First Six Hawk Advanced jet trainers achieve interim acceptance

Bangalore, July 13 (UNI) Marking a singificant milestone in the Indian Hawk Programme, BAE Systems today announced that the first of the six hawk Advanced Jet Trainers built for the Indian Air Force had achieved Interim acceptance.

The first Hawk advanced jet trainer would be delivered to IAF in September this year, BAE Systems said in a release.

Dave Corfield, Hawk Project Director - India, said in the releae ''Interim acceptance represents the IAF agreeing that the aircraft produced meets the standard required to allow instructor pilot and maintenance training to commence, so it is a major step forward on the programme''.

Three of the Hawks are currently being used to convert IAF instructor pilots to the aircraft at BAE Systems Warton, in a partnership between BAE Systems and the RAF. The training would be extended to include Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) test pilots later this month.

This was part of the aircrew training package that has already seen 50 IAF pilots undergo training, delivered by BAE Systems and the RAF, using the Hawk Synthetic Training Facility and RAF Hawks based at RAF Valley.

The further three IAF Hawks that have been through the interim acceptance process were now situated in the Technical Training Academy at BAE Systems Warton, where they were being used to train IAF technicians who would support and maintain the aircraft when it entered service.

The six aircraft are the first of 66 new Hawk Advanced Jet Trainers for the IAF with 24 aircraft are being built at BAE Systems' facilities in Brough, East Yorkshire, with flight-testing and customer acceptance taking place at Warton in Lancashire. The remaining 42 aircraft would be manufactured under licence in India through a partnership with India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited here.

UNI