A question, really, as I can't satisfy myself with the answers I'm getting. Currently the military don't need licences to fly military hardware. The legal exemption, I believe, is in the
ANO Part 6, para 58 which says:
Flight crew licence requirement – Exception for members of HM Forces
58. A person may act as a member of the flight crew of an aircraft registered in the United Kingdom without being the holder of an appropriate licence if, in so doing, the person is acting in the course of his or her duty as a member of any of Her Majesty's naval, military or air forces.
EASA Part FCL comes into force on the 8th of April 2012, I believe as EU law, and will be applied to licensing in the UK from that point on. I am told it will have primacy over UK law and therefore, I assume, the ANO.
I can find no exemptions in Part FCL that allow military pilots to continue operating without a licence and my tentative conclusion is that military aircrew may well therefore need EASA licences to operate military aircraft from 2012.
I might be completely wrong here, and all the advice I can get from those that do understand EASA is 'not to worry'. I would feel more comfortable if I could find the chapter and verse. Anyone know more about this, or can anyone point me to the exemption that I may have missed?