Castle, Tony - Manager of SyntheSys Training

Tony Castle, Manager of SyntheSys Training Business unit

Tony joined SyntheSys as Training Manager in June 2005 after a 30 year career as an Aerospace Systems Manager in the Royal Air Force. During his time in the RAF Tony operated various TDLs, starting with Link 11, IJMS and Link 14 in UK CRCs. In 1991 he was selected as one of the first personnel to crew the UK E3D Sentry (AWACS). Tony spent more than 10 years as AWACS crew, accruing more than 4000 flying hours and participating in many major NATO exercises (Red and Maple Flags, Clean Hunter, Cope Thunder, Flying Fish etc.).

He also participated in the coalition operations in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia. Involvement in these exercises and operations has provided Tony with a deep understanding of both operational and technical aspects of JTIDS/MIDS Link 16 and other TDLs. Tony was also an instructor on the E3D training school and for his final 2 years was appointed as the Staneval evaluator for all E3 related TDL matters.

Tony's last 4 years in the RAF were spent at CC Air HQ Ramstein, which has given him an excellent understanding of NATO procedures, and of the difficulties when operating in a multi national environment.

Since joining SyntheSys Tony has been responsible for the creation of various TDL training courses such as Introductions to JTIDS/MIDS Link 16, Link 22 and VMF. He has also written and presented the latest SyntheSys training course, Combat Net Radio Protocols, which covers the technical aspects of the bearer system utilised by many VMF systems. These courses have been presented to military and civilian audiences worldwide and through them SyntheSys has become recognised as one of the best trainers in the global TDL community.