The Ministry of Defence has awarded a contract worth up to GBP 2.5 million to Inzpire Ltd to upgrade mission support systems used on the RAF Hawk T1 aircraft.
The agreement covers the provision of software to enable ‘Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast In’ capability on the Graphical Electronic Cockpit Organiser Mission Support System, known as GECO MSS, as well as ongoing support for associated tablets, base stations and software.
The work is being delivered through the UK Military Flight Training Systems Hawk Delivery Team and will amend an existing single-source defence contract with the Lincoln-based company.
According to a Voluntary Ex-Ante Transparency notice published on the government’s Find a Tender service, the upgrade will allow Hawk T1 aircraft to receive real-time positional data from other aircraft equipped with ADS-B, improving situational awareness during training sorties.
The ADS-B In capability is expected to be delivered no later than 1 July 2026.
GECO MSS is a tablet-based mission planning and cockpit support system developed by Inzpire, which owns the intellectual property for the software. The system is already installed for use on Hawk T1 aircraft and is used to support mission preparation, execution and post-flight analysis. The Ministry of Defence said the contract amendment was awarded without competition for technical reasons, as Inzpire is the original equipment manufacturer and the only company with the necessary rights and technical knowledge to modify and support the system.
The department stated that “Inzpire as the Original Equipment Manufacturer of GECO MSS is the only entity that has the necessary technical ability to provide the support and amendments to the software to deliver this capability.”
I’m amazed we are still spending on T1
I’m assuming this is driven by a comms band change due to frequency reallocations?
For 4 years? Or is it anticipated that they will remain in service a bit longer?
Ah, the MOD are spending money on the Hawks. I guess the rule of thumb is, if the MOD is upgrading something, it’s about to go up for sale.
I am aware that the T1 is being phased out anyway.
Fine, as far as it goes, but a replacement? Still a long way off I suspect, assuming Labour don’t disband Red Arrows as being too patriotic.
Beyond stupidly a decision to replace the Hawk way wat to late and now we are spending 2.5 million on the support system which is steam driven. What is the bet it doesn’t work.