ADVANCED HAWK DEMONSTRATOR UNVEILED
AERO INDIA 2017 saw not one but two Hawk upgrade programs being showcased, one on the ground and the other in the air. BAE Systems unveiled the first Advanced Hawk demonstrator, developed and proposed in collaboration with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which recently completed license production of the Hawk Mk132 at its Bangalore complex. The aircraft, which has also been referred to as the ‘Combat Hawk’, is pitched as a cost-effective update of the Hawk AJT, intended to serve as a lead-in fighter trainer (LIFT).
The joint BAE-HAL development includes a new, more powerful Rolls-Royce Adour 951 engine, and a completely redesigned wing with active leading-edge slats and updated ‘combat fiaps’. The cockpit incorporates an all-new large-area touch-screen display, digital head-up display (HUD) and improved sensor simulation and training aids. Other changes include a full defensive aids suite, expanded weapons capability, a fixed air-to-air refueling probe, and on-board oxygen generation.
Modifications have been carried out in BAE Systems’ development aircraft ZJ100. The demonstrator’s first flight is planned later this year.
While BAE Systems is confident that the …
