Wing Commander Stuart Phillips

Officer Commanding 54 Squadron Royal Air Force

Wing Commander Stu Phillips joined the RAF in 1999 as a Pilot. However, after several years of training on both fixed and rotary winged platforms, in 2003, he was reselected as a Weapon Systems Officer (WSO). Streamed Ground Attack, after completion of the Tornado GR4 OCU at RAF Lossiemouth he completed front Line tours on XIII and IX(B) Sqn. He was selected to be part of the 2007 Tornado GR4 Role Demonstration and was an Electronic Warfare Instructor (EWI). He subsequently completed tours on 39 and 54 Sqns operating the MQ-9 Reaper. The latter tour saw Phillips lead the establishment of contractorised Reaper training from Grand Forks, North Dakota in the USA. Amassing over 4000 hours flying, the majority in support of operations, Phillips has held several key supervisory and UK and US instructional qualifications.

Phillips’ staff appointments have include several tours at the Air and Space Warfare Centre as SO2 Special Projects in the USA responsible for the delivery of trials on the Western Test Ranges, 92 Sqn RPAS and Air-to-Surface Weapons SME, and as an OF4, XO Development Division. Phillips also served as President to a Service Inquiry. Wg Cdr Phillips’ operational experience includes numerous deployments flying in support of Ops TELIC, HERRICK and SHADER. He has also completed two USAF embed tours as part of the MQ-9 Launch and Recovery Element at Kandahar, and a tour at 83 EAG in support of Broader Middle East operations. Phillips took command of 54 Squadron in August 2024.