The Defence Infrastructure Organisation has handed over new training and accommodation at MOD Lyneham to support the relocation of RAF No 4 School of Technical Training. The £82 million scheme provides a purpose-built technical building and three Single Living Accommodation blocks offering 96 trainee bedspaces and 72 for permanent staff and visiting RAF personnel. A 2.5MVA solar array with battery storage is included to improve energy resilience. The news was published by the Ministry of Defence on 23 January 2026, with the training facility scheduled to open in 2026 following fit-out. (gov.uk)
Project CUBIT is the RAF’s programme to move 4SoTT from MOD St Athan to Lyneham. Official postings describe CUBIT as closing down 4SoTT at St Athan by 31 March 2024 and re-establishing it at Lyneham, with roles aligned to the relocation timeline. RAF updates in 2025 confirmed 4SoTT training had restarted at Lyneham while new facilities were being completed. Together, these indicate Lyneham is now the permanent home for RAF ground engineering trade training. (findforcesjobs.mod.gov.uk)
The build aligns with the Defence Estate Optimisation Portfolio, which the Ministry of Defence describes as a £5.1 billion programme to modernise, rationalise and decarbonise the estate over 25 years. DEO documents emphasise new and refurbished training infrastructure and accommodation across Services, with major projects already in delivery or completed. (gov.uk)
According to the MOD announcement, the Lyneham project was delivered by Kier Construction Western & Wales with Mott MacDonald as Technical Service Provider. Beyond training spaces-classrooms, laboratories, workshops and offices-the accommodation uplift is designed to serve both trainees and permanent staff. The project also reports the equivalent of 19 new jobs created during construction and a supporting community centre upgrade on the site. (gov.uk)
For readers tracking training pipelines, this move consolidates Phase 2 specialist trade training and Phase 3 professional development for RAF ground engineering at a single campus. In RAF terms, Phase 2 refers to specialist trade training delivered after basic recruit training, while Phase 3 covers later career development and management training. Official RAF pages illustrate Phase 2 delivery at technical schools and Phase 3 development through courses at stations such as RAF Halton. (recruitment.raf.mod.uk)
Procurement notices add further context. The Lyneham Technical Training Project envisages a services contract to deliver engineering and technical training across DSEME, 4SoTT, and associated schools. The preliminary market engagement in May 2025 indicated an estimated value of £120 million including VAT and provisional contract dates from November 2026 to November 2029, with a possible extension to 2031. (find-tender.service.gov.uk)
Independent inspections of Armed Forces training in 2024/25 identified pressure points across the estate, including at Lyneham, where recommendations included accelerating accommodation refurbishment and improving programmes for trainees in holding. The addition of modern single living accommodation and purpose-built training spaces at Lyneham is therefore material to welfare and throughput. (gov.uk)
Energy security is a practical feature of the project. On-site solar generation with storage should reduce reliance on the grid for the new buildings and aligns with MOD direction to improve infrastructure resilience and cut emissions. Defence policy papers note that estate infrastructure accounts for around 30% of Defence baseline emissions, with DEO investment intended to reduce this burden. (gov.uk)
Lyneham has been incrementally rebuilt as a defence technical training hub over the past decade. Earlier DIO works delivered facilities for REME and the Defence College of Technical Training from 2013–2016; the current RAF-focused build extends that model to ground engineering, consolidating training away from older estate at St Athan. (gov.uk)
What happens next is largely operational. Fit-out of the training building precedes the 2026 opening, while DEO and LTTP timelines suggest wider training services and governance arrangements at Lyneham are scheduled to be in place from late 2026. For training managers and station staffs, the near-term task is transition planning: migrating courseware, equipment and instructors into the new facility and bedding in accommodation and welfare routines on a live site. (find-tender.service.gov.uk)