First Hawk trainers are here

Ending a two-decade wait, the first of the Hawk advanced jet trainers for the Indian Air Force (IAF) arrived in the country on Monday after a four-day flight from the Warton airfield in UK. The first pair of Hawk Mk 132 AJTs reached the Bidar airbase in north Karnataka after a brief refuelling stopover at Jamnagar. The Hawk trainers will impart stage three training to newly commissioned fighter pilots of the IAF from June next year and will replace the MiG 21 fighters being used in a training role as well as the outdated Kiran aircraft.

The two jets that arrived today are the first of the 66 aircrafts to be delivered to the IAF by BAE Systems. By mid-February eight more aircraft are scheduled to arrive in a phased manner. Of the 66 aircraft being purchased, 24 are being supplied by BAE in a fly-away condition while Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bangalore, will manufacture the remaining 42. As per the delivery schedule, all 66 aircraft should be operational by the end of the decade.

Meanwhile, the Hawks were welcomed to the Bidar airbase by the prestigious Surya Kiran aerobatics team.