The Defence College for Military Capability Integration (DCMCI) held a ceremony for course members graduating from No 54 AeroSystems Course (ASC) on 24 July 2025.
Taught by the Defence Airworthiness and AeroSystems Technology School (DAATS), ASC is a year-long master’s programme that prepares students for roles in areas such as flight trials, requirements management and air capability development.
Throughout the year, nine students studied twelve modules using the academic provider, Cranfield University (CU), alongside a military contextualisation programme. Topics included
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awareness and exploitation of the electromagnetic spectrum
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guided weapons
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uncrewed air systems
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simulation
Through various field visits to military bases and leading aerospace companies in the UK and overseas, including the USA and Sweden, students gained first-hand insights on cutting-edge developments and methodologies in artificial intelligence, data fusion and aviation technology.
Rounding off the course is its capstone personal project which involves identification and analysis of a capability gap within defence, and the evaluation of potential solutions, resulting in actionable recommendations to enhance military capability.
The graduates, who now hold the Qualified Aerosystems (QAS) brevet, will go on to take up defence roles in either ‘Test and Evaluation’ or ‘Capability and Acquisition’. The knowledge and skills acquired will help ensure that the right equipment makes it into the hands of the warfighter, while ensuring timeliness and value-for-money.
Originally intended to be completed by aircrew, the course now welcomes engineers, occasional air battlespace managers, and intelligence officers. This blend highlights how the topics involved cross the boundaries of discipline and domain in the landscape of the modern battlefield.
Since its start in the 1940s as the Specialist Navigation Course - renamed ASC in the 1960s - fewer than 2,500 have completed it, making the most recent graduates members of a very exclusive club.
DCMCI is the Defence Academy’s technical college. Within it sit seven specialist schools that offer integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) focused education and training.