The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that no decision has yet been made on whether a future replacement for the Hawk fast jet trainer will be built in the UK.
Responding to a parliamentary question from Luke Akehurst, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said the Strategic Defence Review had set an intention to pursue “cost effective replacements for the Hawk aircraft.” Pollard added that decisions on “production, sustainment, and replacement” will only follow completion of the Defence Investment Plan. He also pointed to broader government policy, noting that “the Hon. Gentleman will be aware of this Government’s strong support for making more defence equipment in the UK.”
While domestic manufacture remains a stated political priority, it is not yet a formal commitment for the Hawk replacement programme. Further detail is expected once the Defence Investment Plan is published.
The United Kingdom is developing a programme to replace the BAE Systems Hawk T1 and T2 aircraft, which provide advanced fast jet training for the Royal Air Force. Work is focused on defining requirements for a future training system that combines live flying and synthetic elements, with the Ministry of Defence still shaping the scope before issuing a formal tender. The effort has gained momentum because of increasing sustainment pressures on the Hawk fleet and a desire to modernise training ahead of next generation combat aircraft entering service.
Contenders currently positioning themselves include the Boeing, Saab and BAE Systems team offering the T7A Red Hawk, which they have proposed to assemble in the United Kingdom. Leonardo is promoting the M346 as another option and has highlighted its existing training systems with other European air forces. The programme remains in the preliminary phase, with industry lobbying under way but no official competition launched.
No mention of the UK Aeralis solution? Unless the UK selelcts Aeralis, the French won’t either and that will kill the whole project.
What makes you think the French would go for it? Not too mention it’s hard to kill something that doesn’t even exist outside PowerPoint.
They have opened a French subsidiary. France also needs a training solution. No doubt any French interest would require in-country build etc. The old ‘PowerPoint’ chestnut is boring. Every project exists on ‘paper’ at some point of the interest/uptake cycle. There is no hard and fast rule that says it should be flying and certified before MoD takes an interest regardless of your personal views.
It’s not boring, its fact. They have been touting this as a solution for how long? The site’s search engine doesn’t work to go to later pages, but the earliest this site covered them on the first results page is 2018, and the Prototype is always just “around the corner”, yet never actually getting in the air. They have done deals with RR, Babcock, Thales over the years and yet still nothing even test flying or production, so signing up a French office doesn’t convince me of anything either.
As for what the MOD should be doing, given the disasters they’ve made over and over you’d wish they would learn, but maybe they haven’t and this paper plane will get selected. If so, I wonder how much is going to disappear into “just around the corner” production.
After AJAX, just buy the friggin’ thing off the shelf !
Sick of the constant need to “Buy British” and alter everything to meet some perfect requirement, costing billions of £s and years to acquire and fix. We need aircraft that are good enough in significant numbers to do the job. Either buy the M346 or the T-7 and get the companies that already make them to produce them. Along with more T-6.
Heck, sound out Boeing on what deal we would get for 20 T-6, 40-50 T-7 and five or six more P-8s. I guarantee it would be cheaper than Aeralis and we’d get them a decade sooner.
Jobs are nice, but defence needs should take priority. Aeralis should be a non-starter. It doesn’t exist and we need aircraft yesterday.
The inability to manage the Training Fleet (the fact that the existing one is becoming obsolete should not come as a surprise) is indicative of the mess that is UK defence. All, the Army, Navy and Airforce are desperately short of mass. But like much else it comes down to a lack of money. There is none, nah da…..
All should be very concerned, if nothing ‘happens’ in the next 10 years we may have got away with it. If it does I am sure we’ll help, but it will be limited.