QinetiQ welcomes a new chief test pilot to MOD Boscombe Down

Keywords: Qinetiq, Employment, Aerospace industry

Group Captain Laurie Hilditch has joined MOD Boscombe Down, UK, to work with QinetiQ, formerly the bulk of DERA, as chief test pilot. No stranger to Boscombe Down, Laurie was Officer Commanding in QinetiQ's Empire Test Pilots' School between 1995 and 1998. He has just completed a tour of two years at the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) in Munich.

Laurie replaces current chief test pilot Group Captain Keith Dennison. Keith has been posted to the Royal College of Defence Studies in London where he will study international relations and strategic defence issues.

Keith said, "With the transition from DERA to the new partnership between the MOD and QinetiQ, staff at Boscombe Down have worked hard to achieve a smooth transition. The test and evaluation of aircraft and systems remains a key element in the MOD's development of capability and is a core part of QinetiQ's work at Boscombe Down. I wish Laurie all the best in his new post and thank my staff for all of their efforts."