FS Andy Fleming RAF receiving his Award from HRH The Princess Royal, with Master Engineer Andrew McNaughton, at the Engineers Trust Awards Dinner on 9 June 2026

Flight Sergeant Andy Fleming RAF

Flight Sergeant Fleming has made an outstanding and enduring contribution to Royal Air Force engineering capability through his leadership of Project ASurvey, culminating in a 5-year journey that has delivered the Service’s first autonomous aircraft inspection capability. His work represents a transformative step forward in airworthiness assurance, operational efficiency and digital engineering innovation.

Project ASurvey began as an exploration into whether autonomous drone technology could improve the repeatability, accuracy and workforce efficiency of general visual inspections on the P8A Poseidon aircraft. The Donecle IRIS GVI system proved its ability to operate autonomously in GPS-denied environments, capture high resolution imagery, and detect surface damage down to 1 mm², demonstrating clear potential to modernise Royal Air Force engineering practice. As the project matured, Fleming played a pivotal role in securing its transition from an ASTRA-funded innovation to full 1 Group endorsement and resourcing for FY2025/26. This progression marked its evolution into an operationally-supported capability with a defined pathway toward adoption across all platforms within the Defence Air Environment.

Real-world use required overcoming substantial cyber-security and data-assurance challenges, particularly around MOD ‘Secure by Design’ requirements and external cloud services. Fleming coordinated all necessary penetration-testing and cyber-security work with Defence Digital and 6 Cyber Squadron, enabling safe and compliant use of the Donecle Cloud Instance. By working with the Military Aviation Authority and Aviation Duty Holder chain he also resolved the regulatory complexity surrounding fully-autonomous drone operations operating near military aircraft. Through diligence and substantial engagement, he achieved formal approval for autonomous aircraft-inspection drone use on the active and busy airfield of Royal Air Force Lossiemouth.

The operational impact has been significant. Autonomous inspections reduce effort from approximately 30 hours to around 3 hours per event, generating annual savings of over 1,000 labour hours while improving digital traceability and long-term structural monitoring. His ability to communicate complex engineering and digital assurance issues to senior Royal Air Force leadership contributed directly to long-term investment in sovereign Cloud architecture and future cross-platform application of the capability.

Through exceptional leadership, technical mastery and unwavering commitment to innovation, Flight Sergeant Fleming has delivered a generational improvement in Royal Air Force engineering practice.

The Worshipful Company of Engineers, through its charitable arm the Engineers Trust, is honoured to recognise outstanding performance and leadership across all branches of the Armed Forces and their civilian engineering support teams. Awards were presented by HRH The Princess Royal at the Company’s Awards Dinner on 9th June 2026.

The Worshipful Company of Engineers Charitable Trust (the Engineers Trust) promotes the contributions of engineers to benefit society, education and research, and the relief of hardship and poverty.

Award photo courtesy of Mark Witter Photography