prior STEM experience.
Sub Lieutenant (SLt) Ciaran Nash joined the Royal Navy in 2014 as an Aircraft Engineering Technician
“My intertest in engineering quickly grew from when I joined the Royal Navy and then became a STEM Ambassador. Engaging with schools and youth groups, explaining engineering concepts, and encouraging young people to consider technical careers strengthened my own enthusiasm for the subject.”
The theme of British Science Week this year is 'Curiosity: what's your question?', “My curiosity centres on how we can adapt, through innovation, maintenance excellence, and forward thinking engineering solutions, to ensure the FAA remains effective, credible, and ready for the future battlespace.”
"To any young person considering a career in aviation engineering or the Royal Navy, particularly someone who doesn't see themselves as a typical engineer, I'd say: go for it. When I joined in 2014, I didn't have an engineering background, and I definitely didn't see myself as a typical engineer. But through working on aircraft and taking on different roles within the Fleet Air Arm, I discovered a real passion for aviation engineering. With the right attitude, curiosity, and willingness to learn, the Royal Navy and aviation engineering can open doors you never thought were possible."
Lieutenant (Lt) Alistair Poat joined the Royal Navy in a different aviation role before retraining to become an Air Engineering Officer. He holds a degree in Biomedical Engineering from Imperial College London and, following completion of the SEMC(AE), he is aiming to join RNAS Yeovilton to work with the Wildcat Maritime Force.
"Before joining the SEMC, I was involved in community outreach at RNAS Yeovilton, where students came into the innovation centre and were tasked with finding a real problem in the squadrons and solving it. They designed and 3D-printed a new storage case for a sensitive piece of avionics equipment, worked through the process iteratively just as any engineer would, and presented their solution to the squadron that needed it, which has since taken it on and is printing the cases in volume to ship equipment around the world. That experience sums up what makes STEM so compelling: there is nothing more exciting than starting with nothing but an idea and seeing something exist in front of you that didn't exist before you thought of it. My advice to any young person is simply to keep your eyes open and stay curious about why things are the way they are, and never be afraid to get something wrong, because getting it wrong is part of getting it right."
SLt Seb Tyler joined after completing a BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Bath. He is currently training as an Air Engineering Officer at HMS Sultan, with hopes of progressing to RAF Marham to work on the F-35 Lightning II.
"Coming from an RAF family, I was often told that if I wanted to pursue real air engineering, I should look away from the Fleet Air Arm. I chose to ignore that advice. When I saw the scope of opportunity in the Royal Navy for air engineers, the diversity of tasks and the missions its airframes conduct, I thought I'd give it a go, and I haven't looked back since. The different routes into naval engineering matter enormously: whether it's someone who has served for twenty years or a graduate fresh from their first placement, everyone brings a different perspective, and those different experiences genuinely shape how we approach and solve problems together."
The Royal Navy offers engineering careers at every level, from apprenticeships for school leavers and sponsored degree programmes for aspiring officers, to direct-entry opportunities for those joining from industry or returning to STEM later in their careers. Engineering in the Royal Navy is not just a job, it is a vocation that develops leaders, problem-solvers, and innovators who go on to make a difference both within and beyond the Service.
British Science Week 2026 runs from 6 to 15 March.