First new generation Hawk reaches 3,000 flying hours

Bangalore, Feb 14 (UNI) The Indian Air Force will soon be operating the BAE Systems Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer, a version of which has achieved a milestone of 3,000 flying hours in Canada in record time.

A BAE Systems Hawk Mk115, operating in the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) programme, achieved the feat in just six years, a release from BAE Systems here said today.

Besides, four other Hawks in the fleet, based at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and Cold Lake, Alberta, were also close to reaching the milestone. The pacesetter was the first of 22 Hawks delivered by BAE Systems to NFTC. The NFTC fleet achieved around 8,500 hours per year, accruing over 47,000 hours to date.

BAE Systems Project Director Dave Holmes said ''achieving this number of flying hours in so little time is a testament to the serviceability and availability of the aircraft. This is a credit not only to the Hawk, but also to the efficiency and professionalism of the whole NFTC operation, particularly Bombardier Military Aviation Training, the prime contractor for the delivery and support of NFTC. This operational tempo shows just what the aircraft is capable of and reinforces the fact that the Hawk is the world's leading advanced jet trainer.'' Participants to the NFTC programme include the UK, Italy, Singapore and the UAE, with instructors from Sweden, France, Germany and Finland. Pilots trained on Hawk at NFTC go on to fly Typhoon, F-16, F-15 and many other frontline fighter aircraft.

The NFTC initiative was a Government of Canada program, undertaken in cooperation with the industry. NFTC offered under-graduate and post-graduate pilot training in a flexible program using advanced glass cockpit training aircraft, in the unrestricted military airspace and tactical range facilities of two Western Canadian air bases.

UNI