The Fleet Air Arm Awards 2025 were held at the Palace of Westminster on 16 October 2025. The prestigious event was hosted by Rear Admiral Anthony Rimington CBE (Director Force Generation and Rear Admiral Fleet Air Arm), Honorary Captain Keith Knowles OBE CBII, and the Rt Hon Mike Wood MP.
Culdrose winners included the Fleet Air Arm Sword presented to 824 Naval Air Squadron for its flight on frontline duty. Typically the squadron trains Merlin Mk2 aircrew and engineers at Culdrose but it also holds responsibility for operational tasking.
The Sopwith Pup Trophy was awarded to 814 Naval Air Squadron’s Kingfisher Flight, for its work in anti-submarine warfare duty in the north Atlantic.
Finally, the Dunning Cup was presented to 700X Naval Air Squadron’s Peregrine Team for introducing this new drone into service. Peregrine is a remotely-piloted mini-helicopter that was used alongside a crewed Wildcat helicopter embarked with HMS Lancaster. The team was directly involved in two operations to stop drug smuggling in the Middle East this year.
