HAL and BAE Systems to Develop ‘Combat Hawk’

NEW DELHI - June 23, 2015 - PRLog -- According to an item published in the latest issue of Indian Military Review the Indian Air Fore (IAF) is looking at the Hawk advanced jet trainer (AJT) aircraft fitted with guns and rockets to boost its combat strength.

Giving details, the new issue of Indian Military Review, published from New Delhi Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and BAE Systems (BAE), agreed , to explore the development of a "Combat Hawk" which could even be exported to friendly foreign countries. HAL has conducted weapons tests with its licence-built BAE Systems Hawk 132 AJT, and is confident of the project's export potential. The Combat Hawk could be offered to the military once it is developed.

The HAL-BAE agreement also envisages upgrading the Hawk Mk132 to the capability level of Hawk Mk128 trainers on which Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots train. The IAF procured the Hawk Mk132 before the RAF upgraded to the Mk128. The latter has a cockpit display that more closely resembles the kind of fighters that trainees graduate to from the Hawk.

The IAF has 91 Hawks, with a single example having been lost in a crash (attributed to pilot error) in 2008. The first contract for 66 Hawk 132s was signed in 2004, which saw BAE deliver 24 aircraft in fly-away condition; HAL completed licensed production of the last of the remaining 42 in 2012. A follow-on order for 57 aircraft – 40 for the air force and 17 for the navy – was signed in 2010, and 25 and 11 aircraft respectively have been produced to date. HAL will deliver the remaining 15 and six aircraft respectively by 2016-2017. A third contract for 20 aircraft for the IAF’s Suryakiran aerobatic display team has yet to be concluded.

The light attack Hawk upgrade also includes display and avionics modifications revealed at the Aero India show in Bengaluru in February 2015. It already has advanced avionics, including digital cockpit displays that allow trainee pilots to practice navigation, the use of sensors like radar, and to fire weapons. Transforming this into a "Combat Hawk" involves fitting air-to-air missiles and air-to-ground guns, rockets and bombs. The Hawk Mk132 has seven wing stations for mounting weapons and reconnaissance equipment. These weapons need to be integrated with the avionics of the aircraft.

HAL has proposed a unique display and avionics upgrade for the Hawk, with two large 8 x 6" multi-function displays replacing the smaller, existing displays. A moving map display will be added and electro-mechanical instruments such as vertical speed indicator and altimeter will be removed.

Such "light attack aircraft" are adept at several missions that high-performance fighters are ill suited to perform. Flying slower, their pilots get more time to identify targets, especially over jungle terrain, or when targets are camouflaged. In mountains, accuracy is extremely important because even narrowly missing a target on a sharp ridgeline means the bomb or rocket strikes harmlessly, hundreds of feet below. Light attack aircraft allow greater accuracy.

Besides accuracy, affordability is another big plus for light attack aircraft. Many countries cannot afford to buy or operate fighters. The Afghan Air Force will fly 20 Embraer A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft for counter-insurgency (COIN) operations against the Taliban. Meanwhile, the United States Special Operations Command is also buying a fleet of similar aircraft for its "light air support" programme.

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