RAF set to name non-pilot as chief for the first time in its history, Sky News understands

The next head of the Royal Air Force is expected for the first time to be an officer who has never served as a pilot, Sky News understands.

Air Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, an engineer, is set to be named as the next Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), according to four defence and Whitehall sources.

If this is confirmed, he will replace Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, who is due to step down in the summer.

"It breaks an important glass ceiling," one source, with knowledge of the appointment, said.

"We have never had a non-pilot before."

A number of former RAF officers questioned whether Air Marshal Knighton was the right person for the job at a time of war in Europe given his limited operational experience.

One former senior commander said it was "extraordinary" that someone who had not fought in Afghanistan or Iraq would be appointed head of the air force.

Air Chief Marshal Wigston is a fighter pilot like all but one of his predecessors in the RAF's more than 100-year history.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Andy Pulford broke that mould in 2013 when he became the first helicopter pilot to lead the service.

But Air Marshal Knighton, aged 53 or 54, who currently works as the air force's deputy commander capability, began his military career as an engineer.

He worked with aircraft, including the Tornado fast jet, the Harrier jump jet and the Nimrod maritime patrol plane.

A Royal Air Force spokesperson declined to comment on speculation about the new chief.

"Appointments of the heads of the military services are a matter for the secretary of state, prime minister and His Majesty the King and will be announced when approved," the spokesperson said.

The anticipated, novel change at the top comes at a time of transformation, with the RAF increasingly embracing autonomous technology, including in its next-generation aircraft as well as seeking to exploit the potential of space-based technology, simulators and cyber.

Change will come after series of controversies

But it also comes at a time of turbulence, internally, for the service as it grapples with a series of controversies that have piled pressure on the incumbent air chief.

This includes the resignation of the head of RAF recruitment last year in protest at an "illegal order" to discriminate against white male recruits to meet "impossible" diversity targets.

Scandal has also consumed the Red Arrows, amid claims of bullying, misogyny and sexual harassment.

In addition, chronic problems with military flying training have persisted, with learner pilots still waiting years in limbo to qualify.

This is despite Defence Secretary Ben Wallace making the task of fixing the problems the "only priority" for Air Chief Marshal Wigston.

Expected new chief joined RAF in 1988

Appearing before a committee of MPs in February, the head of the RAF admitted to mistakes over the recruitment debacle.

Air Chief Marshal Wigston said it had been wrong for "stretching aspirational" goals - that he had set to improve diversity in the RAF - to end up as "unattainable" recruitment targets.

The outgoing chief enjoys the support and confidence of Mr Wallace and Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the chief of the defence staff.

Air Chief Marshal Wigston's tenure as air force chief was extended last year by around 12 months.

He took up the post in July 2019.

His anticipated successor, Air Marshal Knighton, joined the RAF in 1988 as a University Cadet and studied at Clare College Cambridge.

Read more on Sky News:
Why spectre of British military becoming a 'hollow force' is now a reality
US and South Korea staging biggest military drills in years

After working as an aircraft engineer, he has spent a lot of his career involved in military capability inside the RAF and also the Ministry of Defence.

This includes a period as deputy chief of defence staff (military capability) - a job that meant he played an important part in drawing up the armed forces' input into a major review of defence, security and foreign policy that was published in 2021.

Others thought to have been in the running to replace Air Chief Marshal Wigston include Air Marshal Harvey Smyth and Air Marshal Sir Gerry Mayhew. Both served as fighter pilots.

Critics of the anticipated appointment though questioned the choice of Air Marshal Knighton given his lack of frontline experience at a time when Russia is waging war in Ukraine.

"It is extraordinary given the extensive number of deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan over many years that someone could rise to commander of the RAF without deploying on either of those defining operations," the former RAF officer said.

"At a time when we are seeing the consequences of what real war looks like in Ukraine, with significant casualties, then the head of a fighting service should have some experience of the sharp end of conflict where one has to be responsible for employing lethal force and-or put oneself in the line of fire."