In addition to the multiple RAF orders, the Jet Provost, sometimes with light armament, was exported to many air forces worldwide.

In early 1951, Hunting Percival began work on the design studies that would ultimately lead to the Jet Provost.

[2] The initial design work was performed as a private venture, independent of any service requirement; in March 1953, sponsorship from the British Government to support the development was made available as a result of interest from the Ministry of Supply.

[3] On 26 June 1954, the prototype XD674 conducted its maiden flight from the factory at Luton Airport, flown by Dick Wheldon.

[2] While testing proved the overall performance of the Jet Provost to be satisfactory, refinements were made, such as shortening the legs of the landing gear for a smoother ride when deployed at semi-prepared airstrips.

[4] According to feedback from CFS examiners, the Jet Provost had noticeably improved the performance of students during its trial deployment.

Amongst the changes made was an overall smoothing of the fuselage lines, hydraulic systems being substituted for pneumatic counterparts, and the addition of a dorsal fillet; the new model was designated as the Jet Provost T2.

The aerodynamic design deliberately avoids speed, instead focusing on favourable handling characteristics and ease of recovery from stall and spin conditions.

[10] It features a side-by-side seating arrangement, both positions being fitted with duplicated flight controls and instrumentation, which is well suited to the pupil-instructor pairing.

[12] The high-flying capabilities of the Jet Provost necessitated the addition of an oxygen system in the cockpit, which was unpressurised on early production aircraft.

[11] The nose contains a hinged metal assembly, housing the radio, batteries, and other electronic equipment, and is easily serviceable by ground crew.

[16] Both the hydraulic and electrical systems were driven via a fuselage-mounted accessories gearbox connected to the Viper engine by a telescopic drive.

2 FTS, located at RAF Syerston, during June 1959, when deliveries commenced from the Hunting Aircraft factory at Luton airport.

A single Jet Provost T2 was exported to Australia and was operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to evaluate the type for the purpose of providing 'all-through' jet-based training.

With the outbreak of the 1971 JVP insurrection in April 1971, the RCyAF took out its mothballed Provosts and started a crash program to bring these to operational readiness in three days.

[23] Nigeria acquired two ex-Sudan Air Force Jet Provost T.51s in 1967, using them for training and ground attack purposes against Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War.

Flown both by Nigeran and mercenary pilots, they proved effective as in both roles, but efforts to obtain more Jet Provosts directly from Britain failed.

Some are flown at airshows, whilst roughly equal numbers are maintained in ground-runnable condition at various locations, many of these being in the United Kingdom.