900 Gosport jobs bid for Royal Navy RAF jet in tatters - 'challenges' plunge Aeralis into administration
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CEO Tristan Crawford previously said the programme would deliver significant jobs to the Portsmouth area - supporting over 900 roles
Significant financial pressures have plunged a promising defence firm into administration - with plans to bring and maintain a significant number of jobs in the Portsmouth area in tatters.
Aeralis appointed Buchler Phillips as joint administrators on May 15. The UK-based firm, that was pitching a design for a modular light jet aircraft platform that could have been used by the RAF and Royal Navy, employs 30 people.
It had a goal for its Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) to replace the BAE Systems’ Hawk T1 and T2 aircraft, with firm‘s CEO Tristan Crawford previously promising to deliver a significant number of jobs to the Portsmouth area if their plans were accepted by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). As reported by Aerospace Testing International, the company blamed its bankruptcy on cashflow pressures caused by delays to the Defence Investment Plan (DIP), and geopolitical factors making it difficult to secure funding.
Aeralis chairman Robin Southwell said, “The Board has taken this decision after careful consideration of the Company’s position and the funding challenges it has faced over recent months. We will continue to support the Joint Administrators as they explore viable, sustainable options for the future of the business and engage with interested parties.”
Promising vision turns into nightmare
The company aimed to build its AJT and make it reconfigurable for different uses. Its primary focus would have been on the advanced and technical phases of pilot training - preparing personnel for using high-performance combat aircraft on front-line military operations. The craft could also have been adapted for use in aerobatic displays, such as those performed by the Red Arrows. On the design roadmap, there was also a maritime variant which would have been adapted for use on the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth.
It aimed to bring in established supply chain businesses, such as StandAero in Fleetlands and Hamble Aerostructures, to help produce the capability. Aeralis previously said once production reached full rate, over 900 jobs would have been supported in the supply chain across the Gosport and Hamble area, and nationally.
Project work had been ongoing since the early 2010s. It was first unveiled to the public in 2015 under the name Dart, with the RAF’s Rapid Capabilities Office awarding a three-year contract to support AJT further development.
Competition against the project arose from a trio of giants in the defence sector. Saab, Boeing, and BAE Systems, signed a “letter of intent” to produce a new capability for the RAF’s new fast-jet trainer programme in November last year, replacing the Hawk T2.
The Hawk T1 for the Red Arrows is due to be retired in 2030. Mr Southwell previously said all Aeralis’ project needed was the green light from the MoD, and should have been considered since it was a British design and built aircraft, but now the company is in administration.
The administrators said they ‘ll continue to work with management and stakeholders to assess strategic options for the business and its assets. This would include options to secure investment and support the continuation of the Aeralis programme in an alternative structure.
Joanne Milner of Buchler Phillips said, “Aeralis has developed a highly differentiated proposition within the aerospace and defence sector. We hope that the administration process will provide an opportunity to explore routes to preserve and develop that value for stakeholders.”