Cadets from No. 2 Overseas Gibraltar Squadron, Air Training Corps, welcomed Ministers Santos and Cortes during a parade night showcasing drill, communications training, STEM activities and flight simulator exercises.

A statement from British Forces Gibraltar follows below:

Cadets and staff of No. 2 Overseas (Gibraltar) Squadron, Air Training Corps, were honoured to welcome Minister Santos and Minister Cortes during a recent parade night, showcasing the application, commitment and skills of Gibraltar’s young air cadets.

Dr Cortes, Minister for the Environment, Sustainability, Climate Change and Education, alongside Mr Santos, Minister for Equality, Employment, Culture and Tourism, were invited to witness a variety of engaging activities. The Ministers observed precision drill practice, an insightful radio communications demonstration, and even experienced the thrill of flying in the Squadron’s state-of-the-art flight simulators.

Flight Lieutenant Ivan Caward introduced the Ministers to cadets immersed in a challenging STEM and team-building exercise. The cadets demonstrated ingenuity and teamwork by creatively assembling a stretcher from limited materials and successfully transporting a team member across a demanding ground course.

Civilian Instructor Szymon Bakowski captivated the Ministers with an interactive radio communications training session, covering the initial modules of the RAF Air Cadets’ ‘Basic Radio Communications’ blue badge syllabus. This session provided cadets the opportunity to showcase the Squadron’s cutting-edge handheld radio systems, ahead of receiving their Military Operating Authority (MOA) certificate which authorises active transmissions.

Warrant Officer Paul Llanelo led the cadet drill squad in a polished ceremonial marching display, expertly preparing them for their role in the upcoming Special Olympics opening ceremony on 24 June.

The visit culminated with a tour of the Squadron’s new IT lab and flight simulators.

Both Ministers took to the high-fidelity VR cockpits to pilot the Grob Tutor — the RAF Air Cadet training aircraft used across the UK. Demonstrating impressive skill and composure, they took off from RAF Gibraltar and brought the aircraft safely back to land, much to the delight of all present.As the evening drew to a close, Ministers Santos and Cortes expressed their heartfelt thanks to the cadets for an inspiring and memorable visit, offering words of encouragement to the future leaders, and potential RAF pilots and engineers, from No. 2 Overseas (Gibraltar) Squadron.