Aircrew brevet < onlyinclude > An aircrew brevet ( officially known as an aircrew badge ) is the badge worn on the left breast , above any medal ribbon s , by qualified aircrew in the Royal Air Force , British Army , Indian Air Force , Canadian Forces , Australian Army , Royal Australian Air Force , Royal New Zealand Air Force , South African Air Force and Sri Lanka Air Force . United Kingdom . In the RAF , pilots wear the letters " RAF " in a wreath , surmounted by a crown , with a wing on each side ( pilots ' brevets are often referred to as " wings " ) . From April 2003 , Weapons Systems Officer s / Operators are awarded a similar brevet with a single wing . Other aircrew wear a letter or letters ( denoting speciality ) in a wreath , with a single wing . The only other brevets currently worn are " E " ( Air Engineer ) , " AT " ( Airborne Technician ) , " IA " ( Imagery Analyst ) and " FC " ( Fighter Controller ) . Parachute Jumping Instructor s ( PJIs ) wear an open parachute instead of a letter . Brevets prior to 2003 ( when roles became represented by the single WSO brevet ) include " N " ( Navigator ) , " LM " ( Air Loadmaster ) , " AE " ( Air Electronics Operator ) , " B " ( Bomb Aimer ) , " AG " ( Air Gunner ) , " AS " ( Air Steward ) which was replaced with a brevet with CC ( Cabin Crew ) , this brevet was unusual for aircrew as it is worn on the right sleeve in the same location as paracute qualification , has two up turned wings , similar to RN Ratin ' s aircrew badges and has cream stitching for the wings , lettering and laurels ( other brevets the laurels are bronze or blue for the remotly controlled aircraft such as reaper , where the laurels are blue ) , " M " ( Meteorological Observer ) , " QM " ( Air Quartermaster ) , " S " ( Air Signaller ) , and " RO " ( Radio Observer ) . Observers wore a single wing attached directly to the letter " O " . Some of these now obsolete brevets can still be worn ( LM , E , S , AS and AE ) by serving aircrew however , provided it was the brevet with which they were initially awarded with the exception of the Observers Brevet which was replaced by the Navigator ' s Brevet in 1942 , AG and B have also been obsolete for several decades , where as M and QM were phased out in the 1970s or 1980s . The Royal Navy ' s Fleet Air Arm has its own wings design , featuring albatross wings instead of the wings of a swift , as per the RAF design . For Observers , a clipped version is used featuring shorter wings , possibly from a different sea - bird . The Fleet Air Arm wings badges feature albatross wings , a crown and anchor , reflecting the naval aspect of the flying undertaken . They are worn on the sleeve of naval aviators , above the rank " rings " as opposed to on the left breast of RAF uniforms . They are awarded after the completion of all aspects of flight training , and on gaining a position in a frontline squadron . Australia . Royal Australian Air Force brevets differ from those in the RAF mainly in having a crown on all brevets ( not just on Pilot ' s wings ) and in normally having blue wreaths . The Pilot ' s Brevet has the letters " RAAF " . A similar twin - wing brevet , bearing the Southern Cross , was introduced for Officer Aircrew in 1998 , replacing various single - wing brevets previously worn by Commissioned Officer s ; however NCO aircrew continue to wear the old single - wing brevets . Most RAAF Pilots signed a petition in 1998 / 1999 in protest of non - Pilot " Officer aircrew " receiving a double wing . For the most part this was supported by serving Navigators and war veterans who had previously held the soon to be abolished ' half ' wing . The petition was unsuccessful . To this day RAAF non - pilot Officer aircrew such as Navigators who served in World War II are left with the same emblem as a modern Air Defence operator who has never seen active service or deployed ( this is incorrect , a new emblem was created in 1998 for Air Defence Operators ; who now along with Navigators are known as Air Combat Officers ) . Whether a person has deployed or not has nothing to do with the number of wings on their brevet . New Zealand . New Zealand uses similar insignia to the United Kingdom , except the Pilot ' s wings bear the letters " NZ " instead of " RAF " and the single wing of other aircrew still have the letters of the trade they represent . Currently these are Air Warfare Officer and Specialist ( AW ) , Air Engineer ( E ) , Air Loadmaster ( LM ) , Helicopter Crewman ( HC ) , Flight Steward ( FS ) , Air Ordnanceman ( AO ) , and Parachute Jump Instructor ( a parachute ) . Air Electronics Operator ( AE ) is obsolete . < / onlyinclude >