CAREER PURSUIT 2021

CAREER PURSUIT 25 RAF ASTRA By Helen Massy Astra is one of the innovative sponsors behind CareerPursuit.Basedonthe vision from the Chief of the Air Staff, Astra strives for ‘A world-class integrated, capable and inclusive Air Force delivering decisive effect across all domains.’ The Astra journey commenced in January 2020 and aims to change howtheRAFdeliversairand space power in the highly contested environments of the future. Read on to learn more about this original initiative and the impact it is already making. W HAT IS ASTRA? Astra is the campaign to build the Next-Generation Royal Air Force, nominally the ‘RAF of 2040’. It’s taken from the Service’s Latin motto: per ardua ad astra meaning ‘ through adversity to the stars’.This motto defines the character of the RAF’s first 100 years and anticipates a future where the sky is no longer the limit of ambitions. Astra is about cultural change and is, therefore, a long-term effort that requires authentic, consistent, and relentless communication at every level. Empowering ideas from across the Whole Force: regulars, reserves, civil servants, contractors, and the Air Cadets who represent the future generation. BRINGING CULTURAL CHANGE TO PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE Astra endeavours to embrace networks and data, mobilise space and cyber, modernise military bases, transform approaches to warfare, and enhance joint operating capability with other Services and allies. That’s a bold statement to make. So, how does Astra intend on doing this? Astra’s approach is to encourage ‘bottom-up’, grassroots initiatives, where people from across the Whole Force are empowered and supported to identify improvements and deliver changes. It has developed tools and applications to allow any member of the Whole Force to take an idea forward, resource it, drive its implementation, and, where applicable, share it across the RAF and Defence. Astra is split into four core themes: people, training, infrastructure and support, and equipment. The network has over 1,400 ambassadors across 30 units who are empowered to drive change. ASTRA SPRINTS A series of ‘sprint initiatives’ that deliver tangible progress towards the Next-Generation Royal Air Force have already built momentum. To date, over 105 sprints have been initiated, and the most successful have been shared across the RAF as ‘Astra Flatpacks’ for everyone to implement. Astra funding is available to recognise proof-of- concept ideas, making people’s ideas a reality. The Astra team encourage all applications, no matter how small, to help concepts come to life! It’s impossible to talk about every Astra sprint in one article, but some of the notable Astra sprints include: Project ADDIVITIVE – A phased approach to introduce 3D printing - now in phase two with 12 stations involved, including RAF Mount Pleasant, RAF Akrotiri, and HMS Queen Elizabeth. Project BIOSCAN − The RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine sprint. The development of a body scanner that will measure 150 points on a human body. It will produce a 3D model which prints out in eight seconds. Project STARCHASER – Offers secondments for junior personnel across all three Services to work on the Astra X rocket, which will be launched in September 2021. It will be the largest rocket launched from mainland Britain. Alongside this, a STEM competition has run within the Air Cadets with more than 30 prizes; the first-prize winner is getting their name on the Astra X rocket! Project APPIVATE −The RAF’s first mobile app team and coding capability. The team have already deployed apps to help with frontline issues. For example, the ‘Ballistic App’ has delivered an enormous step forward in the RAF’s ability to deliver high-altitude parachuting.