The Fleet Requirements and Air Direction Unit (FRADU) was a unit of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm operated by the contractor Serco Defence and Aerospace. It was established in 1972.[1] It was most recently equipped with 13 BAE Systems Hawk T1 advanced jet trainer aircraft on lease to the Royal Navy from the Royal Air Force, based at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall. Two of these aircraft were permanently detached to Naval Flying Standards Flight (fixed wing) at RNAS Yeovilton where they are flown by RN pilots, but maintained by Serco engineers.
FRADU provided training for the Royal Navy by conducting simulated attacks on Royal Navy ships during Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST), Airborne Early Warning (AEW) exercises, training air controllers and Helicopter Fighter Affiliation training.
In June 2013, FRADU was redesignated 736 Naval Air Squadron.[2]
The Fleet Requirements and Air Direction Training Unit (FRADTU) was formed in 1972 by the merger of the Fleet Requirements Unit (FRU) and the Air Direction Training Unit ADTU which were operated by Airwork Services for the RN.
In 1983, the contract for FRADU was offered to competitive tender; the contract was won by Flight Refuelling Ltd, Hurn.
The FRADU moved from RNAS Yeovilton, its home since 1972, to RNAS Culdrose in December 1995.