For ease of maintenance the Mk.10 was designed with modular assemblies, avoiding the need to remove the whole seat from the aircraft for minor servicing tasks.

[1] The first successful emergency use of a Mk.10 seat involved a Red Arrows BAE Hawk on 17 May 1980 after the aircraft struck the mast of a yacht moored offshore at Brighton.

[2] A fatal accident involving the Red Arrows in November 2011 resulted in the temporary grounding of Royal Air Force aircraft fitted with Mk.10 seats.

As the seat moves up its guide rails an emergency oxygen supply is activated and personal equipment tubing and communication leads are automatically disconnected, leg and arm restraints also operate.

A steel rod, known as the drogue gun, is fired and extracts two small parachutes to stabilise the seat's descent path.