An Antonov An-124 cargo aircraft touches down in Scotland to deliver a new Operational Flight Trainer intended for RAF Lossiemouth. The simulator is one of two installed in a £100m facility built by Boeing Defence UK

Rotary-wing simulator pilot training is also commonplace in the RAF, across all of its platforms

A synthetic training environment sees a digital real-time image projected onto screens surrounding a mockup of an aircraft. It can be changed to create any environmental or situational condition

The UK's tactical and strategic transport fleet is also catered for by simulators for pilot training

A flight deck shot of an Atlas C1 during a flypast over Brussels, Belgium, for a NATO summit on the May 25, 2017.
Real-world flying is expensive and best retained for operational reasons say senior RAF officials

The Hawk T1 jet trainer was confirmed by the Defence Command Paper to be headed for an exit from service, placing pressure on the remaining T2 fleet

Synthetic training is conducted from Phase 1 of basic flying training, enabling students to get valuable hours of ‘airtime’ that otherwise might not be achievable