Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

Sir Richard John Knighton, (born 1969) is a senior

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) officer and professional

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, currently serving as Chief of the Air Staff, the professional head of the RAF, since 2 June 2023. He previously served as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff from January 2015 to January 2017, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Financial and Military Capability) (December 2018 to May 2022) at the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

, and as Deputy Commander Capability at

RAF Air Command Air Command is the only Command currently active in the Royal Air Force. It was formed by the merger of Royal Air Force Strike and Personnel and Training commands on 1 April 2007, and has its headquarters at RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshi ...

. Knighton is notable for being the first Chief of the Air Staff who is not a military pilot or indeed aircrew-qualified.

Early life

Born in 1969, Knighton was educated at Hatton Secondary School in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

. As a university cadet sponsored by the

, he studied

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...

where he graduated in 1991 with a

first class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree. As per tradition, his BA degree was subsequently promoted to a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA Cantab) degree.

Military career

Knighton joined the

(RAF) at

RAF College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and is respo ...

in 1988. In his early career, he served as an

Engineer Officer An engineering officer can be a Merchant Navy engineer, or a commissioned officer in the British Armed Forces with responsibility for military engineering. In the Royal Navy (RN), Engineer Officer (Royal Navy), Engineering Officers are responsib ...

, and worked on

Nimrod Nimrod is a Hebrew Bible, biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles, the Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush (Bible), Cush and therefore the great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of Sh ...

, Harrier, and Tornado F3 aircraft, specialising on

airframe The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system. Airframe design is a field of aeros ...

s. In 1998, he was promoted to

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

, becoming Senior Engineer Officer on No. 20 Squadron RAF, which was then the Harrier operational conversion unit based at

RAF Wittering Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire ...

in Cambridgeshire. He supported the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

as Senior Engineering Officer in No. 1 Squadron RAF, serving in Italy. Following this, Knighton moved on to the

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

as fleet manager for the Tornado Integrated Project Team, which encompassed all variants of Tornado then in RAF service. In 2003 Knighton was promoted to

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

whilst attending the

Advanced Command and Staff Course The Advanced Command and Staff Course is a staff course for mid career military officers of the United Kingdom armed forces and allies. It is taught at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. The cours ...

. A year later, he returned to the Harrier Force in 2004 as part of the Integrated Project Team based at

RAF Wyton Royal Air Force Wyton or more simply RAF Wyton is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station near St Ives, Cambridgeshire, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, England. The airfield is decommissioned and the station is now under the comm ...

; this role was looking at ways to transform how the Harrier was supported by commercial industry partners. In 2006, he was appointed

military assistant A military assistant is sub-specialty of secretarial duties in the British Armed Forces and many of those derived from them, is an officer appointed to the personal office of a general officer. Whilst aides de camp (ADCs) are responsible for ad ...

to the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Equipment Capability) at the

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

, London. Promoted to

group captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

in mid-2007, he moved to RAF High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire to take post as Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff Strategy and Plans at Air Command. In 2009, Knighton attended the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest leve ...

, and upon completion, became the Logistics Force Commander for the RAF and

Station Commander The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually giv ...

until 2011. RAF Chief of the Air Staff 2023 handover

In May 2011, with promotion to

air commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

, Knighton was appointed Director of Air Plans, subsequently known as Head of Finance and Military Capability (Air), at the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall, before moving on to creating and leading the Future Combat Air System programme. From January 2015 to 2017, he served as the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff. As such, he was 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 ...

, and also sat on the board of the Civil Aviation Authority as a non-executive member. In July 2016, it was announced that Knighton would become Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Capability & Force Design) with effect from January 2017. In the 2017 New Year Honours, Knighton was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

. In December 2018, he was promoted to air marshal, and appointed as Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Financial and Military Capability) at the Ministry of Defence. In May 2022, he was appointed Deputy Commander Capability at Air Command at RAF High Wycombe. In the

2022 Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those ...

, Knighton was promoted to

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

. In March 2023, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced that Knighton would be appointed as Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) in June 2023, in the rank of

air chief marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

. Knighton, who joined the RAF as an engineering officer, is significant as the first non-pilot to be appointed to the role of CAS. Knighton took up the post on 2 June 2023.

Personal life

Knighton is married to Caitlin, a partner in a Cambridge-based law firm. The couple share their Cambridge home with their two daughters. Knighton is president of Combined Services and RAF

Powerlifting Powerlifting is a competitive strength athletics, strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: Squat (exercise), squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athle ...

, along with the chairman of the RAF Winter Sports Federation. Off duty, Knighton is a "a below-average sportsman", and a keen skier, and confesses a desire to do more sailing, whilst also keeping current with his private pilots licence.

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Knighton, Rich 1969 births Living people Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge British aerospace engineers Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Royal Air Force air marshals Chiefs of the Air Staff (United Kingdom) Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering