Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has confirmed the Red Arrows will get new jet aircraft
While confirming this would happen “in the next couple of years”. he has not said exactly when.
Speaking to the BBC, Michael Fallon said:
“Eventually we will have to replace the aircraft, and we will start to think about that in the next year or two.”
The Red Arrows badge shows the aircraft in their trademark diamond nine formation, with the motto Éclat, a French word meaning “brilliance” or “excellence”.
Initially, they were equipped with seven Folland Gnat trainers inherited from the RAF Yellowjacks display team. This aircraft was chosen because it was less expensive to operate than front-line fighters.
In their first season, they flew at 65 shows across Europe. In 1966, the team was increased to nine members, enabling them to develop their Diamond Nine formation. In late 1979, they switched to the BAE Hawk trainer. The Red Arrows have performed over 4,700 displays in 56 countries worldwide.
The team use the same two-seat training aircraft used for advanced pilot training, at first the Hawker Siddeley Gnat which was replaced in 1979 by the BAE Hawk T1.
The Hawks are modified with an uprated engine and a modification to enable smoke to be generated; diesel is mixed with a coloured dye and ejected into the jet exhaust to produce either red, white or blue smoke.
What will replace the Hawk T1 with the Red Arrows? Probably, the Hawk T2.
Surely the MOD won’t look to buy a foreign jet ? even they wouldn’t do that would they ?
Just putting it out there…
Scorpion.
God I hope it ain’t the scorpion.
Reaper… Only joshing! 🙂
I can’t see that the government would be able to afford new T2’s unless we were to do a deal with India to buy some Typhoons and we would buy some HAL licence built Hawks as offets. It is surely most likely that the MOD would purchase foreign or Commonwealth exported T1’s with very low hours and return them to BAe for refurbishment, as plenty of spares exist for this version as well as cannibalising present out of service aircraft. Typhoons or secondhand F-16’s would be exorbitantly expensive to run plus I can’t see any point in showing off an F-16 as we all know it is a foreign competitor, the same going for the Gripens flown by UKMFS.
Tranche 1 Typhoons
Buy more Hawk T2’s. And buy enough for 100 Squadron too while your at it.
I think the best choice would be the new Boeing / Saab Trainer.
You must be joking!
No i am not ! It’s the best new jet trainer by far.
Replace with the Hawk T2. The Reds are a BRITISH display team, with the BRITISH military and BRITISH aircraft. If cost is an issue for the time being then they should keep to the T1 and use the decommissioned aircraft for spares and make the Reds the last squadron of T1s. I feel though that once replaced, the Red T1s should ALL go to museums across the country a bit like Concorde did