RAF Chief Calls For Earlier Replacement Of Hawk T2 Trainers

LONDON—The chief of the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) has said he would like to replace the service’s BAE Systems Hawk T2 advanced jet trainers as soon as possible after a series of technical problems with the type has put the brakes on the UK jet training pipeline.

Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton, the RAF’s Chief of the Air Staff, said Hawk issues were now the one snag in the UK’s military flight training system. Problems with the fleet have prompted the service to send student fighter pilots away to Italy and the U.S.

“We don’t get what we need from Hawk today,” Knighton told the Freeman Air and Space Institute here on Nov. 26. “We are getting half of what we should get out of it … I would like to replace Hawk T2 as soon as we can.”

Problems with the 28-strong Hawk T2 fleet emerged in 2022 after the discovery of problems with the low-pressure compressor module of the aircraft’s Rolls-Royce/Safran Adour engine. This issue cuts the engine's life by more than half, dramatically reducing the number of Hawks available for training. Knighton previously has talked about the service beginning studies to replace the trainer in hearings of the UK Parliamentary Defense Committee, but until now he had not publicly stated the need to replace the aircraft quickly.

The aircraft’s official out-of-service date is 2040, but Knighton's comments suggest removing it from service much sooner.

A program to replace the aircraft is not currently funded. It is unclear whether such a procurement could emerge from the upcoming Strategic Defense Review, which is due to report back in the first half of 2025.

Lead-in fighter training, Knighton said, has a “really important role to play” in exports and is the “pinnacle” of UK flying training, but the Hawk needed to be replaced by a “more relevant, more reliable training capacity so that [UK] pilots did not need to be sent overseas, and would give the RAF the ability to train overseas pilots.”

Service officials have already expressed concerns that the Hawk T2 will not be able to prepare pilots for future generations of aircraft such as the fighter that will emerge from the Global Combat Air Program.

Ascent, the Lockheed Martin and Babcock joint venture that runs the UK Military Flight Training System (MFTS), has urged the UK Defense Ministry to explore the procurement of an alternative advanced jet trainer.

The Hawk T2s are the only government-furnished aircraft provided to MFTS. The type's maintenance is said to be more expensive and more manpower-heavy than the other types selected by Ascent to provide other training sets.

Tim James, the managing director of Ascent, told Aviation Week at the Royal International Air Tattoo in July that advanced jet training was the one area in MFTS that would “warrant further investment” if the system was to be kept relevant.

What could replace the aircraft is unclear. BAE Systems is proposing a so-called Hawk T3, a T2 with an upgraded mission computer and cockpit that the company says would keep the aircraft relevant for 2040 and beyond. However, the RAF is likely to seek a platform with a more modern design powered by an engine that is cheaper to operate and maintain. 

BAE Systems did not comment on Knighton’s statement.

The UK is part of a working group monitoring the U.S. Air Force’s Surrogate Training Family of Systems, which is exploring next-generation air combat training to ready pilots for fifth- and sixth-generation platforms.

The RAF continues to operate the older Hawk T1, now only operated by the service’s Red Arrows display team. That model is due to be retired in 2030.