The Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (ACAS) is a senior appointment in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

. The current ACAS is Air Vice-Marshal Simon Edwards. The post was originally established circa February 1938, but without being made a member of the

Air Council Air Council (or Air Force Council) was the governing body of the Royal Air Force until the merger of the Air Ministry with the other armed forces ministries to form the Ministry of Defence in 1964. It was succeeded by the Air Force Board. ...

. The ACAS post was re-established in 1985 by eliminating the Vice Chief of the Air Staff and combining the Policy and Operations

two star Two star, two stars and similar may refer to: * A grading of a hotel, restaurant, film, etc. in a star (classification) scheme * Two star petrol, a class of Leaded petrol formerly sold in the UK * Two-star rank, a senior military rank * Two-Handed ...

assistant chiefs. In 1992, ACAS became a member of the

Air Force Board The Air Force Board of the Defence Council is responsible for the management of the Royal Air Force. Prior to the creation of the current UK Ministry of Defence in 1964, the administration of the RAF and its personnel was undertaken by the A ...

. The ACAS is responsible for "assisting the Chief of the Air Staff in generating a balanced and integrated Royal Air Force capability and for maintaining the fighting effectiveness and morale of the Service including the development of policy." One of the many duties of the ACAS is to sit on the board of the

Civil Aviation Authority A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...

as a non-executive member.

Assistant Chiefs of the Air Staff from 1985

*1985–1986:

Anthony Skingsley Air Chief Marshal Sir Anthony Gerald Skingsley, (19 October 1933 – 15 January 2019) was a senior Royal Air Force commander. RAF career Educated at St Bartholomew's School, Newbury, BerkshireMichael Simmons *1989–1991: John Thomson *1991–1992:

Timothy Garden Air Marshal Timothy Garden, Baron Garden, , FRUSI, FCGI (23 April 1944 – 9 August 2007) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF) who later became a university professor and a Liberal Democrat politician. Garden gained degrees fr ...

*1992–1994:

Anthony Bagnall Air Chief Marshal Sir Anthony John Crowther "Tony" Bagnall, (born 8 June 1945) is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer and former Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff. Flying career Bagnall was commissioned into the Royal Air Force in 1967.< ...

*1994–1996:

Peter Squire Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Ted Squire, (7 October 1945 – 19 February 2018) was a senior Royal Air Force officer. He was a fast jet pilot in the 1970s, a squadron commander during the Falklands War, and a senior air commander in the 1990s. Sq ...

*1996–1998: Timothy Jenner *1998–2000: Jock Stirrup *2000–2003: Philip Sturley *2003–2005: David Walker *2005–2007:

Chris Moran Air Chief Marshal Sir Christopher Hugh Moran, (28 April 1956 – 26 May 2010) was a fast jet pilot and later a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. He was Commander-in-Chief of Air Command at the time of his unexpected death. Early and fa ...

*2007–2010: Tim Anderson *2010–2013:

Barry North Air Marshal Sir Barry Mark North, (born 13 September 1959) is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer, who served as Deputy Commander (Personnel) at RAF Air Command. A helicopter pilot, North has held command appointments at all levels, notabl ...

*2013–2015:

Edward Stringer Air Marshal Edward Jackson Stringer, is a senior Royal Air Force officer. Since April 2018 he has served as Director-General of the Defence Academy. He also served as Director-General of Joint Force Development, Strategic Command from April ...

*2015–2017:

Richard Knighton Air Marshal Sir Richard John Knighton, (born 1969) is a senior Royal Air Force officer and engineer. Since May 2022, he has served as Deputy Commander Capability at Air Command. Previously, he served as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (2015 to ...

*2017–2018: Michael Wigston *2018–2019:

Gerry Mayhew Air Marshal Sir Gerard Michael David Mayhew, (born 15 February 1969) is a senior Royal Air Force officer, who served as Deputy Commander Operations, Headquarters Air Command between May 2019 and August 2022. Early life and education Mayhew ...

*2019–2021:

Ian Gale Air Marshal Ian David Gale, is a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He is currently serving as Director-General of Joint Force Development, Strategic Command. Early life and education Gale was educated at Sir Thomas Picton School, a compr ...

*2021–present: Simon Edwards

References

{{reflist Royal Air Force appointments 1985 establishments in the United Kingdom