March was a month of deliveries and ‘firsts’, as we broke new ground with our Team Tempest partners, by broadcasting the first episode of Team Tempest’s Future Horizons podcast. Throughout the series, the podcast spoke to many of those involved in the programme, as well as key industry commentators who shared their views on the road ahead for the programme, which is set to define the next generation of Combat Air System capability.

We celebrated the anniversary of another historic ‘first’ on 21st March, marking 50 years since the maiden flight of the Lynx helicopter. A bright yellow prototype of the now-iconic aircraft was piloted by Ron Gellatly to complete two short flights in 1971 from our site in Yeovil, highlighting the start of five decades of sustained success as a world leader in the naval helicopter market for the company.

Later in the month, we made another successful delivery: the tenth AW101 ‘SAR Queen’ All-Weather Search and Rescue helicopter, for the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security. The 330 squadron of the Royal Norwegian Air Force, which operates the platform, has completed several life-saving missions in the inhospitable Nordic environment, such as a night mountain rescue, an offshore rescue and a challenging emergency transportation.

March was also Women’s History Month, during which our network group dedicated to gender balance, Equalise, hosted a series of activities focused on the changes we can make today for a stronger future tomorrow. Equalise explained that one of the changes we can make is how to be an ‘Active Bystander’ and choose to call out discrimination and stereotyping. On International Women’s Day, which appropriately falls in Women’s History Month, we heard from Audrey Black, Procurement and Commercial Director of our Electronics business. Audrey published an article explaining how she used her “need to be challenged” to progress her career in a previously male-dominated environment, and how she is now helping to identify and develop future leaders.

Following a successful National Apprenticeship Week in February, we delivered a campaign in support of Scottish Apprenticeship Week, which celebrated the work of apprentices at our Edinburgh site and promoted the apprenticeship opportunities available there. Our 2021 Early Career vacancies closed in March, having received thousands of competitive applications from across the UK. Are you interested in our current opportunities? Applications for our 2022 Early Career roles are now live.