Fighter Control Careers

I have my filter interview a week on Monday, and feel well versed in the facts. One thing however that I simply cannot fathom is the career structure available to those in the operations support branches. In the RN and Army the structure is fairly clear, with each rank relating directly to the position in a ship's heirachy or the size of formation commanded respectively. And of course among pilots in the RAF the ranks quite clearly correlate with levels of command. The career structure for those in my preferred specialism, Fighter Control, is rather less clear. I would be interested to know what opportunities are available both for my interview and also for my own peace of mind!

Reply 1

BlackHawk

The rank structure is the same throughout the RAF. Or do you mean how quickly you progess through them? Unfortunatly very little information can be had on FCs. AFCOs don't carry any information on them other than a few A4 sheets. Certainly nothing that mentions ranks or training.

Reply 2

BlackHawk

Best I can do for you is this. Below is the Command structure for FCs. Excuse the sloppiness.

Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) 9, RAF High Wycombe
¦
Group Captain ASACS, HQ 3 Gp RAF
¦
UKASACS Duty Controller
¦
Master Controller (at CRC)
/ \
/ \

Surveillance Weapons

Right, after that FCs are divided into weapons and surveillance. The highest level of weaponeers is the Fighter Allocator (FA). He is aided by the Fighter Marshal, who in turn is supported by Weapons Controllers. The highest surveillance officer is the Surveillance Director, he is assisted where necessary by the Sensor Manager. Then you have the IDO (Identification Officer).

Hopefully that makes a bit of sense. As to what rank everyone is I've no bloody idea.

Reply 3

Wzz

The allocator's normally a senior Flight Lieutenant, and everyone under him'll be FOFL (Fg Off- Flt Lt) types. I should imagine the master controller'll be a Sqn Ldr.

Reply 4

BlackHawk

Thanks Wzz. I had no idea where they all slotted in.

Reply 5

Wzz

Well, there's a lot of assuming there. I should imagine the master controller somewhere fits into the profile in the same way SATCO does in ATC, so if SATCO's a Sqn Ldr, I guess the MC is too. All the allocators I've spoken to are Flt Lts.

And they all answer the phone in a really punchy way; "Flt Lt Smith - allocator!" I know you're the allocator, that's why I rang the number with "allocator" written next to it :rolleyes:

Reply 6

BlackHawk

lol I know the allocators are Flt Lts, but thats all I knew. They're lovely guys really. Maybe I could consider it more as my second option.

Reply 7

rolling_stone

Cheers for this, I have done some research along these lines and found it very useful. I have a couple more questions on the same theme. Firstly, does the slightly removed nature of postings to some of the more distant radar stations mean there is less opportunity among this specialisation for travel, adventure training, and most importantly sport? Finally, as I had asthma as a child I am not eligible for aircrew. Does this mean I cannot serve as a Fighter Controller on board a Sentry E 3D?

Reply 8

BlackHawk

What more distant radar stations are you talking about? 2/3 of FCs are based at RAF Boulmer for a start.

I don't think asthma would be a problem, but a simple phonecall to your AFCO will tell you.