BAE Hawk
From Air Cadet Central Wiki
The BAE Systems Hawk is an advanced jet trainer which first flew in 1974 as the Hawker-Siddeley Hawk. It is used by the Royal Air Force, and other air forces, as either a trainer or a low-cost combat aircraft.
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History
In 1964 the Royal Air Force specified a requirement for a new initial jet trainer to replace the Folland Gnat. The SEPECAT Jaguar was originally intended for this role, but it was soon realised that it would be too complex an aircraft for initial jet training. Accordingly, in 1968 Hawker-Siddeley began the design of a much simpler strictly subsonic trainer, the HS.1182. It was to have tandem seating and would be capable of carrying armaments, which would enable it to be used as a weapons trainer and in light combat roles.
Renamed "Hawk" in 1973, the aircraft first flew in 1974. It entered RAF service in April 1976, replacing the Gnat and Hawker Hunter in the advanced training and weapons training roles respectively. The following year Hawker Siddeley merged with other British aircraft companies to form the nationalised British Aerospace (BAe), which subsequently became BAE Systems upon merger with Marconi Electronic Systems in 1999.
The most famous RAF operator of the Hawk is the Red Arrows aerobatic team, which adopted the plane in 1979. The Hawk has excellent manoeuvrability, and while it is not capable of supersonic speed in level flight, it can attain Mach 1.2 in a dive, allowing trainees to experience transsonic handling without the cost of a supersonic trainer.
The Hawk subsequently replaced the English Electric Canberra in the target towing role.
The Royal Navy acquired a dozen Hawk T.Mk 1/1As from the RAF, for use as aerial targets for the training of ships gunners and radar operators.
Variants
Hawk T.1/T.1A
The Hawk T1 ("Trainer Mark 1") was the original version of the Hawk used by the RAF, deliveries commencing in November 1976. The UK ordered 176 T1s.
From 1983 to 1986, some Hawks were equipped as the short-range interceptor aircraft for point defence. 88 T.1s were modified to carry two AIM-9L Sidewinder air-to-air missiles in addition to the centerline gun pod carrying a single 30 mm ADEN cannon. These aircraft were designated T.1A. In the event of war, they would have worked in collaboration with Tornado F3 aircraft, which would use their Foxhunter search radars to vector the radarless Hawks against enemy targets. Such missions would have been flown by instructor pilots. Conversions were completed in 1986. With the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, RAF Hawks are no longer tasked with this role.
80 T.1s are being upgraded under the Fuselage Replacement Programme (FRP), which involves the replacement of the aft centre and rear fuselage sections, using new build sections derived from the Mk. 60.
Hawk 128
The Hawk 128 is the new Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) for the RAF and Royal Navy. The Mk.128 includes modern CRT displays instead of conventional instrumentation, and allows preparation for flying modern fighter aircraft, particularly the all "glass" Typhoon. It has Rolls-Royce Adour 951 engines. BAE funded development of the 128, building on the design of the Australian Mk.127 and the South African Mk.120s. A £450 million contract was signed in October 2006 for the production of 28 Hawk 128s. The MoD had originally announced its intention to order 20 aircraft with options for 24 more.
Further Variants
More Variants here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAE_Hawk#Variants
External links
- The RAF Hawk page
- BAE Systems Hawk fact sheet
- BAE Hawk at Greg Goebel's AIR VECTORS
- Photos of Australian air force Hawk
- http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/types/uk/bae_systems/hawk/hawk1.htm
- The Red Arrows
- British Aircraft Directory
- First-person perspective video of a bird strike from a BAE Hawk (LiveLeak, requires Macromedia Flash)
