UK MoD signs £450 million contract for BAE Systems’ Hawk 128 advanced jet trainer
The UK Ministry of Defence has today signed a £450 million ($835 million) production deal with BAE Systems to acquire a new fleet of 28 Hawk 128 advanced jet trainers (AJT) to enter service from 2008.
The award covers the production of 26 new Hawk 128s, with these to join two demonstrator aircraft already manufactured and flying under an almost £160 million design and development contract placed with the manufacturer in December 2004. The new aircraft are to replace part of the UK’s current fleet of BAE Hawk T1/1A trainers.
Signed by UK Defence Procurement Minister Lord Drayson, the AJT contract clears the way for the MoD to select from next month a training system partner for the UK Military Flying Training System. The three teams bidding for the requirement had voiced unease over entering into an agreement to deliver the infrastructure – which is to include a synthetic training system for the new Hawk fleet – before a production order had been placed for the type.
The award will also boost BAE’s efforts to sell new-generation Hawk trainers to potential customers including Greece, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
In a separate development, Bahrain’s first two of six Hawk 129 trainers landed in the Gulf state on 17 October, following a four-day delivery flight from BAE’s Warton site in Lancashire. Bahrain formally accepted its first Hawk 129 on the opening day of July’s Farnborough air show in the UK, and will receive its remaining four aircraft by early next year.
On 30 July 2003, the UK Government announced that BAE SYSTEMS had been selected to provide 20 aircraft with options to buy up to a further 24 aircraft for Advanced Jet Trainer role. It is part of a wider project known as the UK Military Flying Training System, which will deliver a future flying training system for all three Services. The aircraft being offered within the contract has been designated as the Mk 128.
The Mk128 introduces a new open architecture mission system which has been designed to allow future upgrades without the need for extensive system redesign and clearance. The mission system is based on latest generation avionics and includes simulation technology to enable Hawk to significantly expand its advanced jet training envelope. The Hawk Mk128 is powered by the latest Rolls Royce Adour Mk951 engine which has a target thrust of 6,500 Ibs and a Time Between Overhaul (TBO) of 4000 hours.
The Hawk programme is responsible for the development and manufacture of the Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer and its variants. Hawk is the world’s most successful advanced training aircraft out-selling all other aircraft in its class. With 19 customers, over 900 Hawks are in operational service, or have been ordered world-wide.
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October 19, 2006 at 10:40 pm