A woman pilot has been selected to join the Red Arrows for the first time. Flight Lieutenant Kirsty Moore will start training with the aerobatic display team in September.

The RAF said that until recently no female fast-jet pilot had advanced far enough in her flying career to join the display team.

Flight Lieutenant Moore, 31, from Lincolnshire, is the pilot of a Tornado fighter jet serving with XIII Squadron based at RAF Marham in Norfolk.

Although not the first woman to apply for a place, she was the first to make the shortlist and be selected to join the “Diamond Nine” based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire.

Successful applicants have to have scored better than average marks in their flying career, have flown for a minimum of 1,500 hours and have completed at least one frontline tour as a fast-jet pilot.

The RAF said that the Red Arrows received 30 applicants a year and that members who met the criteria were considered purely on merit.

Wing Commander Jas Hawker, team leader of the Red Arrows, said: “The shortlist of candidates to join the Red Arrows represents some of the very finest fast-jet pilots in the Royal Air Force. Their skills, experience, dedication and enthusiasm are second to none.”

Flight Lieutenant Moore, who joined the RAF as a pilot in 1998, will have a three-year tour with the team.

She is expected to fly at events such as the British Formula 1 Grand Prix, the Great North Run in Newcastle and the London Olympics.

Flight Lieutenant Ben Plank, 30, from Worcestershire, who joined the RAF in 2000, has also been selected to join the Red Arrows. He is currently on an operational tour with a Harrier squadron.

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