Jet Trainers used for attack

Several nations have bought expensive single seat jet trainers and use them for combat and other nations are offering similar planes for export. The planes are similar to the two seat models but in most cases boast a radar and PGMs of some sort. The Hawk 200 is a good case, it has been bought by Indonesia, Malaysia and Oman. It is usually said to be a cheap subsonic fighter with a good A2A payload but that seems far from the truth. Indonesia payed about 15 million a piece for the Hawk 200s and the planes bring less then a cheaper surplus F-5E/F could bring hell an F-16A/B Block 15 is cheaper. In face buying these planes probably hurt their air defense ability while only barely adding to thier CAS ability. Once agian a surplus F-5E carries about the same payload but much faster and can be upgraded to use BVR weapons. For the recce role a RF-5E would probaly be a safer bet then the Hawk 200 with a recce pod.

Malaysia is another customer who probaly should have bought something else. They probaly could have added to thier F/A-18D fleet which would be of far more use then subsonic fighters. Hell they could have put more F-5E/Fs into service as oppsoed to wasting money on the Hawk 208.

The only place the Hawk 200s have been used is Indonesia for putting down local unrest. It’s hard to know how effecitive they would be in the face of SAMs or enemy fighters. The RAF in wartime was going to use the Hawk 50 in air defense but that was more a move of desperation seeing as the Hawk 200 would have a hard time catching a super sonic fighter bomber.

The Czechs are offering the L-159A which is a single seat L-159B with a Griffo L radar. While the Russians have a single seat MiG-AT and Yak-130 on the market as well.

In the end in seems like a lot of money to throw down on planes which have only one role.