Image: UK MOD © Crown copyright 2024
Inzpire has won a three-year contract with the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) to deliver training on the MQ-9B remotely piloted air system, making it the first UK defence company to instruct on the platform, as per a recent press statement.
Inzpire, part of the QinetiQ Group, will provide live and synthetic training for RAF and NATO crews, including pilots, sensor operators and mission intelligence coordinators. The MQ-9B, known in RAF service as Protector RG Mk.1, supports intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions across NATO’s European network.
Contract scope and NATO cooperation
NSPA awarded the contract within the MQ-9B International Cooperative Partnership. It initially covers two Inzpire instructor crews, with scope to expand to 37. The work supports the NATO Flight Training Europe initiative and forms part of a harmonised training solution across the alliance, delivered through NSPA’s Alliance Ground Surveillance and Uncrewed Aerial Systems Programme.
Inzpire’s instructors, drawn from UK and US personnel, will be embedded with 54 Squadron at RAF Waddington, which holds NFTE accreditation for MQ-9B training. Inzpire already runs training there, including Exercise COBRA WARRIOR and the Gladiator synthetic training system.
Industry and military reaction
Wing Commander Stu Phillips, Officer Commanding 54 Squadron, commented that the squadron looks forward to expanding Protector training delivery for UK and NATO customers.
Inzpire Managing Director Jonny Smith added that the contract marks a milestone in the company’s growth as a training partner to UK and NATO forces.
Dr Stergios Isaakidis, NSPA’s AGS and UAS Programme Manager, said the contract brings essential training capacity to 54 Squadron and supports the wider MQ-9B partnership.
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