Prestwick Branch: Maintaining Legacy with the Red Arrows

The Prestwick Branch lecture will provide an interesting insight into operational support within the RAF Red Arrows, one of the world's premier aerobatic display teams. The Red Arrows fly distinctive BAE Systems Hawk fast-jets and are composed of pilots, engineers and essential support staff with frontline operational experience.

The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft that entered RAF service in 1976, with production ceasing in 2020. Squadron Leader Andy King will present a wide-ranging lecture focusing on how the Red Arrows are operated and supported behind the scenes.

Key topics will include maintaining legacy aircraft to greater than 95% availability, continued global agility, and the Red Arrows' world-first sustainable fuels transition, which was showcased at Prestwick in 2025. As Senior Engineer for the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, Squadron Leader King oversaw the return to a 9-aircraft display and achieved 100% aircraft availability across the 2024 UK season and Canadian tour. He pioneered the use of a high-ratio blend of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for aircraft propulsion and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) to produce their distinctive smoke trails.

Squadron Leader Andy King is a serving RAF Engineering Officer with experience across Fast Jet and Intelligence aircraft, specialising in increasing aircraft availability and building high-performing teams. He has won the No.1 Group Engineering Excellence Award twice and is an advocate of STEM education.

Event Details: 9 November 2026, 19:00–20:45 BST, Ayr Campus, University of the West of Scotland.