RAF pilots are being forced to wait almost two years to complete fighter jet training, a new National Audit Office (NAO) report has found, after the government reversed cuts it had previously made to flying training.

The NAO report says the time taken to train aircrew has “consistently exceeded the Ministry of Defence’s expectations” and estimates the Military Flying Training System will not be fully able to meet the requirement until 2023.

In July 2019, there were 145 RAF students waiting on average 90 weeks to start training, compared to an expected 12 week wait for around 26 students at a time

The MPs report looked at the provision of aircrew training for all three services in Fast Jet, Multi-Engine and Rotary Wing aircraft by Ascent, a joint venture between two defence contractors, Lockheed Martin and Babcock.

It found that in the six years to 2018/19, the MoD failed to meet its training needs by an average of 45 per cent, equating to a shortfall of 125 aircrew a year.