JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas--Air Marshall Sean Reynolds, senior officer responsible for personnel and capability of the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force, and counterpart to Lt. Gen. Steve Kwast, commander of Air Education and Training Command, visited Pilot Training Next in Austin, Texas, May 3.
PTN is an AETC program to explore a training environment that integrates various technologies to produce pilots in an accelerated, cost efficient and learning-focused manner.
Reynolds is charged with overseeing capability, recruiting, training, career management, legal support and welfare of the Royal Air Force.
Reynolds’ visit involved a tour of PTN facilities to better understand how AETC uses existing and emerging technologies to decrease the time and cost of training, without sacrificing depth of learning.
“This is an exciting opportunity to see what innovative training solutions the U.S. Air Force is considering as we try to modernize our own training to meet the needs of the current generation of recruits,” Reynolds said.
The six-month program leans on a variety of technologies, to include virtual and augmented reality, advanced biometrics, artificial intelligence and data analytics. All of these technologies can be and are tailored to the training environment and individual student. That knowledge is used to refine scientific measuring capabilities and teaching techniques to produce the Air Force’s pilots, said Lt. Col. Robert Vicars, Pilot Training Next initiative director.
The first PTN class began in February with students from different learning backgrounds and a diverse range of Air Force experiences. AETC reviews and studies how the Airmen in the class individually learn in this program, with the intent to evaluate teaching techniques and apply them across a wide range of Air Force skill sets or specialties.
As the Royal Air Force celebrates its centennial, looking for synergies and best practices has increasingly become more important in improving pilot training through innovation, like what is happening at PTN, Reynolds said.
“In the 100th year of the Royal Air Force, we have to adapt to the ways the current generation learns, not expect them to adapt to our methods. I’m excited by what I see here at Pilot Training Next,” he said.
The Royal Air Force’s Central Flying School, which is equivalent to the Air Force’s instructor pilot training at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, is looking into new initiatives to improve their training.
“We’re excited to be able to demonstrate PTN to the Air Marshall, strengthening our partnership through the sharing of best practices and mutual interest with one of our closest allies,” Vicars said.
Following his visit, Reynolds expects the CFS to follow up and see what further links can be made with PTN.
“There are several similarities with the work being undertaken at RAF Cranwell – the home of the Central Flying School – and the Smith-Barry initiative, which is our equivalent of PTN,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds also said he welcomes the sharing of best practices between the RAF and U.S. Air Force, as both face the same challenges and share the need to modernize through innovation, changing to improve the learning experience and ensure trainees succeed.