A close collaboration with the Royal Air Force
From the home of the UK’s next generation of fighter pilots, RAF Valley in North Wales, our people work to support the RAF’s Hawk advanced jet trainer aircraft. We provide work alongside our industry partner Babcock to provide depth maintenance to the TMk2 fleet and the iconic TMk1 aircraft of the Red Arrows display team, ensuring the Hawk fleet continues as a global ambassador for the UK.
From RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire, teams from BSL, our majority Qatari-owned joint venture company, also provides maintenance support to aircraft from the Qatar Emiri Air Force which operate as part of 11 Squadron, the joint Qatar-UK Hawk squadron. Our teams of engineering experts also provide support our customers provide technical support for Hawk operators from the United States across Europe, the Middle East and Asia from our base in the UK.
As the industry lead for Hawk, BAE Systems delivers through-life support to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fleet which has achieved more than 122,000 hours from its bases in Pearce, Western Australia and Williamtown, New South Wales. Under a performance-based contract until 2031, we provide maintenance, engineering and supply chain services ensuring Hawk remains an outstanding and cost-effective training solution.
Today, Hawk prepares pilots for life in the RAAF’s frontline F-35A Lightning II, F/A-18F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler fleet. The aircraft’s through-life support program has been designed with future technologies to reflect the evolving training requirements of frontline combat aircraft. This will ensure that the aircraft remains a cost-effective training solution throughout its entire life.
Strength in partnership
Hawk is the flying classroom which delivers pilots ready for life in the fast cockpit on the frontline of the Royal Saudi Air Force’s fleet, including Eurofighter Typhoon. From its base at the King Faisal Air Base in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, we provide maintenance availability support to four Hawk squadrons as part of our role at the heart of the Saudi training pipeline.
This includes supporting the iconic Saudi Hawks display team, recognised as one of the world’s leading aerobatics teams and a symbol of the speed, agility and precision of the RSAF.
Our role in Kingdom also sees us provide comprehensive logistics support and ground-based training systems for the RSAF PC-21 fleet, the largest fleet of the aircraft type in the world.