Sir Stuart Atha

Director of Training Strategy BAE Systems

Stuart Atha joined BAE Systems in May 2020 and is responsible for the development and delivery of the Air Training Strategy, a remit that includes enterprise-wide multi-domain training. He is a member of the Air Board, chairman of PPM, a high tech entity, and Head of the UK delegation to the NATO Industry Advisory Group. Stuart joined the RAF in 1984 after reading mathematics and physics at Glasgow University and flying with the Air Squadron. Following a tour as an instructor on the Hawk aircraft, he served in Germany for 6 years and flew the Harrier from 1990 to 2003, flying combat missions over Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq. Stuart commanded RAF Coningsby and the Eurofighter Typhoon Force 2006-2008, the period when Typhoon entered operational service. During this tour Stuart also had the privilege of displaying Spitfires and Hurricanes of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. In 2009/10 he commanded the UK Air Component operating in the Gulf and Afghanistan. In 2011 he headed the Ministry of Defence’s Libyan operations team, reporting directly to the UK National Security Council, following which he commanded No 1 Group, which comprised a diverse array of air and space forces including combat aircraft, ISTAR assets and the National Air and Space Operations Centre. As the UK Air Defence Commander, he was responsible for developing and delivering the London Olympics’ Air Security Plan in 2012. Stuart’s staff experience includes posts in the RAF Air Warfare Centre and MOD including as personal staff officer to the Head of the Air Force. Between 2014 and 2016 he was deputy commander of the Permanent Joint Headquarters, responsible for all UK oversea operations. Stuart’s final tour in uniform was as Deputy Commander of the RAF, the Air Force Board member responsible for RAF operations 2016-2019, a tour that was dominated by the counter-ISIS campaign in Iraq/Syria and the NATO response to a resurgent Russia. Stuart is an Honorary Professor at the University of Nottingham, lecturing on contemporary air power subjects, and patron of the Jon Egging Trust, a charity that seeks to inspire and develop young people. In a similar vein, he is a flying officer reservist who enjoys flying Air Cadets on No 5 Air Experience Flight at RAF Wittering. He serves as a Commissioner with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and is the Honorary Vice-President of the Friends of Metheringham Airfield, organisations that are dedicated to honouring the memories of those who have served and sacrificed.