Earlier in his career, Anderson was a fast jet pilot, primarily flying the Tornado ground attack aircraft, and as Officer Commanding No.
14 Squadron led the United Kingdom's Tornado commitment to Operation Allied Force, the NATO air campaign over Kosovo in 1999, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
[6] He began his operational flying career in 1983 on the Tornado GR1 ground attack aircraft and served successively on front-line squadrons, including an exchange tour with the Royal Australian Air Force flying the F-111 Aardvark, and operational deployments to the Middle East;[7] being promoted to flight lieutenant in July 1984,[8] and squadron leader in July 1989.
[16] In the 2009 Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath and,[17] in 2010, was the recipient of the Curtis Sword, awarded by Aviation Week and Space Technology for leadership and cooperation in transatlantic relations.
[20] After leaving the RAF, Anderson established a strategic leadership and business consultancy working with a number of blue-chip international clients in Europe, the Middle East and the US.
In 2013 he was appointed a life Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society[7] and in July 2016 was made a Doctor of Science (h.c) by Cranfield University in recognition of his contribution to the Defence and Security sector.