Chief Tech Lauren Hardisty is a 27-year veteran of the Royal Air Force, a Typhoon trade manager on 11 Squadron. Talking to Coningsby's Media & Comms Team, she discusses growing up in Stoke, the dream that got away, and her life in the RAF now.
Lauren, let's start with the basics. How long have you been in the Royal Air Force?
Twenty-seven years. I joined on St Patrick's Day, 1999. So yes, it's been a while.
Was it always going to be the RAF?
Always. From being a little girl. No other service was ever a consideration.
So what drew you to engineering specifically?
The truth is, I wanted to be the first female fast jet pilot. I watched the Red Arrows as a little girl and that was it — that was my aim. I was quite gifted academically, so I went to university with every intention of making it happen. Then I had a medical and was told I wasn't heavy enough to stream into fast jets. I was always a little skinny mini. So I thought: if I can't fly them, I'll fix them. I was always a tinkerer anyway. My work experience at school was very different from what the other girls were doing. It was probably always written in the stars.
What was training like?
I loved phase one. It was everything I'd learned in Girl Guides — on steroids. I was always good at everything, but never the best at any single thing. If I'd been a sportsperson, I'd have been a heptathlete. I loved all the elements — the sport, the academic side, the regiment work. All of it.
And phase two, when you first got your hands on aircraft?
That was quite emotional, actually. I remember thinking, going through training, that this is what I'd always wanted. It was exciting. It was terrifying — not so much in training itself, but when I got to my first posting, let's just say. It was a little lonely at times. There weren't many girls. But I was never really a girly girl, so I was just one of the boys anyway.
Tell us about that first posting.
I was posted to 5 Squadron — Tornado F3s, RAF Coningsby, on the same site where 3 Squadron is now. I arrived on Valentine's Day 2000, did a basic arrivals, and that night there was night flying. I thought we were under attack. I had never heard a noise like it. The adrenaline was instant — it was an unknown quantity. The squadron was deployed on Exercise Red Flag at the time, so I had a bit of space to find my feet. And from then, it was no looking back.
Did phase two prepare you for that moment?
The basics, yes. But it's very, very different. I didn't understand the sheer scale of fast jets until I was standing next to one. And I didn't fully appreciate what airworthiness actually means: you're putting somebody's body in that aircraft. You're responsible for making sure it flies. I was young and I felt important, but the gravity of it only really lands with time.
What is your role now?
I'm the trade manager on 11 Squadron. I stepped back from hands-on work on the aircraft to take on a leadership role — guiding engineers who are often just out of phase two training themselves. I always wanted to get to Chief Tech, partly because when I joined there were no female Chief Techs. The women tended to leave and have families. I wanted to be slightly different. Break the mould. That was always the goal.
What does trade manager mean in practice?
When someone is posted into 11 Squadron, I'm their first point of contact. I tell them what they need to know — where we are, how to get to and from work, because we're not exactly close to the main gate. I build them a settling-in package and I plan whatever courses they need for Typhoon. But I'm also very honest with them from the start about what the role demands. The QRA commitments. The deployments. Some places are great, some places are not so great. But I tell them: we are a massive family and we all support each other. It's probably the happiest I've been in a job. I feel valued, and I feel privileged a lot of the time with the influence I have on people.
This year's International Women in Engineering Day theme is Engineering Intelligence. What does that mean to you?
I'd say engineering intelligence is the ability to think — a truly intelligent engineer still has those old-fashioned trade skills. You can't buy them; you can't teach them from a piece of paper. They come from experience and willingness to adapt. I've worked on older aircraft systems and then evolved onto Typhoon, which is very modern. You need to find the balance. You can be more intelligent in an engineering environment than just what's written in front of you.
Has engineering shaped you as a person?
I'm pernickety. I'll use that word. Meticulous is probably the polite version, but I'll say pernickety. I like things how I like them. The standards we're held to at work have absolutely bled into my personal life. I don't accept second rate — from anyone, including myself. I don't think I'd be the same person if I'd been in a standard job.
If a young woman were reading this and thinking about joining the RAF as an engineer, what would you say?
Don't doubt yourself. It will give you friends for life and experiences money can't buy. You'll feel empowered, and you'll feel valued — and in some walks of life, you don't always get that. Things have evolved massively since I joined. You won't get any better than a military family. And they're the family you choose. I do have family of my own, but I genuinely don't know what I would have done without the Air Force.
