The awards recognise contributions spanning from technical advancements in engineering and safety, to best practice and space innovation.
Royal Aeronautical Society
“We are proud to honour the exceptional individuals and teams recognised in this year’s Honours, Medals, and Awards,” said Alisdair Wood FRAeS, President, Royal Aeronautical Society.
“Their achievements represent the highest standards of excellence in aerospace, driving our sector forward and inspiring the next generation of aerospace pioneers. We celebrate their remarkable contributions and the lasting impact they continue to make on the global aerospace community.”
The awards were held at No.4 Hamilton Place, London, and 
Alisdair Wood was presenting the keynote speech, right.
Winners
A number of people from the aviation industry received Honorary Fellowships. For example, Mr Michael Griffin was recognised for his work as a NASA Administrator. And Dr Josef Ashbacher Director General of the European Space Agency was honoured for his contributions to the European Space Programme and the Space sector generally.
Also, Professor Konstantinos Kontis FRAeS was honoured for outstanding research achievements at the University of Glasgow. Specifically, for establishing advanced facilities such as the Acre Road Wind Tunnel and Plume-Regolith Testing Facilities and . These Honorary Fellowships are the world’s highest distinction for aerospace achievements.
RAeS Bronze Medal
RAeS Bronze Medals were awarded to Dr Ethan Waisberg for his development of a head-mounted visual assessment system. This is scheduled for deployment on the International Space Station in 2026.
Flt Lt Robert Lewis MRAeS was awarded both a Bronze Medal and the Flight Simulation Specialist Group Award for displaying exceptional innovation in support of a UK International Defence Training initiative for Ukrainian ab-initio pilots (beginner-level courses for students with no prior experience).
Bronze Team Medal
The Bronze Team Medal was awarded to the BBMF Lancaster Tail Replacement team. This was for building a new set of Tail Planes for the BBMF Lancaster, the biggest major modification in the aircraft’s history.
Also, Loughborough University’s National Centre for Combustion and Aerothermal Technology (NCCAT) was awarded a Bronze Team Medal. This was for the long-term partnership between the university and Rolls-Royce, “delivering technical advances that have enabled fuel burn reduction across the company’s aeroengine fleet”, said RAeS.
The award was also made to Leonardo’s and 2 Excel’s Excalibur Flight Test Aircraft recognising “the innovative design, engineering, and execution that led to the successful first flight of the ‘Excalibur’ Flight Test Aircraft, a key asset for the Tempest/GCAP programme”.
Operation Spitfire was awarded the Education and Skills Committee Team Award. This was “for the restoration of Stoke-on-Trent’s Spitfire aircraft, development of a Spitfire cockpit simulator for public use and a redesigned a museum’s Spitfire Gallery”.
Silver Team
The Silver Team Award was awarded to Dr Richard Brown FRAeS and Dr Michael Pryce for their contribution to helicopter and eVTOL safety.
In addition, a Silver Team Medal was awarded to 1312 Flight Squadron Royal Air Force. The Royal Aeronautical Society highlighted that “1312 Flight demonstrated the highest levels of professionalism and leadership during a search and rescue mission in the South Atlantic Ocean. In an extremely pressurised situation, the team led their crews which saved the lives of 14 sailors.”
You can read the full list of 2025 awards on the Royal Aeronautical Society website.
The Royal Aeronautical Society has been honouring outstanding achievers in the global aerospace industry since 1909, it highlights. This was when Wilbur and Orville Wright came to London to receive the Society’s first Gold Medal.
Images: The Royal Aeronautical Society
See also: Leonardo engineer starts AeroWomen21 network for women in aerospace
